DFF Ventures Research
Investment Thesis
DFF Ventures (formerly Dutch Founders Fund) is an Amsterdam-based early-stage venture capital firm investing in underdigitized verticals across Europe, MENA, and beyond. Founded in 2018 by serial entrepreneurs behind companies such as Just Eat, fonQ, WeTransfer, and Treatwell, DFF has a distinctly operator-led approach — backing founders with deep industry experience who are digitizing industries where offline processes dominate.
The firm's core thesis can be summarized as "software for the backbone" — targeting the physical economy's underserved, analog industries where there is limited tech penetration, significant transaction volume, and sustainable network effects to be built. Their 2025 rebrand from Dutch Founders Fund to DFF Ventures coincided with the opening of their third fund, signaling an expansion of both geography and thesis beyond purely Dutch companies.
Focus Areas
DFF Ventures organizes its investments into four core categories:
- B2B Marketplaces — Transactional platforms for underdigitized industries with unfair acquisition channels (e.g., Shypple in freight forwarding, Fleequid for used buses, NorthLadder and GetMobil in device recommerce)
- Vertical SaaS — Niche software solutions digitizing analog workflows with cross-sell opportunities (e.g., Cofrai for fire protection management, Govin for legal compliance)
- Tech-Enabled Services — Software increasing white-collar productivity while empowering rather than replacing users
- Marketplace Enablers — Transaction-enhancing software including fintech, insurtech, logistics, and compliance tools (e.g., Kennek, Liablix)
For Fund III, DFF has refined its focus around three pillars: Vertical AI, Recommerce, and Marketplaces.
Stage and Check Size
DFF Ventures is firmly a pre-seed and seed investor, often the first institutional capital on the cap table. Their ticket sizes range from €250,000 to €2.5 million (approximately $275K–$2.75M), with the ability to co-lead or lead rounds. Opportunistically, they back ideation-stage companies where founder-market fit is exceptional. They target meaningful ownership stakes.
Geographic Focus
Historically Netherlands-centric, DFF has expanded its geographic scope with each successive fund. The portfolio now spans 40 companies across 14 countries in Europe (Netherlands, UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, Croatia, Hungary), MENA (Turkey, UAE, Egypt), and increasingly global with Fund III. Offices exist in Amsterdam (headquarters), Milan, and Cape Town.
Portfolio Highlights
DFF Ventures has backed 40+ companies. Notable portfolio companies include:
- Shypple (Netherlands, 2016) — Digital freight forwarding platform, one of DFF's earliest investments
- NorthLadder (UAE, 2019) — Consumer electronics recommerce marketplace in the Gulf region
- GetMobil (Turkey, 2018) — Mobile device trade-in marketplace, DFF invested in December 2025 follow-on
- Fleequid (Italy, 2024) — Europe's first online marketplace for used buses, raised €3M led by DFF in May 2025
- Cofrai (Spain, 2023) — AI-powered vertical SaaS for fire protection industry, raised €2M led by DFF in September 2025
- Liablix (Italy, 2025) — AI InsurTech for automated motor claims analysis, raised €1.2M led by DFF in December 2025
- Metycle (Germany, 2022) — Tech-enabled broker for scrap metal trading
- Vintage Cash Cow (UK, 2015) — Online resale platform for vintage and second-hand goods
- Wonderkind (Netherlands, 2016) — Recruitment marketing platform
- Winc Academy (Netherlands, 2018) — EdTech coding academy
Team
DFF Ventures is led by three founding partners who are all accomplished operators:
- Laurens Groenendijk (Founding Partner) — Founder of Just-Eat (IPO), Treatwell, Miinto, and Hiber. Focuses on marketplace growth and e-commerce strategy.
- Patrick Kerssemakers (Founding Partner) — Co-founder of fonQ with 20+ years in e-commerce and online marketplaces.
- Hidde Hoogcarspel (Founding Partner) — Finance professional, co-founder of Spacebuzz Foundation. Specializes in making businesses tech-enabled and data-driven.
Investors on the team include Federico Maroli (ex-Secfi, ex-Profounders Venture Partner), Joana Reis Pereira (ex-Oliver Wyman, Gorillas, Antler), and Maarten Plomp (portfolio finance and ops).
Venture Partners bring deep sector expertise: Bas Beerens (WeTransfer founder, branding), Remco van Zanten (ex-BCG, Booking, Zalando, Vinted — strategy and scale), Maarten Engelen (co-founder of Treatwell and Hiber, product/tech), Sjoerd Nikkelen (recommerce specialist, ex-OLX, dubizzle), and Tom Koenderman (operations/tech, founder of Cloud Garden and Wall Flore).
Fund History and AUM
- Fund I (~€30M): 2018–2020, focused on Dutch marketplace and digital companies
- Fund II (€62M): Closed ~2022, expanded to European B2B marketplaces and vertical SaaS
- Fund III (€70M): First close September 2025 at €50M; final close April 21, 2026 at €70M (oversubscribed vs. original €60M target). Backed exclusively by entrepreneurs and family offices.
Total AUM: >€150M (~$165M) across three funds.
Decision Process and Founder Preferences
DFF operates as a partnership, with decisions made collectively by the three founding partners. They emphasize speed and move as quickly as founders. DFF backs founders with deep industry experience and some early form of commercial validation — "founder specific, sector agnostic" in their own words. They explicitly prefer B2B models over consumer-facing businesses and target industries with limited digitization.
DFF is typically the first institutional investor and aims for meaningful ownership. They provide board seats "where it makes sense," and founders have direct access to team members and the full venture partner network.
Anti-thesis: Consumer-focused propositions, highly digitized industries, and founding teams lacking relevant domain expertise.
Recent Activity
DFF has been actively deploying from Fund III since its September 2025 launch:
- December 2025: Led Liablix €1.2M pre-seed (AI motor claims analysis, Italy)
- December 2025: Follow-on investment in GetMobil (mobile device recommerce, Turkey)
- September 2025: Led Cofrai €2M seed (Vertical AI for fire protection management, Spain)
- May 2025: Led Fleequid €3M seed (Europe's first bus marketplace, Italy)
Fund III reached its final close at €70M in April 2026, oversubscribed above the original €60M target, with 7+ investments already made from the fund. With this fund, DFF expands beyond Europe to support founders globally in Vertical AI, recommerce, and marketplace models.