Global Founders Capital — Investment Thesis & Preferences

Global Founders Capital Research

Investment Thesis

Global Founders Capital (GFC) is a global early-stage investor empowering gifted entrepreneurs through a unique borderless model. Founded in 2013, the firm has evolved from a traditional VC structure to become the venture arm of Rocket Internet, deploying €300 million to support founders across all continents. The firm believes that exceptional founders and category-defining ventures can emerge from anywhere in the world, and provides not just capital but operational support through a global network spanning 16 cities.

The firm's investment philosophy is stage-agnostic but optimized for early-stage deployment. They focus on backing technical teams with deep domain expertise who are building companies addressing significant market problems. GFC explicitly seeks founders with strong execution track records and the ability to scale globally from day one.

Sector Focus

Global Founders Capital invests across multiple sectors with particular strength in:

Primary Focus:

Fintech & Payments: Revolut, SumUp, Spenmo, NIUM, Tabby - early movers in digital payments and financial services
E-commerce & Marketplaces: Jumia, Lazada, Traveloka - regional e-commerce platforms
Delivery & Logistics: Delivery Hero - sector-defining logistics and delivery platforms
Enterprise Software: Personio, Culture Amp - HR tech and workplace software
Consumer Apps & Marketplaces: Slack, Canva - consumer and prosumer applications
Real Estate & Travel: Away Travel, Pacaso - property and travel tech

Secondary Focus:

Healthcare tech (Headway - mental health)
Biotech and sustainability (ClimeWorks - carbon removal)
Regulatory tech and compliance (LogX - logistics compliance)

The portfolio demonstrates deep expertise across geographies, with particularly strong presence in emerging markets (LATAM, Asia, MENA) and secondary European cities beyond traditional VC hubs.

Stage Focus

While previously described as "stage agnostic," GFC now focuses primarily on:

Pre-Seed: Early-stage teams with founders from established backgrounds
Seed: Product-market fit validation and initial revenue
Series A: Selective follow-ons for portfolio companies
Later stages: Opportunistic follow-on investments only

The firm's shift to deploying Rocket Internet's balance sheet means they are more disciplined about deployment and increasingly focused on early-stage opportunities where they can have deep operational involvement.

Check Size

Typical investment range: €1M - €3M

Seed rounds: €1M-€3M
Average ticket size: €1M (per firm materials)
Can range up to €3M+ for exceptional opportunities
Pre-seed smaller checks for exceptional technical founders

The firm's €300M balance sheet (from Rocket Internet) allows for meaningful follow-on capacity (50%+ reserves mentioned in sector examples).

Lead Tendency

Leads and Co-leads: Global Founders Capital has consistently led early-stage rounds in their portfolio (Personio pre-seed entry, SumUp seed rounds). However, they also participate in larger rounds alongside other investors. They take operational board seats with early-stage portfolio companies.

Fund Structure & Status

Recent Shift (April 2024):

Transitioned from traditional VC fundraising to deploying Rocket Internet's balance sheet
€300 million available for venture investments
No third fund being raised (firm decision not to raise in current market)
Only five partners remaining post-restructuring

Fund Timeline:

Fund I (€1B+): Closed 2018, backing Personio, Revolut, SumUp (3-4x returns expected)
Fund II (€1B+): Closed ~2020, backing Pennylane, Ankorstore, Seyna
Rocket balance sheet: 2024 onwards, €300M allocated

Fund Status: Actively deploying from Rocket balance sheet, with measured approach to new investments

Recent Activity (2024-2025)

October 2025: Latest investment in Riff (Oslo), per PitchBook
2025 Overview: 5 new investments in the last 12 months (as of Oct 2025)
Overall Portfolio: 611 companies in total portfolio across all funds
Notable 2024-2025: Strategic pivot to Rocket Internet venture arm, continued selective investing

The firm has shifted from dozens of deals per year to a more measured pace, focusing on quality and operational involvement.

Portfolio Highlights

Unicorns and Major Exits:

Delivery Hero (IPO, 2019) - One of Europe's largest logistics companies
Personio (approaching unicorn status, €1B+ valuation) - Leading European HR platform
Revolut (€24B+ valuation) - Fintech category leader
SumUp (valued ~€8B) - European payments infrastructure
Slack (IPO, 2019) - Communication platform
Zalando (IPO, 2014) - European fashion e-commerce leader
Canva (unicorn) - Design platform

Active High-Growth Portfolio:

Jumia - Pan-African e-commerce
Lazada - Southeast Asian e-commerce
Traveloka - Asian travel marketplace
Deel - Global payroll and HR
Headway - Mental health app
ClimeWorks - Carbon removal technology
Penny Lane - Accounting software
NIUM - Cross-border payments
Away Travel - Luggage and travel retail
Pacaso - Fractional home ownership
LogX - Logistics compliance platform
Culture Amp - Employee experience platform
Brex - Business financial platform (follow-on investor)

Portfolio by Life Stage:

Traded/Exited: 5+ unicorns and public companies
Growth stage: 30+ companies valued $100M+
Early growth: 100+ Series A/B companies
Seed/Early: 400+ pre-seed and seed companies

Team

Current Partners (5 as of 2024):

Fabricio Pettena - Partner: Deep operational experience building technology companies
Don Stalter - Partner: Long-time GFC partner with strong portfolio track record
David Sainteff - Partner: 7+ years with GFC, formerly Rocket Internet, key architect of Rocket balance sheet strategy
Cedric Asselman - Partner: Operational and investment expertise
Arnd Lodowicks - Partner: Deep technical and operational background

Leadership:

Oliver Samwer (Rocket Internet CEO) - Oversees venture strategy
Founder connection: Originated from Rocket Internet ecosystem, maintains close operational ties

The team represents a blend of operational entrepreneurs (with experience building tech companies from scratch) and domain experts across key sectors.

Decision Process & Timeline

Decision Process: Partnership-based with collaborative approach. With 5 partners and emphasis on operational involvement, decisions are fast-moving for early-stage investments.

Warm Introductions: Not explicitly required but strongly preferred - firm emphasizes relationships and operational partnership

Typical Involvement: Board seat or observer rights in early-stage companies, with hands-on operational support

Geographic Focus

Primary Markets:

Europe (especially Berlin, London, other secondary cities)
North America (US and Canada)
Latin America (LATAM region)
Asia (particularly Southeast Asia, India)
Africa
MENA (Middle East & North Africa)

The firm explicitly markets itself as "borderless" with offices in 16 cities globally, supporting founders across emerging and secondary markets with "simultaneous multi-continent scaling from day zero."

Investment Preferences & Anti-Thesis

What They Love:

Technical founders with shipped products and category-defining ambitions
Experienced teams (often founders from scale-ups or hyperscalers like Google, AWS, Stripe)
Global-first thinking - founders who can scale across multiple continents
Business model clarity - founders solving real problems with sustainable models
Operational excellence - founders who can execute quickly and efficiently

Anti-Thesis:

Consumer-only apps without clear monetization
Hardware-heavy plays (outside of strategic sectors like proptech)
Heavily regulated businesses in unfamiliar jurisdictions
Founder teams without operational track record
Single-geography plays without international ambitions

Competitive Positioning

Unique Advantages:

Rocket Internet balance sheet - No fundraising pressure, can take longer-term view
Global network - Offices in 16 cities with local operating partners
Operational playbook - Deep expertise in scaling tech companies globally
Track record - 10+ unicorns and category leaders in portfolio
Relationship capital - Access to network of Rocket Internet portfolio companies

Fund Performance Expectations

Fund I Returns: 3-4x expected (based on partner commentary) Fund II Returns: Too early to estimate, but clear winners already emerging (e.g., Pennylane at €1B+ valuation from pre-seed entry)