Backed VC
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Andre and Alex are the real deal - young founders (both started at 28) who understand the grind because they've lived it, not trust fund babies playing VC. Their "human-centric" approach isn't marketing fluff - they run founder retreats in Morocco with tantra meditation, which is either brilliant or bonkers depending on your vibe. The portfolio speaks for itself: three unicorns (Thought Machine, Sky Mavis, Immutable X) and solid exits like Hutch. But here's the thing - they're proper operators who get in the weeds with founders on everything from hiring to mental health support. The 18-month founder program is legit comprehensive. However, they're European-focused which means follow-on funding can get tricky for global expansion since there are fewer deep-pocketed later-stage funds in Europe. They're also event-heavy (40+ annually) which founders love but can feel performative.
- —Best for: European seed-stage founders who want genuine operational support beyond just capital
- —Watch out for: Limited follow-on ecosystem in Europe for later rounds - you'll likely need US VCs
- —Known for: Founder experience platform, biotech/blockchain expertise, and that infamous party scene
We invest in exceptional founders, at Seed, in Europe. We provide founders with an extensive support system to catalyse their development as a company operators and leaders. We invest in four sectors: fintech infrastructure, blockchain infrastructure and applications, manufacturing software, and AI-driven biology – all of them multi-trillion dollar industries
BACKED VC typically invests in the range of €250,000 to €1 million at the Seed stage primarily in exceptional founders across Europe. The fund will focus on three areas: AI-native therapeutics, blockchain and banking infrastructure and manufacturing automation. Backed typically writes pre-seed and seed cheques of $500k-5m.
Andre's career has taken him to Andreessen Horowitz and Index Ventures, either side of a Stanford MBA. He witnessed first hand how Andreessen Horowitz turned the US venture capital industry on its head, and wants Backed to play a comparably pivotal role in Europe. De Haes' theory is that if you want to maximise alpha in these high-risk investment environments, you need to focus on the individual who'll deliver it. Think Davos for the next generation
Fellow Oxford graduate who worked with Andre at McKinsey & Company before co-founding Backed at age 28. Alex has a memory that puts most to shame, the way he can recite complex Bio terms then flip to Web3 in a second is astounding. Known for his technical depth across biotech and blockchain sectors.
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