Here we go, with a new packed newsletter for you. Let’s get into it.
Looking for more insights? Here are a couple of past great articles that were published on the community insights platform.
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.
Cherry Ventures’ Christian Meermann on culture of excellence & underwriting the next generation of emerging managers
In today’s episode, Andreas talks with Christian Meermann, Founding Partner at Cherry Ventures and a Forbes Midas Lister. ith a €320M fund size and €1B in AUM, Cherry Ventures has made its mark across Europe by backing companies like Flixbus, Auto1, Flaschenpost, Finimize, and Ninetailed. Headquartered in Germany, the fund focuses on early-stage investments (Pre/Seed/Seed+) across both B2B software and consumer verticals.
Christian shares the secrets behind Cherry’s culture of excellence, navigating competition in venture capital, and how to underwrite new managers in today’s market. He also dives into the art of decision-making for follow-on rounds, discussing what to look for and how to support portfolio companies effectively.
With deep entrepreneurial roots, including his role as CMO of Zalando—scaling it from small revenues to over €2 billion at IPO—Christian brings a wealth of operational experience, strategic insight, and passion for founders with global ambitions.
Together, we explore:
Cherry's founding journey and Christian’s entrepreneurial background.
Building a culture of excellence while competing in a dynamic venture market.
Underwriting new managers: What investors should look for in emerging talent.
The decision-making process for follow-on investments and how Cherry approaches it.
Lessons from Christian’s career and success stories, including one of Germany’s largest exits with Flaschenpost.
Watch it here or add it to your episodes on Apple or Spotify 🎧 chapters for easy navigation available on the Spotify/Apple episode.
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✍️ Show notes
The founding story of Cherry Ventures
Cherry Ventures began as an angel investing hobby and transitioned into a professional venture capital firm.
Cherry was founded by former Zalando executives who started angel investing with their own capital.
After Zalando's IPO, they decided to pursue investing as a full-time profession.
External capital was raised to launch Cherry Ventures as a structured firm.
How the journey with Zalando has shaped you as an investor today?
The entrepreneurial experience at Zalando influenced Cherry’s investment philosophy and team structure.
Operational experience helps investors better understand and support founders.
Cherry's partners all share entrepreneurial backgrounds, bringing diverse and complementary perspectives.
First-hand experience running startups improves empathy and strategic advice for founders.
Where do you think that this operational experience gives the highest value and where does it maybe end?
Operational experience has significant strategic value but is less applicable to day-to-day business execution.
Highest value: Strategic guidance on pivots, M&A, or scaling challenges.
Limited value: Micromanaging or interfering in granular details, like campaigns or cost decisions.
How have you seen your competitive edge being a founder-driven firm? Have you seen it wash out or have you seen it be just as strong as it was back then?
Cherry Ventures expanded its competitive edge by scaling geographically while maintaining its entrepreneurial focus.
Cherry has grown from a Berlin-centric firm to a pan-European VC with offices in Stockholm and London.
The entrepreneurial approach remains core to their strategy despite increased competition.
Strong founder relationships and unique positioning continue to strengthen their competitive edge.
Do you think that's true or do you think that's more VCs being mindful of showing humility towards the trail that the founders are walking?
Building a VC firm is entrepreneurial but comes with more stability compared to startups.
VC firms enjoy predictable management fees for 10 years, providing financial stability.
VC founders benefit from established networks, playbooks, and lower volatility compared to startup founders.
What do you say when you meet emerging managers, angels wanting to turn VC?
Becoming a successful VC requires passion, dedication, and understanding the long-term nature of venture capital.
Motivation and passion are key for success as an emerging manager.
Solo GPs must love working with founders and navigating the venture ecosystem.
The journey requires commitment to a 10+ year timeline.
How do you think about the specialization of venture? Do you see that coming more and more when you look at an emerging manager?
Specialization works for niche-focused managers, but generalist firms like Cherry use a structured approach to diversify.
Cherry Ventures remains generalist to stay adaptable to market trends.
Specialized funds succeed by dominating their chosen niche, such as AI or climate.
Cherry organizes vertical teams internally to develop deep expertise across sectors.
Going into 2025, what makes you most excited?
Key opportunities in AI, robotics, and Europe’s tech ecosystem are driving optimism for the year ahead.
AI applications and emerging agents are expected to dominate the tech landscape.
Robotics offers disruption opportunities in manufacturing, logistics, and warehousing.
Strengthening Europe’s tech ecosystem remains a major priority, particularly in a changing global context.
The difference between "distance travelled" and "position"
Guest post by Estia Ryan, Principal & Head of Research at Eka Ventures. | Originally published on Eka Ventures Newsletter.
At Eka, we’re privileged to partner with incredible founders who are solving some of the hardest problems in planetary & human health.
In order to find these incredible people, we often think about a framework called “distance travelled”. This was popularised by the Jeff Lawson (Twilio co-founder) in his book Ask Your Developer: How to Harness the Power of Software Developers and Win in the 21st Century (Christmas reading anyone?).
VCs have been using the distance travelled framework for some time - we dug out an “old” (2018!) Medium article written by life science investors, which informed much of the content below.
What do we mean by “distance travelled”? 🗞️
Headline success is often measured by outputs: how well has someone performed academically or in extracurriculars, how quickly did they get promoted in their early career, or how much value did they generate for their firm?
All of these factors are important. But, they can ignore how far a founder has had to travel in order to achieve these goals. We can apply the distance travelled framework to better understand exceptionalism in their achievements.
Distance travelled refers to someone’s progress from where they started to where they are today. Someone with a long distance travelled will have overcome more challenges than someone with a lower distance travelled. Unlike output success metrics, "distance travelled" places emphasis on persistence and resilience. We explore examples further down.
Jeff Lawson’s take on measuring “position” versus “distance travelled”
Jeff Lawson, one of the founders Twilio, wrote a book on the importance of software developers in technology businesses around creativity, problem-solving abilities, and technical expertise.
But he also introduces this distanced travelled concept:
“When we look at resumes, it’s common to measure a candidate’s postion in their career: did they attend a top-notch school, did they work at prestigious companies prior, and so on. These are measures of position, but they don’t measure distance travelled” - Jeff Lawson in Ask Your Developer.
You can also hear more from him on a 20VC podcast from a few years ago.
Five examples of “distance travelled”
Here are five stories of founders, athletes, and leaders who each a “distance travelled” element in their personal and professional stories.
Note that there are many different types of distance travelled. Some examples speak of people growing up in poverty, while others mention those who worked ‘hussle’ style jobs which they leveraged into their main career which they are now known for. There is no ‘set’ path to have high distance travelled, but all people who have high distance travelled will have some extraordinary element within their experience which makes them stand out.
1. Manny Pacquiao (Professional Boxer, Senator, and Philanthropist)
Manny Pacquiao was born in Kibawe, a rural town in the Philippines. Pacquiao grew up in extreme poverty. At 14, he left his family and moved to Manila, and discovered boxing as a way to make some money to buy rice: "just put the gloves there, and tape this time. I don't know boxing. But after that fight, I get 100 pesos. One hundred pesos. I can buy one kilo of rice only four pesos. One hundred pesos, big." (see this ESPN interview).
Today, Pacquiao is an eight-division world champion, something no other boxer has accomplished. Beyond the ring, he became a Philippine senator and a philanthropist through his foundation.
2. Sara Blakely (Founder & CEO, Spanx)
Sara Blakely started out selling fax machines door-to-door. She was promoted quickly to national sales trainer by the time she was 25. But, 24 years ago, she made a decision to start Spanx which she detailed in a recent instagram post.
24 years ago today I quit my job selling fax machines to start @spanx. I was so nervous, had absolutely no experience in fashion and $5,000 set aside of my savings, AND my headquarters was my apartment but I had BIG DREAMS. ❤️ When I launched, female owned businesses seemed few and far between. 16 Oct 2024
3. Oprah Winfrey (Media, Investor)
Oprah Winfrey was born in rural Mississippi. Oprah faced a difficult childhood which she recounts in her semi-autobiographical books (see link below). She excelled in high school, and earned a scholarship to Tennessee State University, a historically Black university, where she studied communications. Her career in media began as a news anchor, but she soon transitioned to hosting talk shows — a move that would change the course of television history.
In 1986, she launched The Oprah Winfrey Show, which ran for 25 seasons and became the highest-rated talk show in television history. There’s too much to write about in this short newsletter, but we’d recommend you dig more into her incredible background with her first book (here).
4. Howard Schultz (CEO, Stabucks)
Howard Schultz was born in the Canarsie public housing projects in Brooklyn. He studied at Northern Michigan University and played football at a high level but an injury ended up causing him to quit. He became a salesman for Xerox in New York, before being recruited by French private equity firm PAI Partners in 1979 to be general manager of a Swedish kitchenware manufacturer's U.S. subsidiary, Hammarplast.
There’s a lot more to his story before he becomes the CEO of Starbucks. I’ll let keen listeners & readers continue this theme with the Acquired podcast on Howard Schultz & Starbucks, which was released earlier in the summer.
5. Serena Williams (Athlete, Entrepreneur, Investor)
Serena Williams was born in Compton, California. She already had high potential from a young age. By the time she was 14, she was ranked number one in the United States Tennis Association (USTA) under-10 division. She rose to become the world's top-ranked tennis player, winning 23 Grand Slam singles titles.
Today, Williams is an influential venture capitalist, founding Serena Ventures and focusing on funding startups founded by women and ethnic minorities. Her evolution from elite athlete to boardroom investor is a prime example of "distance travelled." She leveraged her personal brand, hard-earned wealth, and competitive drive to create a new chapter in her story.
The State of Venture Capital in CEE 2024
Guest post by Roberta Tihomirova, Head of Marketing at Eleven Ventures. | Originally published on Eleven Ventures.
From a handful of pioneering funds to a diverse landscape of investors, the Central and Eastern European region has emerged as a significant player in the European venture capital scene.
Based on extensive research conducted by our investment team over the summer months, complemented by industry insights from various market reports, we present a comprehensive analysis of the current state of venture capital in CEE.
What Investors Get Wrong About Semi-Liquid Private Equity
Guest post by Jan Voss, Managing Director at Cape May Wealth | Originally published on Cape May Wealth Weekly.
One of the topics that I get asked most about today is private equity. Within the portfolios of German entrepreneurs and younger family offices, the asset class is still somewhat underrepresented - and while there are certainly reasons that would argue that today is not the best time to invest in private equity, there’s many other asset classes that seem even more challenged today.
And when it comes to investing in private equity, it’s semi-liquid funds that are all the rage: Rather than having to commit to closed-end funds over multiple years, all of which also invest over several years, investors can invest as fast as in one single tranche - allowing them to compound at the expected long-term return from Day 1.
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.
🤗 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.
✍🏻 EUVC Masterclass | Marketing & VC Fund Narrative
Your brand is everything. It’s what sets you apart, helps you win the best deals, attract LPs, and ultimately drive your growth. For emerging fund managers, building a credible brand and establishing the right marketing foundations early on are game-changers. Yet, many don’t know where to begin.
Your fund’s narrative is what makes the difference between an LP glancing at your deck or deciding they’re ready to write a check. It’s your brand that makes LPs feel confident they’re partnering with someone who knows how to make magic happen.
We’re planning a masterclass on building strong marketing foundations with a top industry leader. If enough people show interest, we’ll make it happen.
EUVC Masterclass: Benchmarketing for GPs & LPs
In venture, knowledge is power—and benchmarking is the key to unlocking it. Understanding where you stand against your peers is what makes you set realistic expectations, and drive portfolio performance.
For GPs, benchmarking can reveal the strengths and weaknesses of your portfolio, while for LPs, it provides a clearer picture of where your commitments stand in the broader market. Yet, many don't know how to effectively utilize benchmarking tools or interpret the data.
We’re planning a masterclass on mastering the art of benchmarking, led by a top expert in the industry. If enough people express interest, we’ll make it happen!
💬 EUVC Community | LP AMA with AQVC’s Marius Weber
Join us for an exclusive AMA session with Marius Weber, Founding Partner at AQVC.
After a history as a co-founder of startups and a manager of several VC funds over the last 15 years, in 2021 Marius Weber partnered with his long time friends Marcus and Oliver and co-founded AQVC, a tech enabled asset manager for Venture Capital which is divided in two departments.
This AMA is part of our ongoing series of small-group sessions designed to foster deep, meaningful discussions within the VC community. Participation is free for members of our community, but spots are limited. Reserve your spot now to ensure you don’t miss this opportunity.
🗓️ 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
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