Yellow, a newly incepted venture capital firm, kicks off with a €30 million fund dedicated to pre-seed investments in Europe. It was launched by Adam Lasri, former investor at the international Venture Capital firm Atomico, and Oscar Pierre and Sacha Michaud, the founders of Glovo.
Yellow’s ambition extends across Europe, with a strong emphasis on France and Southern Europe. The fund’s scope is not limited to any specific industries and considers investing in both B2C and B2B ventures. It aims to invest tickets from €200k to €500k in pre-seed rounds, thus not taking a lead position but rather seeking to actively collaborate with other European VC funds supporting similar ventures.
Thanks to its expertise and network, Yellow aims to help founders in their expansion into France and key Southern European markets (mainly Spain, Italy, and Portugal), which have historically been underserved by Venture Capital support. Unlocking some of the key challenges of expanding business in this region includes talent support, navigating regulatory landscapes, and facilitating introductions to larger enterprises.
To this effect, Yellow raised from various prominent family business entrepreneurs from Southern Europe and also received the backing of numerous founders of successful European tech companies including more than 12 unicorn founders.
In a challenging global fundraising environment, the initiation of Yellow was met with strong investor interest leading to Yellow closing 100% of the fund within just a few weeks of fundraising. Yellow has already made two stealth investments in the past month, supporting ventures in both Paris and Barcelona.
Adam Lasri (ex-Atomico investor and co-founder of Yellow): “It is great to collaborate with both Oscar and Sacha. We have known each other for years and I have seen firsthand how supportive and engaged they have been with the more than 30 founders they have backed over the last few years. We now have joined forces to formalize that commitment through Yellow, and we are excited that the kick-off of the fund has been met with overwhelming interest by investors. With me based in France and Oscar and Sacha’s strong ties to not just Spain, but also across Italy and Portugal, we see Yellow well positioned to support founders from the region and those looking to expand there and help unlock the region’s full potential. Together, we bring practical advice for founders around scaling and expanding as well as professional investment expertise to help them navigate the wider European VC landscape.”
The Yellow team has a presence in both Barcelona and Paris. It is completed by professional investor Victor Navarro who spent the last few years covering Southern Europe for Spain-based fund KFund and is based in Barcelona, and the team will soon be joined by another team member in Paris.
For Oscar Pierre and Sacha Michaud, Yellow is a personal project and a continuation of their business angel investments over the last four years. They continue to be fully committed to their executive roles at Glovo.
Read the orginal article: https://www.eu-startups.com/2023/11/yellow-a-vc-from-the-founders-of-glovo-kicks-off-with-a-e30-million-european-focused-pre-seed-fund/
