Simon Capital Research
Investment Thesis
Simon Capital (formerly Bitburger Ventures) is a Düsseldorf, Germany-based, family-office-backed venture capital firm investing 'for the next generation.' It is rooted in the entrepreneurial heritage of the Simon family, owners of the Bitburger Brewery Group, and it deploys patient, family-office capital into mission-driven founders reshaping their industries. The firm organizes its thesis around three pillars: 'Consumption' (feeding the planet sustainably, B2B and B2C consumption innovation), 'Wellbeing' (scientific and technological advances that improve mental and physical health, and drive transparency and connectivity), and 'Productivity' (superior digital solutions and product experiences that disrupt analog businesses and revolutionize existing segments). Across all three, sustainability is framed as the base for lasting businesses.
Stage Focus
Simon Capital backs companies from Seed through Series A 'and beyond,' explicitly positioning itself as a long-term partner rather than a single-round investor. Public data (Superscout, VentureCapitalArchive) corroborates seed-through-Series-A focus, with occasional participation in later follow-on rounds for existing portfolio companies.
Check Size
Typical investment range is roughly €0.5M–€10M depending on stage, with smaller first checks around €100K–€1.5M for early seed deals (per third-party trackers Superscout and Hopohopo). The firm frequently co-invests alongside other early-stage funds rather than always taking the full round alone.
Lead Tendency
Evidence is mixed: Simon Capital appears in syndicates as a participating investor (e.g., Ordio's 2025 Series A led by 3VC; Eternal.ag's 2026 seed/Series A round alongside Oyster Bay Venture Capital, EquityPitcher Ventures, and Backbone Ventures) more often than as the named lead. Treat lead tendency as unknown/follows-leaning rather than a confirmed lead investor.
Recent Activity
- July 2025: Participated in Ordio's €12M Series A (lead: 3VC; also Wecken & Cie., Capnamic), a Cologne-based People Operating System for deskless-industry payroll and shift management.
- March 2026: Participated in Eternal.ag's €8M funding round (with Oyster Bay Venture Capital, EquityPitcher Ventures, Backbone Ventures) for a Cologne-based startup building autonomous greenhouse harvesting robots.
The firm's own site shows continued reinvestment in existing portfolio companies (e.g., Sastrify, Waterdrop) alongside new logos, consistent with an actively deploying fund.
Portfolio Highlights
Active portfolio spans consumer/D2C brands (Waterdrop, Holy, Lyres, Share, Naughty Nuts), alternative protein and biotech (MicroHarvest, Infinite Roots, Pacifico Biolabs, Fermify), health and wellness (Hello Inside, OC Hairsystems, Visus.one, Atlea), and productivity/AI-enabled software (Ordio, Neople, Vox.ai, Squake, Visiolab, Liria, Eternal.ag, SenseUp, Tuktoro). Notable scaled name: Razor Group (e-commerce brand aggregator). Exits include Sanity Group (CBD/THC, Europe), Just Spices (digital spice brand), Sastrify (SaaS procurement platform), Mitte, Mighty Drinks, Wild Earth, Doctorly, and Naughty Nuts — several of these listed as 'exited' directly on the firm's own portfolio page.
Team
- Dr. Friedrich Droste, Managing Partner
- Stefan Gielok, Managing Partner
- Nico Heinz, Principal (site also lists this role historically as Senior Investment Manager)
- Niklas Leske, Principal (site also lists this role historically as Senior Investment Manager)
- Helen Gerharz, Investment Manager
- Sophie Dürr, Investment Manager
- Fabienne Müller, Head of Finance and Operations
- Malissa Doré, Team & Office Manager
Note: the site also surfaces a 'Jan Leicht, Managing Partner' credit in an older popup block that appears superseded by the current team grid (Droste + Gielok as Managing Partners); flagged here as a possible stale reference rather than a confirmed current partner.
Decision Process
Not explicitly disclosed. Given two Managing Partners plus a Principal-level investment team, a partnership-style decision process is the most likely structure, but this is an inference rather than a stated policy.
Founder Preferences
The firm explicitly says it looks for 'mission-driven founders' who identify real customer needs with innovative business models and product solutions, in service of a 'better and sustainable future for the next generation.' It positions its value-add as capital plus access to personal networks, industrial knowledge, and entrepreneurial spirit — leveraging the Simon family's German Mittelstand and Bitburger Brewery Group network, plus relationships with other early-stage co-investment funds.
Geographic Focus
Primarily Germany and the DACH region (Düsseldorf HQ; portfolio concentrated in Cologne, Düsseldorf and elsewhere in Germany), with selective investments in the broader European market (e.g., Waterdrop in Austria).
Structural Note
Some investments were made by the Simon Capital investment team on behalf of the Bitburger Ventures GmbH portfolio, where Bitburger Ventures GmbH is a limited partner (Kommanditistin) of Simon Capital GmbH & Co. KG — reflecting the firm's origin as Bitburger Ventures before rebranding to Simon Capital.