Based in Europe’s key tech hubs — Berlin, London, and Stockholm — we invest throughout Europe and in early-stage startups, often as a founder's first institutional investor standing alongside them.

As early as possible. We have previously invested in startups pre-product and pre-revenue, so please get in contact with us as soon as your idea begins to take lift-off.

Typically, we invest between €2 million and €7 million. Unlike smaller seed funds, we are a long-term financial partner with the majority of our funds saved for follow-on financing to champion Cherry founders along their growth journey. To be upfront, we do like slightly larger seed rounds and we strongly believe that is in a founder’s interest. We advise our founders to have at least 18 months of cash runway to avoid the constant rush of fundraising and to focus primarily on their team and business during their first phase as founders.

We make around 10-12 early-stage, namely seed, investments per year. This allows us to remain focused and committed to working closely with the founders who we team up with. We believe we invest more than just capital, but also our time. We want to spend as much time as possible with our founders — across the investment and strategic resources teams — giving them support, guidance, and subject-matter value as they build next-generation companies born in Europe.

We invest across industries and sectors, focussing our time on discovering and growing the founders, ideas, and businesses that will create lasting futures. But there are indeed a few thematic areas that have our attention: B2B software, fintech, industrials, healthtech, climatetech, and consumer.

In all of these areas, we’re looking for founders who are leading the charge and changing how businesses, medical providers, manufacturers, consumers, and more operate with cutting-edge technological solutions and, ultimately, bent on shaping the future of their particular fields.

Our top three criteria are team, team, and team. We are looking for founders who are ambitious, resourceful, and resilient. Of course, we will also look at the market, the problem you are solving, and the opportunity you're after. The market is important because we want to make sure that if you succeed, you end up building an influential company. We examine the respective model or approach itself and usually develop our own thesis on the business model or industry.

We know how distracting a fundraising process can be at an early stage. That’s why we’re fast and decisive.

What is truly important to us is building a relationship with the founding team. We start with an initial meeting or call. We pass on most companies after this point. But, if not, there is usually a second or third meeting or call with different members of our investment team. It is almost certain that you will have met or spoken with a large part of the investment team once we make the final investment decision. All investment partners meet the founding team along the process.

We are the most entrepreneur-focused venture firm in Europe. As a team, we are startup founders, tech operators, and industry specialists and our pre-VC experiences make it a sure thing we deliver on that promise. In our limited partner base and broader network, we have Europe’s top entrepreneurs who have successfully run companies across all stages or are experienced investors themselves, representing companies like Supercell, Zalando, and Wolt to name just a few.

As a Cherry founder, you’ll have access to these experts in all industries and across all major parts of the value chain. So, whether it’s meeting with a customer service expert, seeking legal advice regarding your operations setup, or preparing your growth round in the US, we have your back.

Honestly, ask the founders of our portfolio companies. We believe you, a founder, should be running the show.

However, our entire team and network can help you when you need an extra lift or, more simply, a sounding board. We want to be as resourceful as possible and we make ourselves available to our founders whenever we can. Since building a team is probably the most important success factor for a startup, we have HR experts on our team who bring a wealth of experience with direct search, tech, and executive hiring. Knowing many early-stage companies don’t have press teams in place, we also advise companies on media and branding strategies ranging from their funding announcements to larger rollouts and specific communication targets. We also team up with international companies to provide preferential treatment such as key account management or price advantages. A glimpse into our current partnerships includes Amazon Web Services, Google, HubSpot, Notion, Stripe, and many more.

The program, titled Copilot, comprises three core components: 1) it’s strongly encouraged, 2) it’s fully financially supported, and 3) it’s a time-based commitment.

All new founders who we team up with are offered coaching. Founders have the option to choose from a curated network of more than a dozen coaches who have worked with the Cherry team and portfolio as their dedicated coach. The costs are covered as aligned in the term sheet, ensuring that founders do not have to sacrifice quality for affordability. Lastly, all founders will be required to partake in these sessions for at least 12 months, ensuring a foundational underpinning for their long-term leadership development. Sessions are, make no mistake, 100% confidential.

We’ve created this program because we view our relationship with founders as a true partnership, where we invest not only in their businesses but also in their personal and professional growth. By providing a coaching budget as a part of our agreement, we strengthen the bond between Cherry and our portfolio companies.