Bek Ventures’ Cem Sertoglu on avoiding the temptation of AUM and staying disciplined

A deep dive into how Bek built the world’s best-performing venture fund by staying disciplined and selective.

Today, Andreas talks with Cem Sertoglu, Managing Partner at Bek Ventures, a global venture capital firm that recently closed a $250M fund that was three times oversubscribed. Formerly known as Earlybird Digital East, Bek Ventures focuses on founders with their roots in Central and Eastern Europe, a region Cem calls "Dynamic Europe."

With over a decade of experience, the Bek Ventures team has supported global successes like UiPath, Payhawk, and Peak, the first unicorns in Romania, Bulgaria, and Turkey, respectively, and has been recognized by HEC as the best-performing venture firm globally since 2010. Cem shares insights into the firm’s disciplined investment strategy, its belief that early-stage venture doesn't scale, and how its focus on technical talent gives it an edge in building global companies.

Together, they explore Bek Ventures’ approach to VC fundraising, the challenges of funding beyond seed stages, and the lessons Cem has learned from two decades in venture capital.

Watch it here or add it to your episodes on Apple or Spotify 🎧 chapters for easy navigation available on the Spotify/Apple episode.

Join Europe’s premier PE/VC conferences with Zero One Hundred Conferences!

From Vienna (Feb 18-20) to Amsterdam (Apr 2-4) and Budapest (May 14-16), the 2025 Zero One Hundred Conferences offer intimate, carefully curated networking with top decision-makers from firms like 500 Global, Balderton, EIF, Eurazeo, Id4 ventures, IOME Family Office, In-Q-Tel, KfW Capital, SOSV, Teachers' Venture Growth, UBS AM, and more!

Register now

✍️ Show notes

Who is Cem Sertoglu? - A look at the person behind.

  • Built first company as Founder and CEO in the US during the Dotcom bubble; grew through the crash in 2000 and exited in 2005

  • Returned to Europe, where I started angel investing based on a thesis I had about consumer internet companies and was fortunate to back some of the region’s early tech successes

  • Angel investing also taught me the importance of reserves and following on

  • Decided to institutionalize investing in 2012 by raising a VC fund

  • It was Fred Wilson who was the first person to tell me that I might make a good VC investor. I’ve always admired the discipline and focus of Fred and USV.

Bek’s edge and how Dynamic Europe fits into that

  • To sustainably invest in an asset class you need outsized performance, and to get outsized performance you need an edge.

  • We have an edge with a specific set of founders who have their roots in Central and Eastern Europe, which means we see everything from the region, and have a competitive advantage.

  • Dynamic Europe is a region but also a mindset. Founders from the region have incredible technical talent, work ethic, and energy.

  • The local market opportunities are not enough for the ambitions of top founders — so they build globally from Day 0. More than half of the Bek portfolio is building from the US but taking advantage of the talent edge they have in their home countries

  • Our consistency is also important. We focus on where we have an edge and don’t get tempted or distracted by other opportunities.

  • This consistency has been very well received by LPs, and has translated to outsize returns. Bek has maintained top-quartile performance for more than a decade, achieving a MOIC for the firm of over 10x. According to the 2023 HEC Paris-Dow Jones Venture Capital Performance Ranking, Bek is the top-performing VC fund globally since 2010.

Why Bek believes that early-stage venture doesn't scale

  • In the early stage, the value that the firm offers to founders is care, time, and attention.

  • Most firms have to deviate because they need to build AUM to scale and come up with new fund products to appeal to new LPs. We stay disciplined in the number of companies we back, our fund sizes, and the quality of investors we hire so we can keep giving founders the time and attention they deserve and need.

  • We back approximately 20-25 companies per fund, and 4-5 new companies per year. As the needs of those companies fluctuate over the lifecycle of the company, the Bek team has enough time to spend with them when they need it.

  • We also have kept fund sizes consistent despite LP demand which would have allowed us to raise more.In the long run, we think focused, consistent teams will be the winners in VC, and firms only playing an AUM game will struggle.

  • Follow-ons are also important in our strategy. We reserve heavily for follow-ons and 90% of companies get a second check from us.

  • We are not afraid to pre-empt rounds and increase ownership. With one company, we actually reached 45% ownership, which meant that even with a mid-size exit, the returns were very substantial.

  • With our new identity as Bek Ventures (we were previously known as Earlybird Digital East Fund), we will continue the same strategy that has helped us perform thus far.

Why Bek thinks most investors have forgotten how to be quiet?

  • VC has transformed over the years and become a topic of public interest and fascination. Some VCs are now household names.

  • Furthermore, VCs are paying a lot of lip service to the value that they provide beyond capital. There is an overwhelming amount of throw-away commentary and generalizations published publicly and shared privately by VCs on boards.

  • All of that creates a lot of noise that’s confusing and detrimental to founders when they are trying to choose an early-stage investor.

  • We like to talk about ourselves as being “quietly provocative.” We stay quiet 95% of the time, and the 5% of the time we do speak, we make it count.

  • Again, this connects to the fact that we build smaller, more concentrated portfolios. We think value-add materializes through undiluted attention to our companies.

  • Our founders trust us and know when they need to come to us for support and advice. We pick the few topics that we think are most important and provide candid feedback and commentary to founders on those topics. We bring all our resources to bear for them.

Strongly held belief you’ve recently had to change your mind on

  • I’ve changed my view on high GP commits. I previously thought a very high GP commitment would be a good signal to LPs for alignment.

  • We were challenged by a very experienced LP that as an early-stage VC, our mandate is to make high-risk investments to get high returns, and that a very high GP commitment could make us too risk-averse.

  • We pared it back a bit but still have a high GP commitment.

Tips & tricks for VCs fundraising

  • Stay disciplined in your strategy. LPs don't like managers who drift on strategy — whether that’s ticket sizes, stages, or the kinds of companies you are backing.

  • Don’t be seduced by LP money that wants you to change a strategy you know works or where you know you have an edge. Stick to your strategy, even if that makes fundraising tougher in the short term.

  • Good exit management and ownership strategy are just as important as sourcing or building your portfolio. Even in tough times like now with the right portfolio construction, you can be returning cash to your LPs.

  • If you are building a firm, build a place where investor talent wants to stay and build a career. You will benefit from having a consistent team, and you’ll build a stronger culture, and as a result, a firm that LPs want to support.

Some things are made for platforms - music, cabs & pizzas. But fund solutions aren’t one of them. Their individual client focus and regulation-first approach is your guarantee for flexible solutions accommodative to a broad range of deal and client specifics. The kicker? Prices that match any of the shelf-products in the market.

Learn more

Get in touch with Mara

🤗 Join the EUVC Community

Looking for niche, high-quality experiences that prioritize depth over breadth? Consider joining our community focused on delivering content tailored to the experienced VC. Here’s what you can look forward to as a member:

  • Exclusive Access & Discounts: Priority access to masterclasses with leading GPs & LPs, available on a first-come, first-served basis.

  • On-Demand Content: A platform with sessions you can access anytime, anywhere complete with presentations, templates and other resources.

  • Interactive AMAs: Engage directly with top GPs and LPs in exclusive small group sessions — entirely free for community members.

Join the EUVC community

✍🏻 EUVC Masterclass | VC Fund Performance Benchmarking

Benchmarking is more than just numbers - it’s a critical tool for GPs and LPs to measure performance, position funds effectively, and align with market expectations.

Join us for this 2-hour masterclass designed to demystify VC benchmarking and provide actionable insights to navigate key metrics like IRR, TVPI, DPI and PME.

​Led by Joe Schorge, Managing Partner of Isomer Capital, this session will help you understand how LPs think, how benchmarks are created and - most importantly - how to use them to evaluate performance, communicate results, and position your fund confidently in the market.

Join the masterclass

✍🏻 EUVC Masterclass | Marketing Foundations for Fund Managers

​Join us for an engaging workshop tailored for fund managers looking to institutionalise their marketing approach and craft a category-defining investment brand.

​This masterclass is designed to go beyond traditional marketing advice on tactics to help you create lasting brand equity, ensuring your fund stands out in a competitive landscape.

​This session will provide actionable insights into fund positioning, LP communications, and crafting compelling narratives - all while maximising time for Q&A to address your specific challenges.

Join the masterclass

✍🏻 EUVC Masterclass | Setting up and Structuring a VC Fund

Emerging fund managers face countless challenges when setting up and structuring their first VC fund. The process is complex, daunting, and full of pitfalls, from navigating legal frameworks to engaging with the right service providers, the foundations you lay now will shape your growth trajectory.

That’s why we’re planning an exclusive 3-hour masterclass designed to equip emerging managers with the insights, strategies, and tools needed to tackle these challenges head-on.

This masterclass is a side-event taking place during SuperVenture & SuperReturn.

Show your interest

💬 EUVC Community | LP AMA with Christian Hjort Pedersen

Join us for an exclusive AMA session with Christian Hjort Pedersen, formerly VC Fund Investor at IIP Denmark.

​Having allocated more than 600 M USD to top decile early-stage VC funds in US and Europe within tech and life sciences, Christian brings an understanding of the global venture markets and what it takes to build a true franchise better than most others.

​​This AMA is part of our ongoing series of small-group sessions designed to foster deep, meaningful discussions within the VC community. Reserve your spot now to ensure you don’t miss this opportunity. ​THIS EVENT IS FOR EUVC COMMUNITY MEMBERS ONLY.

Become EUVC Community member

🗓️ The VC Conferences You Can’t Miss

There are some events that just have to be on the calendar. Here’s our list, hit us up if you’re going, we’d love to meet!

GoWest | 📆 28 - 30 January 2025 | 🇸🇪 Gothenburg, Sweden

Investors Summit Bilbao 2025 | 📆 11 - 12 February 2025 | 🇪🇸 Bilbao, Spain

0100 DACH 2025 | 📆 18 - 20 Feb 2025 | 🇦🇹 Vienna, Austria

0100 Europe 2025 | 📆 02 - 04 April 2025 | 🇳🇱 Amsterdam, The Netherlands

0100 Emerging Europe 2025 | 📆 14-16 May 2025 | 🇭🇺 Budapest, Hungary

GITEX Europe 2025 | 📆 23 - 25 May 2025 | 🇩🇪 Berlin, Germany