Solid Ventures invests in exciting bol.com FBB consolidator Dwarfs.io

May 20, 2021

Growth Capital for
Tech Platform Companies

About Us

Solid Ventures provides equity growth capital to technology companies based in The Benelux and Colombia.

Via its own strong networks built up well over 30 years with successful serial entrepreneurs and strong cooperation links and strategic partnerships with IMPROVED Corporate Finance and Drake Star Partners and other M&A Corporate Finance Advisory firms, Solid Ventures is able to source and (co-) invest in promising tech growth companies.

Also, Solid Ventures has a strong network in Colombia with local strategic partnerships such as Rockstart Colombia and Monseratte Ventures in Bogota, Colombia. Through this network, Solid Ventures is able to source and (co-) invest in promising tech growth companies in this emerging market of huge opportunities bringing Latin America digitally on par with U.S. and Western - European online economies. Solid Ventures is hereby leveraging its insights and experience derived from more than 30 years venture capital tech investing in these more mature markets.

The Partners of Solid Ventures have co-invested with a.o. Tiger Capital, General Atlantic, Harlan Capital Partners, FJ Labs, Monseratte Venture, C4Ventures, Hummingbird Ventures, Volta Ventures, Kennet Capital, Newion, HenQ, DN Capital, etc.

Our Focus

We focus on scale-up companies at the growth stage of development in the digital economy in general with a specific focus on the sectors: Fintech, Enterprise Software SaaS, MarketPlaces, sustainable mobility, smart energy and smart city solutions.

Our Approach

Our approach is building successful companies together with ambitious, experienced (serial) entrepreneurs by providing our capital, experience, network and technology and business knowledge to create internationally exitable companies at a strategic premium.

Our USP's

The Unique Selling Points (USP's) of Solid Ventures compared to informal investors, family offices and other venture capitalists are:

Unmatched experience proven by a track record in over 100 investments, over 50 successful strategic exits and several Initial Public Offerings (IPO's).
Entrepreneurial speed of professional execution in deals.
Strong technology and experienced business knowledge.
Acting as active and down-to-earth sounding board for entrepreneurs in the growth, next funding rounds and exit phases.
Valuable international network of co-investors for next funding rounds to expand portfolio companies rapidly.
Unrivaled focus on value creation by creating a clear investment exit road map together with management in 4-6 years.
Well connected with various tech investment banks and tech M&A advisors to secure a premium exit value for all investors involved.
Investment style based upon transparency, trust and respect for entrepreneurs.

Our Principles

Deal-by-deal tech venture capital investing at industry standard conditions
High financial commitment
High moral and ethical standards
No conflicts of interests
Full transparency
Co-investing with similar risk / return like minded informal investors and family offices only
Investing according the Europe Invest industry guidelines only
Authorized and regulated by the Authority Financial Markets AIFMD

Our Investment Criteria

Solid Ventures invests in innovative and fast-growing scale up companies. We focus on companies in the sectors Fintech, Enterprise Software SaaS, MarketPlaces, sustainable mobility, smart energy and smart city solutions.

We look for companies that fit our vision, our expertise and experience. Besides, we look for the mutual click between investor and entrepreneur. Building a solid relationship is crucial in developing a company to the next level. Next to the personal aspect, we have clear investment criteria to determine our next investment. Please see our strict investment criteria below.

Minimum recurring revenues of € 1M (LATAM: € 500K) with minimum 50% annual growth
An excellent and experienced management team (with serial entrepreneurs)
Proven internationally scaleable B2B business model
Emerging high quality international corporate customer base
Funding requirement from €800K (LATAM: € 500K) up to a maximum of € 2M
Minority share
Innovative and robust technology and products

Clear value proposition and 'go-to-market' strategy
Headquarters based in Western Europe and Latin America (Colombia)

Our References

“The Solid Ventures team acted as a very active and committed partner, even during the more difficult periods. They helped us find customers and close the first sales in the Netherlands. They have also been instrumental in critical phases to convince other investors to have confidence in the future of the company.”

Kristof de Spiegeleer

Founder & CEO DataCenterTechnologies.

Our Companies

Our Track Record

A selection of the successful exits of the Solid Ventures Partners

Unicorn status via dual listing on AEX and NASDAQ in 1999

Unicorn status via follow-on funding rounds after our early exit

Scarlet was acquired for 185M in a strategic sale to Belgium operator Belgacom

MetrixLab was successfully acquired by Macromill followed by a listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange

Oxxio was acquired by Centrica for 137M.

Unamic was successfully acquired by RANK XEROX

Immidio was successfully acquired by VMWare

Runbook successfully acquired by Blackline

Our Team

Robert Wilhelm

Founder & Managing Partner

Robert is one of the founders of Solid Ventures. He has been active in the private equity sector for more than 30 years. He has gained experience in venture capital and supported many early stage technology companies, both in Europe and in the US, most notably as the founder of the 300M. NeSBIC Tech VC Funds in the early internet days investing in B2B, B2C, software and telecom companies. In addition to deal sourcing, he is competent and very experienced in the overall monitoring process, strategic issues and in initiating exits. He personally has raised and managed more than €400 million in fund capital. He also brings legal and corporate finance skills to the team.

Robert holds an MBA from the Rotterdam School of Management and a Master Degree in Law from the Free University of Amsterdam.

Dennis Blom

Partner Solid Ventures II Investments

Dennis has almost 20 years of experience in fund management. Next to that he is very experienced in guiding companies from start-up phase to the growth phase in his position as Managing Partner of Silicon Polder Fund and as CEO at Planet Internet. His specialties are in the field of software development, information technology and business consultancy.

Dennis holds a Bachelor Degree in mechanical engineering.

The Partners are supported by Venture Partners, Industry Associate Partners, Analysts and Interns.

Floris van Alkemade

Co-Founder, Managing Partner Solid Ventures I & Venture Partner Solid Ventures II Investments

Floris set up Solid Ventures in 2005 with Robert Wilhelm. Floris has more than 20 years of experience in investing in seed and early stages IT and telecom companies. He has managed more than €370 million in fund capital in total. Floris has been a General Partner at the NeSBIC CTe Funds. In 2000 he spent time in Silicon Valley to manage the US operations for the funds. Floris is also Board member at Coolgames.com, the last remaining active company in the portfolio of Solid Ventures I.

Floris holds a Master's degree in business econometrics from the Free University of Amsterdam.

Our News

* Click on icon for deal announcement

Solid Ventures continues to invest in Colombian digital bank Bold.co Series B round

December, 2021

Solid Ventures invests in smart eCommerce Logistics Provider ECC to facilitate further growth

July 15, 2021