BlackWood Ventures Research
Investment Thesis
BlackWood Ventures is a Copenhagen-headquartered VC firm backing early-stage founders across Europe through its $25M debut fund (Danish entities BlackWood Ventures ApS, CVR 43098063, authorised by the Danish FSA, and BlackWood Capital Partners, CVR 42056391). The firm's own framing is that pre-seed and seed are "the most exciting times for a company," and that its job is to spot outliers, the brave, and the most serious founders in Europe, helping them go from zero (or near zero) to a defining force within their category. BlackWood positions itself as an operator-style partner rather than a passive check-writer: "We want to be in the room while those choices are made, not to steer, but to help founders sharpen the wedge, avoid obvious traps, and reach the next proof point with momentum and integrity." Their stated style: "move fast, stay close, and back teams we want to build with ourselves."
Sector Focus
BlackWood's stated focus is Fintech, Cleantech and Web3, though the realized 23-company portfolio (as of September 2026) spans several adjacent categories:
- Fintech & payments infrastructure: IVM Markets (AI-native derivatives/structured-products platform), Paypercut (CEE payments rails), Sidekick (pan-European digital private bank), Yonder (UK consumer credit card), Flow Global (African SME microfinance), Prospa (African SME banking), Synthex (governed automation for regulated financial back-office work), Tangible (hard-asset structured finance), Goya (financial/admin back-office for medical practices)
- Cleantech & climate software: Qaptis (point-source CO2 capture), illuminem (sustainability data/intelligence, "Bloomberg of Sustainability"), beSirius (AI sustainability intelligence for heavy industry), Comundo (energy-performance workflow software), Rightcharge (EV fleet charging payments)
- Web3 & on-chain infrastructure: Boundary (verifiable institutional stablecoin infrastructure), Particula (tokenized-asset ratings), Kinetk (digital media rights/provenance via agentic AI), ComplyPay (automated fund-segregation infrastructure)
- Adjacent bets: Rehuman (insurtech/AI policy software for brokers), hybr (student-rental lettings automation), Kapu (African informal-retail roll-up), ODITI (creator commerce/print-on-demand art), Snafu (music-royalty financing and artist services)
Stage Focus
BlackWood invests exclusively at pre-seed and seed. The firm's "about us" page explicitly frames this stage as "all about people" and the point where BlackWood believes it is most useful; it does not describe itself as a later-stage or growth investor.
Check Size
The website states an initial ticket size of "up to €1M," consistent with the $25M debut fund's target of backing roughly 30 early-stage European companies. Minimum check size is not published; treated as unknown rather than guessed.
Lead Tendency
Not explicitly stated on the site or in press coverage reviewed. Portfolio-company press releases (e.g., Paypercut's €5M seed, Boundary's $2M pre-seed) show BlackWood participating alongside other investors rather than being named the round lead, so lead tendency is recorded as "unknown" rather than assumed.
Recent Activity
BlackWood's Fund I first closed in April 2023, took a second closing of roughly €14.7M in June 2024, and reached final close at $25M (~€22M) in July 2025 (tech.eu, Venture Capital Journal, EU-Startups, ArcticStartup all confirm the July 28, 2025 final-close date). The portfolio has grown to 23 active companies as of September 2026, with Boundary (May 2026, stablecoin verification infrastructure) and Paypercut (BlackWood invested at pre-seed in 2025 and again in Paypercut's €5M seed round, closed June 2026) as the most recent additions/follow-ons. The firm added Sofiia Bondar as an Investment Analyst in August 2026, its most recently confirmed team change.
Portfolio Highlights
Notable names include IVM Markets (AI-native derivatives/structured-products platform founded by ex-Merrill Lynch/RBS/Deutsche Bank bankers), Boundary (stablecoin verifiability infrastructure founded by ex-Digital Currency Group Head of Trading and ex-McKinsey QuantumBlack operators, raised alongside Galaxy Ventures and FirstBlock Capital), Paypercut (CEE payments infrastructure founded by former SumUp dealmakers who ran all 10 of SumUp's acquisitions and raised $3B+), Yonder (UK consumer credit card reinventing the category from first principles), and Kapu (African informal-retail roll-up founded by an early Jumia country expansion lead). No exits or acquisitions of BlackWood portfolio companies were identified in the research window.
Team
- Bastian Roger Larsen — CEO & Founder. Former BlackRock (London, Geneva, New York), including co-leading global product strategy for BlackRock's ~$10bn event-driven hedge fund. MBA from Oxford, BSc from Copenhagen Business School. Taught at HEC Paris. Named to the 2023 Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list (Finance). LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/bastianrogerlarsen
- Oliver Preisler — COO. Danish, raised across 10 countries (born in Malaysia). ESADE graduate; five years in cross-border M&A investment banking in New York before founding his own fintech company. Joined BlackWood as COO in 2025 at Bastian's invitation. LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/oliverpreisler
- Maxime Pasquier — Principal. Background spans tech scouting, operating at a cultivated-meat startup in Zurich, and co-founding companies across logistics, mobility and horse-racing recruitment. Focuses on the earliest-stage, highest-ambiguity deals. LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/maxime-pasquier-
- Jonas Madsen — Head of Investor Relations. Joined BlackWood at its founding while studying at CBS; led LP relations and fundraising through the firm's debut $25M close in summer 2025. LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jonasnmadsen
- Sofiia Bondar — Investment Analyst. Joined August 2026 while completing a Master's at HEC Paris. Prior experience in deeptech/climate (ilion Water Technologies, Ÿnsect) and VC investor relations/business development (Partech). LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/sofiia-bondar
Decision Process
A small, founder-led team (five people spanning investing, operations and LP relations) rather than a formal investment committee — effectively a tight partnership structure led by founder Bastian Roger Larsen.
Founder Preferences
BlackWood says it looks for "outliers, the brave, and the most serious founders in Europe," favoring operator-founders with direct, lived exposure to the problem they are solving. Portfolio founder bios consistently emphasize prior operating experience at recognizable platforms (Jumia, SumUp, Octopus Energy, McKinsey QuantumBlack, BCG, Digital Currency Group, ClearScore, FNZ) rather than first-time founders straight out of school.
Geographic Focus
BlackWood describes itself as pan-European and built "never for Denmark only" — headquartered in Copenhagen (Bredgade 65A) with an Investor Club spanning 1,200+ angels across 25+ countries. In practice, the realized portfolio spans the UK (the largest concentration), Denmark, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Bulgaria, Sweden, and selective non-European bets in the US, Kenya and broader Africa.