Founderful: Elevating Swiss Startups

Founderful, formerly known as Wingman Ventures, is on a mission to discover Switzerland’s top startups across various sectors, ranging from mobile commerce to robotics. The Zurich-based venture capital firm specializes in pre-seed investments and has recently undergone a rebranding initiative. It has successfully raised $85 million for its new Fund II and aims to reach a total of $120 million in the coming months.

Fund II and Backers

Founderful’s Fund II has garnered support from a diverse range of backers, including institutional investors, family offices, and founders from unicorn companies such as Duolingo, Climeworks, GetYourGuide, Delivery Hero, and Scandit. With a focus on pre-seed startups, Founderful has already achieved two successful exits: Insightness, acquired by Sony, and Bring! Labs, acquired by Swiss Post. Additionally, two other exits in the B2B software space are currently in progress, expected to reach double-digit millions.

Disrupting the Landscape

Alex Stöckl, a founding partner of Founderful, highlights the firm’s disruptive approach. He emphasizes that Founderful emerged as Switzerland’s first independent venture capital firm dedicated solely to pre-seed stage investments. By challenging traditional models that imposed unfavorable terms on founders, Founderful aims to foster ambitious entrepreneurship while mitigating early over-dilution.

Founders and Portfolio

Founded in 2019 by Pascal Mathis and Lukas Weder, Founderful has made nearly 50 investments over the past four years, including eight Swiss investments in 2023 alone. Its portfolio from Fund I, which invested $60 million into 40 startups, boasts significant success, with portfolio companies raising over $350 million in additional funding.

Investment Strategy and Focus Areas

Fund II targets pre-seed and seed-stage startups, offering typical check sizes of $1 million and up to $2 million respectively. Founderful focuses on startups in B2B software and industrial sectors, including robotics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, computer vision, and material sciences such as clean tech and construction tech.

Support Ecosystem

Founderful’s support ecosystem extends beyond funding. Through initiatives like the Founderful Campus program, it nurtures entrepreneurs from Switzerland’s top academic institutions, fostering a community of innovation. The firm’s standardized support functions and processes, coupled with its extensive network, enhance the growth potential of its portfolio companies.

Future Outlook

Founderful remains committed to Switzerland, pledging to invest in the ten most ambitious founder teams annually as their lead investor for their first financing round. By bridging the Swiss ecosystem with the international venture capital community, Founderful aims to facilitate seamless growth opportunities for startups.

Endorsement from Industry Leaders

Severin Hacker, CTO and co-founder of Duolingo, praises Founderful’s commitment to creating value for the founders it backs. Hacker’s endorsement underscores the firm’s reputation for meticulous and relentless support, aligning with its vision to empower entrepreneurial success.

In conclusion, Founderful’s rebranding and Fund II launch signify a new chapter in Switzerland’s startup landscape, marked by ambition, innovation, and unwavering support for visionary founders.