BlackWood Ventures Research
Investment Thesis
BlackWood is a Copenhagen-headquartered VC firm backing early-stage founders across Europe (with selective investments beyond it) through its $25M debut fund. The firm's own framing is that pre-seed and seed are "the most exciting times for a company" and that it exists to spot outliers and the most serious founders, helping them go from zero to a defining force in their category. BlackWood positions itself as an operator-style partner rather than a passive check-writer: the team is small, founder-led, and describes wanting 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."
Sector Focus
The firm's stated focus is Fintech, Cleantech and Web3, though the realized portfolio is somewhat broader:
- Fintech and payments infrastructure: structured-products/derivatives tooling (IVM Markets), CEE payment rails (Paypercut), digital private banking (Sidekick), consumer credit reinvention (Yonder), SME lending in Africa (Prospa, Flow Global), financial-ops automation for medical practices (Goya), regulated back-office automation (Synthex), hard-asset structured finance (Tangible)
- Cleantech and climate software: point-source CO2 capture (Qaptis), sustainability data/ESG intelligence (illuminem, beSirius), energy-performance workflow software (Comundo), EV fleet charging (Rightcharge)
- Web3 and on-chain infrastructure: stablecoin verifiability for institutions (Boundary), tokenized-asset ratings (Particula), digital-media rights/provenance (Kinetk), fund-segregation infrastructure (ComplyPay)
- Adjacent bets: insurtech/AI policy software (Rehuman), student-rental automation (hybr), informal retail roll-up in Africa (Kapu), creator commerce (ODITI), music-royalty financing (Snafu)
Stage Focus
BlackWood invests exclusively at pre-seed and seed. The firm explicitly avoids describing itself as a later-stage or growth investor, and its "about us" page frames pre-seed/seed as the stage where the firm can be most useful.
Check Size
The website states an initial ticket size of "up to €1M," consistent with a $25M debut fund targeting roughly 30 portfolio companies (per third-party coverage). Exact minimum check size is not published.
Lead Tendency
Not explicitly stated on the site or in press coverage reviewed; treated as unknown rather than guessed.
Recent Activity
BlackWood closed a $25M debut fund in July 2025 (final close), following a €14.7M second closing announced in June 2024 (Fund I first closed in April 2023 per third-party sourcing). The portfolio has grown to 23 companies as of September 2026, with the most recent additions (Boundary, Paypercut) dated 2026 on the firm's own portfolio page. The firm added Sofiia Bondar as an Investment Analyst in August 2026, its most recent confirmed team change.
Portfolio Highlights
Notable names include IVM Markets (AI-native derivatives/structured-products platform), Boundary (stablecoin verifiability infrastructure founded by ex-Digital Currency Group and ex-McKinsey QuantumBlack operators), Paypercut (CEE payments infrastructure founded by former SumUp dealmakers), Yonder (UK consumer credit card), and Kapu (African informal-retail roll-up founded by an early Jumia country lead). No exits or acquisitions 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. Oxford MBA, Copenhagen Business School BSc. Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe (Finance), 2023.
- Oliver Preisler — COO. Danish, raised across 10 countries. Investment banking M&A background (New York), founded his own fintech company before joining BlackWood in 2025.
- Maxime Pasquier — Principal. Background spans scouting, operating at a cultivated-meat startup, and co-founding companies in logistics, mobility and horse-racing recruitment; focuses on the earliest-stage, highest-ambiguity deals.
- Jonas Madsen — Head of Investor Relations. Joined BlackWood at its founding; led LP relations and fundraising through the firm's debut $25M close (summer 2025).
- Sofiia Bondar — Investment Analyst. Joined August 2026 while completing a Master's at HEC Paris; background in deeptech/climate (ilion Water Technologies, Ÿnsect) and VC investor relations (Partech).
Decision Process
A small, founder-led team (five people across investing, operations and LP relations) rather than a large investment committee; effectively a tight partnership structure led by the founder.
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 (multiple portfolio founder bios emphasize prior operating experience at companies like Jumia, SumUp, Octopus Energy, McKinsey QuantumBlack, and BCG).
Geographic Focus
BlackWood describes itself as pan-European and built "never for Denmark only," headquartered in Copenhagen with an investor club spanning 25+ countries. In practice the realized portfolio also includes US, Kenyan and broader African investments alongside the European core (UK, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Sweden, Denmark).