We’re celebrating a major milestone at Breega this week: the closing of a second venture fund at €250 m which has enabled us to double our funds under management to half a billion euros! 

We’re both delighted (and just a little relieved) that the intense meeting, pitching and vetting by our investors has paid off, and we’d like to say a huge and heartfelt “thank you” to all of our LPs – entrepreneurs, public and financial institutions – both old and new, for their trust. 💙

Always be raising

As many founders (and investors) will tell you, fundraising is not for the faint-hearted. Flashing back to our very first funding round we met with no less than 500 potential investors starting – as the old saying goes – with family, friends and “fools” who were willing to trust us and buy into our entrepreneurial “hands-on” early stage VC model, no matter how unusual it was back then. 

Although challenging, fundraising is also key. The more we raise, the more founders we can back. If we invest well with sound results we can raise more money. It’s a virtuous circle.  And one that has (thankfully) become easier with time and a growing reputation within the investor community no doubt *helped* by a few healthy returns ;)*. 

Thanks to the ongoing support of our LPs and that of the tech ecosystem that we are blessed to be a part of, Breega has flourished. In just seven years, we have gone from a three founder team – in a “cosy” one room office – to one of Europe’s fastest growing VCs with teams across Paris, London and very recently, Barcelona.

*We’re proud to say that Breega is now rated amongst the top 5% of European funds as regards performance 

Hola España 🇪🇸

And this brings us to our second, very exciting piece of news: Breega has just opened a new Iberian office headed up by Investment Partner Isabelle Gallo!

As entrepreneurs we fully understand the challenges of growing a successful business, particularly during the early years. This is why we have chosen to invest not in outposts, but in offices with complete teams in each city who work side-by-side with our startups on their home ground to help them scale. 

The next few months will see Isabelle, and a new team of associates and scaling talents, investing in some of Spain and Portugal’s best startups, helping them grow and, hopefully, enter the Latin American markets.

Founders forever

With our fourth fund and Iberian office, that comes little more than a year after the raise of our second seed fund, Breega is entering a brand new phase of scale. 

All this would not have been possible without the support of our portfolio founders whom we thank for their continued support. Our transparent approach, “tough love” mentality and hands-on model may not be for everyone but the founders who have put their trust in us and who work with us on a daily basis tell us it works.

Despite a growing portfolio, we are committed to remaining a founder-first firm, checking in regularly with our founders to ensure that we are providing them with the  resources, services and support they need. Culture necessarily evolves as businesses scale but as we grow, we make sure that we maintain our entrepreneurial DNA. The values that drive us remain our North star. 

And when we are contacted by founders whom we have been recommended to by other founders who have worked with us, It’s the very best kind of validation of our values and model.

Fast tracking into the future

At Breega we believe that tech entrepreneurship holds the key to addressing many of the gravest challenges facing our world today. We are not an impact fund per se, but we look for it in every purpose driven founder we back. We believe that impact should not be a lone-standing entity or a label, but something which is deeply embedded into everything we do. 

Looking forward, we are thrilled by the challenges, the promises and yes, even the hard work that comes after the raising. For us, believing as we do that we have the best job in the world, that may even be the fun part. 🙂

Stay tuned for more. 

Yours,
Team Breega.