Investor Profile: Eleven Ventures — Thesis, Cheque Size & How to Apply

Sofia-based Eleven Ventures is one of the leading early-stage venture capital firms in Central and Eastern Europe, investing in technology companies across South East Europe since 2012. Its name comes from escape velocity, roughly 11 kilometres per second, the speed needed to break free of Earth's gravity, and its mission is to help local founders escape the limits of their local market and build global companies. For founders in the region, Eleven Ventures funding is often the first institutional capital available.

Investment thesis

Eleven exists to empower local heroes to build global success, backing outstanding entrepreneurs in the early days of their endeavours with company-building expertise as well as capital. The firm argues the region has the talent but historically lacked startup capital and infrastructure, which it has spent a decade helping to build. Its team has made more than 170 collective investments over 12 years, and it stays involved well beyond the first cheque, with follow-on capacity of several million euros per project.

Sectors and stages

The firm invests at pre-seed, seed and Series A, with some later-stage activity, and focuses on four priority verticals: fintech, healthcare, the future of work and sustainable food. It invests across South East and Central Eastern Europe, from its Sofia base, and its sweet spot for investment is reported at around €1.5 million, within a broader range of €100,000 to €5 million.

Fund size and cheque size

Eleven's most recent fund, Eleven Fund III, announced a first close of €60 million, a record for Eastern Europe at the time, focused mainly on pre-seed and seed investing in the region. Its programme cheque is fixed: Eleven Alpha invests €300,000 for 10% equity, the Unicorn deal, so named because it first backed Payhawk on similar terms.

Notable portfolio

Eleven's best-known portfolio company is Payhawk, the spend management platform that became Bulgaria's first unicorn, followed on similar early terms by the firm. Other notable names include Dronamics, the drone cargo company that started with €25,000 from Eleven and has since raised €50 million in financing, SMSBump, Enhancv, Gtmhub (now Quantive), Kanbanize and Nitropack. The firm also partners with Visa in the Visa Innovation Program.

Programs and support

Eleven Alpha is the firm's three-month programme for pre-seed founders, built around three phases: Discover, Design and Deliver, covering customer discovery, value proposition, business model design, go-to-market strategy and fundraising preparation. Participants receive personalised one-to-one support through the firm's company-building expertise, and the first edition reviewed more than 450 projects from 25 countries before selecting four companies.

How to apply for funding

Applications for the current edition of Eleven Alpha are closed on the firm's site, which asks founders to stay tuned for the new edition, so timing matters. Outside the programme, founders can approach Eleven through 11.vc or a warm introduction from the regional ecosystem. Understanding how to get funding from Eleven Ventures means showing a bold idea, a credible founding team and the ambition to build beyond South East Europe, since global potential is the firm's defining test.