Airbridge is an Amsterdam-based investor focused on European technology companies with commercial traction. “To us, this means companies with a clear sense of direction, built on a proven product and go-to-market motion. Our investments are designed to help these businesses accelerate along that path,” said Robin Rensen, Airbridge’s Partner, and Pepijn van den Berg, the firm’s Associate. In this interview, they shared with Vestbee more about the firm’s investment strategy, “Dutch approach” to founders, and why CEE remains a key focus.
Investment focus and strategy
Our current portfolio includes both B2B and B2C companies in Northern Europe, with a particular focus on Central and Eastern European companies. This makes us a very suitable partner for supporting CEE companies in their expansion to Western Europe.
Airbridge was founded in late 2017 by three entrepreneurs with diverse backgrounds in digital media, e-commerce, and satellite television. Their first-hand experience scaling international businesses, in both B2C and B2B, has fundamentally shaped our way of doing business. We take a pragmatic and direct approach, recognizing that growth is rarely linear, and often the result of relentless iteration, for which we want to give entrepreneurs the time needed.
The above perspective informs our decision to steer clear of the stereotypical venture capital model. This often prioritizes high risk in exchange for extremely steep growth curves. While this approach can yield exceptional returns for a select few companies, the majority often struggle, falling prey to unrealistic expectations and unsustainable burn rates. It’s easy to be blinded by survivorship bias, celebrating the winners while ignoring the many that didn’t make it, when they could have done so.
As a result, at Airbridge, we believe many companies have exciting potential even if they don’t become unicorns. Growing a business to a worthy exit opportunity is a significant accomplishment and, with the right investment approach, can yield excellent returns for everyone involved. Often with fewer sleepless nights along the way.
Based on this understanding, we look for businesses with a product that excites customers, and for entrepreneurs who know where to take their business. This often leads us to companies with a more balanced risk-reward profile — less flash, but more substance. These are companies capable of growing steadily and iterating through the inevitable challenges without facing a crisis the moment growth dips below the budget.
In doing so, some of our most successful investments were in companies overlooked by others for not being “exciting enough.” However, in our eyes, they had a great position in their industry and were led by humble yet exceptionally capable founders. Viewed month-to-month, progress might appear modest, but fast forward and these months turn into years, seeing revenue multiply often with much of our investment still in the bank. These are the kinds of success stories we believe deserve more attention.
Airbridge’s relationship with the CEE region
Our investment focus on CEE stems in part from the many exceptional entrepreneurs we’ve met in the region — founders who consistently achieve a lot outside of the spotlight. We’ve found them to be ambitious, humble, and deeply committed to building real value for users. Which, in our mind, is a powerful combination.
Across our first and second funds, we’ve had the privilege to back the teams behind Survicate and Behavio, and we supported Smartlook from their Series A through to their exit to Cisco.
How the fund works with founders
Just as we reject a one-size-fits-all investment approach, we also tailor our collaboration with founders to the specific needs of each business. At our core, we value pragmatism and balancing ambition with clear-eyed realism. Some might call it a “Dutch approach”, but we’ve found that open and honest communication helps avoid many issues. In addition, we tend to favor quick messages and staying up to date over relying solely on time-consuming board meetings.
We also enjoy being actively involved with the companies we invest in — though it’s not a requirement. Our entrepreneurial backgrounds mean we’re naturally drawn to rolling up our sleeves. That involvement can take many forms, from informal support to operational interim roles, depending on what makes the most sense in any specific scenario.
What’s next
We are always long-term optimistic about the future. Over the years, we’ve seen many trends come and go. However, one constant clearly remains: good businesses find a way to survive and thrive, regardless of the market climate. That’s why we continue to back the founders and companies that make us excited about what is to come.
We are currently actively investing from our recently closed second fund and will continue to do so in the coming years. In time, we’ll begin preparations for our third fund, which will likely follow a similar strategy: providing strategic capital to ambitious founders who seek more than just traditional VC funding.
