LocalGlobe Research Document
Investment Thesis
LocalGlobe (operated as part of Phoenix Court family) is one of EMEA's most successful early-stage venture capital firms, founded in 1999 by Robin and Saul Klein. The fund specializes in pre-seed and seed stage investing with an explicit focus on long-term founder relationships and hands-on support. LocalGlobe positions itself as "the trusted long-term partner for founders from pre-seed and seed," emphasizing their ability to identify exceptional founders early and support them through multiple funding rounds.
Sector Focus
LocalGlobe maintains a generalist investment approach across:
- Enterprise Software and B2B SaaS
- Consumer Technology and Digital Platforms
- Infrastructure and Developer Tools
- FinTech and Financial Services
- Digital Media and CreTech
- Emerging sectors with strong founder potential
The fund's philosophy emphasizes founder quality and market opportunity identification over strict sector focus.
Stage Focus
LocalGlobe explicitly specializes in early-stage:
- Pre-seed: Concept stage with exceptional founders
- Seed: Early validation stage The fund positions itself as comfortable being the first institutional check into companies.
Check Size
Based on fund positioning and portfolio activity:
- Pre-seed: $100K-$400K
- Seed: $300K-$1.5M
- Typical median: $250K-$800K
Lead Tendency
LocalGlobe leads majority of pre-seed and seed investments, with board seat participation and hands-on operator involvement.
Recent Activity
LocalGlobe continues active deployment:
- September 2025: Electric Twin investment
- November 2025: Modulight Biotherapeutics (lead)
- Ongoing portfolio support and follow-on investments
- No indication of fund closure; firm remains actively deploying
Portfolio Highlights
Unicorn Portfolio (19 backed at seed stage):
- Figma: Design platform ($20B+ valuation)
- Wise: International payments (IPO, $10B+ market cap)
- Robinhood: Trading platform (IPO)
- TravelPerk: Travel management SaaS
- HiBob: HR tech platform
- Cleo: Personal finance app
- Justworks: HR and compliance platform
- Melio: B2B payments
- Tide: Business banking
- YouPic: Photography community
Portfolio scale: 228+ total investments representing one of Europe's most prolific seed investors.
Team
LocalGlobe operates with deep operational expertise. Team members have successfully built and exited companies, bringing hands-on business development and GTM expertise to portfolio companies.
Decision Process
Fast, data-driven decision-making with emphasis on founder quality assessment. The firm maintains lean internal structure enabling quick conviction and commitment.
Geographic Focus
EMEA-focused (Europe, Middle East, Africa) with selective global investments. Strong UK and European base with expanding geographic reach.
Founder Preferences
LocalGlobe seeks:
- Exceptional founders with strong conviction
- Teams with complementary skills and domain expertise
- Founders committed to building category-defining companies
- Long-term partnership mindset
Fund Status
LocalGlobe remains actively deploying with recent investments and no indication of fund closure.
Co-Investment Approach
LocalGlobe frequently co-invests with other seed stage VCs and angel networks, maintaining a collaborative approach to early-stage funding.
Notable Characteristics
LocalGlobe differentiates through:
- Highest success rate of EMEA seed investors in backing unicorns
- Long-term founder relationships across multiple funding rounds
- Operational expertise beyond capital provision
- Data-driven investment process
- Strong founder community and portfolio ecosystem