ECONA AG

🦄 Wow! What an incredible event! 🌟 Diversity Drinks totally rocked this year's SuperReturn/Venture side events with over 350 amazing attendees. Perfect vibes, great music by DJ Uff, and a fantastic location at Fotografiska Berlin made for an unforgettable night. The atmosphere was electric, and our audience was as diverse as it was high-profile. This couldn’t have come at a better time, coinciding with the announcement of the first close of our fund 🚀 and the kickoff of Pride Month! 🏳️🌈 Big thanks to our incredible partners Auxxo Female Catalyst Fund, the Evangelistas , and Out Investors for co-hosting this epic event with us. Huge shoutout to our sponsors: STUDIO LEGAL Rechtsanwälte, EY, Cinven, bunch, and torq.partners. Your support made this event happen! A special thank you to the incredible event team and the fantastic service team who ensured everything ran smoothly. The feedback has been phenomenal, and everyone is still buzzing about our event. Can’t wait to do it all again next year! 🙌✨ #DiversityDrinks #VentureCapital #PrideMonth #Inclusion #SuperVenture Jochen Beutgen Jaren S. Mari Luukkainen Alexander Hees Dania Sommer Tobias Gombert Dr. Maximilian von Laer Dr. Florian Ramel Gunnar Mängel Dr. Gesa Miczaika Bettine Schmitz Julia Dous Michael McGraw Alberto Padilla Nico Garms Yoram Roth Til Klein 🏳️🌈 🇪🇺 Natalie Pernile Vahsen Dr. Thomas Prüver

We're excited to announce that we've completed the first close of our €50M fund, raising €15M to support LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs across Europe and beyond. This is the first fund of its kind in European tech, and we’re dedicated to backing founders who often face unique challenges in securing capital. We’re looking to invest between €250k and €1.5M in around 25 startups, from pre-seed to Series A stages. Half of the fund is reserved for follow-on investments to support these companies as they grow. The need for this fund is clear: 35% of LGBTQ+ founders feel their identity affects their ability to raise capital, and 75% don’t disclose their LGBTQ+ status to investors. By creating a supportive and inclusive environment, we aim to change this narrative and build stronger, more open relationships between founders and investors. We’ve already invested in companies like Frontnow, which optimizes pre-sales in e-commerce with AI; Omni, offering vegan dog food and cultivated cat food; and PaxtonAI, an AI legal assistant. Our leadership team includes Til Klein 🏳️🌈 🇪🇺 from Zurich, an ex-BCG partner and FinTech founder; Jochen Beutgen from Berlin, a veteran venture capital investor with 20+ years of experience; and Mari Luukkainen from Helsinki, a former growth operator and pre-seed investor. We invite you to join us in transforming the venture capital landscape and backing LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs! Learn more at www.identity.vc or feel free to reach out to us directly! https://lnkd.in/dy8rfbDX

Together for more diversity in the start-up ecosystem and a founder-friendly Germany  🌈🦄   As of today our co-founder Jochen Beutgen is now part of the extended board of the Startup-Verband. Jochen is very much looking forward to this task! Together, we want to make Germany and Europe more start-up-friendly and shape the start-up ecosystem! We also see the task to focus on more diversity in the ecosystem. A concern that we at identity.vc I Empowering LGBTQ+ Entrepreneurs, carry in our hearts!    Startups and diversity are the driving force behind our economy and the future. Let's exchange ideas, let's create and let's look ahead!   I look forward to working together with the Startup-Verband team around Verena Pausder, Franziska Teubert and Christoph J. Stresing.   #letspushthingsforward #startupverband #dei #LGBTQ #IdentityVC #LGBTQEntrepreneurs

Schritt für Schritt in die richtige Richtung! 👟 Gemeinsam mit unseren Partnerpraxen verfolgen wir das Ziel einer gesunden Tiermedizin in Deutschland. Um das zu erreichen, ermutigen wir alle Mitarbeitenden aus unserem Netzwerk dazu, sich stetig weiterzuentwickeln. Denn nur durch Raum zur Veränderung gelingt es uns, jeden Tag fachlich, menschlich und unternehmerisch besser zu werden und so neue Wege zu gehen. #endlichankommen #tierarztpluspartner #vetmed

From 0 to 100: Crafting Europe’s First LGBTQ+ Venture Capital Fund in Under a Year 💯🚀🏳️🌈🇪🇺 It all began with a brainstorming workshop earlier this year, where we asked ourselves: seeing what Gaingels, the pioneer of LGBTQ+ investing, has achieved in the US, can we bring that to Europe? Fast forward 12 months, and IDENTITY Ventures is now a reality – Europe's pioneering venture capital fund dedicated to empowering LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs. In under a year, we built a Venture fund from scratch. The Crew is Coming Together 🚀👯♀️ At the start in April, it was my co-founder Jochen and me, with awesome help from the ECONA AG and Millennium Venture Capital AG team – big thanks to them. In June, Jaren joined as employee number one. Right now, we're on the lookout for a new team member. Backed by Incredible Investors 🤝💰 The support we've received has been amazing, even in a tough funding scene. We've connected with lots of investors who not only believe in our mission but also see our vision. A big shoutout to individuals, family offices, and institutional investors – your backing has been a game-changer! First Investment Done 🚀🦄 We've scoped out 150+ companies, connecting with amazing LGBTQ+ founders across the EU, UK, and the US. In September, we jumped in and backed the US legal AI startup Paxton AI, led by the brilliant Tanguy and Michael. And guess what? More excitement ahead – our next investment is already in the works! Powered by an Incredible Community 🏳️🌈🙏 But it's not just about the deals; it's also about giving back to the LGBTQ+ community. We've attended and initiated various events, and I'd like to highlight our support for the launch of GiveOut in Germany – a charity founded by Elliot to support LGBTQ+ causes. Throughout this adventure, I've had the pleasure of meeting so many incredible people who not only share our mission but actively support us. The list is too long to mention, but you know who you are – thank you! Plus the Gritty Details of Fund Setup 🚧🛠️ And let's not forget the myriad tasks involved in setting up a fund – from registering the brand and applying for a license to establishing fund administration, preparing legal documents, maintaining the website and social media, and implementing internal processes. It's been a journey filled with challenges and triumphs. That was just the beginning. Now, we're picking up speed! Here's to the next hundred – let's continue making a positive impact and empowering LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs together. 🚀🏳️🌈 #IdentityVentures #LGBTQEntrepreneurs #VentureCapital #CommunityImpact

💡 Exciting Insights from Morgan Stanley 🌈 Morgan Stanley's recent survey reveals a significant demand—45% of U.S. investors, with 86% of LGBTQ+ investors, seek opportunities in LGBTQ+ equity and inclusion. This trend is more pronounced among younger generations and heterosexual households with LGBTQ+ members. Despite the rise in ESG investing, options for LGBTQ+ equity remain limited. With 21% of Gen Z identifying as LGBTQ+, there's a clear business case for meeting this demand. Similar to gender diversity or faith-based investing, LGBTQ+ equity strategies align financial goals with positive community impact. Asset managers, take note: there's a growing market here! Let's drive inclusive finance and embrace diversity in investment choices! #LGBTQInvesting #DEI #LGBTQ #ESG #GenZ

🌈 GiveOut, the award-winning LGBTQI charity, launches in Germany.   📆 Invitation Launch Event   Join us on December 1st at 11 AM in Berlin for the launch of GiveOut in Germany supported by IDENTITY Ventures. During the event you will have the opportunity to meet the GiveOut team and activists from supported LGBTQI human rights projects. Register for the event: https://bit.ly/GiveOutDE   🏳️🌈 About GiveOut   Across the world, courageous activists are doing vital work to protect our communities and improve the lives of LGBTQI people. But they lack resources and funding is fragile, especially in the Global South and East.   GiveOut is an award-winning international charity to support LGBTQI human rights activism worldwide. GiveOut is a platform that allows the LGBTQI community and allies to donate tax efficiently in one place to fund LGBTQI human rights activism worldwide.   GiveOut is currently supporting over 37 LGBTQI organisations working around the world to eliminate discriminatory laws, policies and practices, change attitudes and create safe spaces in places where LGBTQI people and identities are not accepted.   Learn more about GiveOut’s work here: https://giveout.org/   #LGBTIQ #GiveOut #HumanRights #GiveOutGermany #LGBTQIActivism

Our founding partner Til Klein is at the Sifted Summit in London this week 🇬🇧 Send him a direct message to meet him.

We are proud to help launch Europe’s first LGBTQ+ Diversity Fund! IDENTITY Ventures   IDENTITY Ventures invests in LGBTQ+ founders and diverse leadership teams, as we know that they are more innovative and perform better financially. We will raise €60m to invest in 20 - 25 start-ups.    The hard work during the last months paid out: We are thrilled to announce that IDENTITY Ventures has signed its first contract and is part of Paxton AI.   Congratulations to the team: Til Klein, Jochen Beutgen, Jaren S., Tobias Gombert