Balnord

03/09/2024

We're thrilled to share the fundraising success of our legacy portfolio company Xopero Software S.A., which raised PLN 20M, making one of the biggest funding rounds in Poland this year. This investment could extend to over PLN 30M!

𝗗𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱, 𝘄𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘁, 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗿𝗮 𝗗𝗣𝗜 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗟𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀. 𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆.

Congratulations to founder Łukasz Jesis for building an extraordinary company and our CFO Hubert Szczołek for managing the deal on our end. Thanks to new investors Warsaw Equity Group, Pawel Maj, and Maciej Zawadzinski joining the company.

Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to support tech founders from Poland & Baltics with our new fund.

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27/08/2024

The 10th edition of the "Polish Startups" report is coming up, and we need your input to make it the best one yet.

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗲?

This is your opportunity to contribute to a comprehensive overview of the startup ecosystem in Poland. Your insights can help shape the future of our industry.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝘄𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘆𝗼𝘂?

🔥 Complete the Survey: It takes a maximum of 10 minutes.
🔥 Share With Your Network: Encourage your fellow tech founders to participate.
🔥 Get Featured: Leave a link to your profile so editors can showcase you on our social media.
⏰ Deadline: The survey is open until August 31st. Don't miss out!

Balnord is proud to partner with Startup Poland to support this essential survey. It's quick & easy. Please fill it out and get back to enjoying your summer break.

Take the survey now -> https://surveyl.io/f05/startuppoland/

22/12/2023

To our awesome founders and teams so keen,
The best in the biz that we've ever seen,
From Black Pearls VC, a wish with flair,
Success, joy, and a billionaire's air!

May your code not crash, and your pitches impress,
In ugly sweaters, may you always dress.
For laughs and wins in the coming year,
Merry Christmas, and a little cheer!

And to our LPs, so wise and true,
Thanks for your trust and the support you imbue.
May your investments bloom, far and near,
Wishing you prosperity and a joyful New Year!

Yours truly: Marcin, Aleksander, Hubert, Maciej, Jarosław, Tomasz and Wojciech!

14/12/2023

🎉🚀We did it again! We're thrilled to announce another successful exit from one of our beloved portfolio companies Telemedi.

We recently sold our shares to Mavie Next, an Austrian healthcare provider, marking our third successful exit this year.

🙌Congratulations to Telemedi founder Pawel Sieczkiewicz, who has built an incredible company that has become a market leader, processing half a million medical inquiries yearly. We are honored to have supported Paweł and the team throughout their growth journey, from pre-seed to exit.

🤝A special shoutout to our Partner Aleksander Dobrzyniecki, who worked closely with the founder from the very beginning of our partnership in 2019. His leadership and guidance have been instrumental in this successful exit.

💰Finally, we are thrilled to deliver liquidity to our Limited Partners, returning capital to them in these uncertain times. This is our third successful exit this year! Thanks for your trust: BGK - Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego, FNP Ventures, Kozminski Business Hub, and Narodowe Centrum Badań i Rozwoju.

All the best to Mavie and Telemedi on their journey. We remain confident that your partnership will bring tremendous value both to clients and patients across CEE and beyond.

As a venture capital firm committed to helping startups grow and succeed, we’re thrilled to announce yet another meaningful exit from one of our portfolio companies: Telemedi. Mavie, an Austrian based healthcare provider acquired a majority stake in Telemedi, which resul...

28/09/2023

Did you know that 22% of senior management in our startups are women?

We're proud of that. We are also proud when our female founders achieve exceptional achievements.

A big round of applause for Katarzyna Prokopowicz from InfoShare Academy - uczymy programowania for being on the "Strong Women in IT" report. And for the third time in a row!

Kudos to Anita Kijanka, for compiling the list and surveying companies and startups in this regard.

Why it's worth investing in startups with female founders?

💰 Female founders generate a 35% higher return on investment than all-male teams.
💪 Women-led startups receive fewer investments while achieving equal revenue.
📈 Companies with female founders outperform all-male startups by 63%.
🌟 Businesses founded by at least one woman are more likely to have successful exits.

Cheers to all women in IT and building startups!

Feel free to download the report!

08/09/2023

🔥 Exit alert! 🔥 We are proud to announce the recent acquisition of our portfolio company, Solwit, by the international engineering and technology consulting group ALTEN.

It is yet another successful exit for our venture capital firm, and we are thrilled to see a 3.16x cash-on-cash return on investment.

Congratulations to founders Leszek Pankiewicz and Wojciech Wasiukiewicz for building this extraordinary company. Compliments to all business angels who, together with us, believed in the team. Big applause to Marcin P. Kowalik, who was responsible for the transaction on our end and navigating Solwit from seed to exit.

This acquisition further solidifies our track record of success, with four fruitful exits in the past two years. You can learn more about the transaction and our plans from the article by Anna Bełcik in Puls Biznesu.

Stay tuned!

Polską spółkę przejęła w maju wywodząca się z Francji grupa konsultingowa Alten. Na akwizycji skorzystał inwestor, który wspierał rozwój Solwitu przez kilka lat.

17/08/2023

We're thrilled to announce our latest investment in latvian last mile delivery experts -> Swotzy! As Black Pearls VC, we're proud to have led the pre-seed round of 500k € alongside our pals at FIRSTPICK.

Latvia's startup scene is the perfect hunting ground for eagle-eyed early-stage investors like us. With a thriving tech industry supported by StartupLatvia and plenty of young talent with grandiose ideas, we're constantly on the lookout for the next big thing. Swotzy is a prime example of what founders from this country can offer when it pours their hearts and souls into innovation and entrepreneurship.

We can't wait to see what the future has in store for Swotzy and its trio of uber-talented founders, Lauris, Kristians and Jēkabs. As alumni of top Latvian companies like Printful and Nordigen, we believe that the team has the necessary experience and expertise to turn Swotzy into a success story.

Shoutout to our superstar Partner, Aleksander Dobrzyniecki, who led the transaction, and to Jarosław Pilarczyk, who will join the company's Supervisory Board together with Andra Bagdonaite.

Cheers to new beginnings and a brighter future for Swotzy and their journey towards transforming the last-mile delivery industry! 🚀📦🌍

Riga, Latvia, August 14 – Swotzy, an innovative logistics startup, excitedly reveals a €500,000 pre-seed funding round, hot on the heels of its initial investment of €90,000 just four months prior.

23/12/2022

Merry Christmas, everyone! Wishing you all a festive season of joy. We hope this Christmas time is filled with laughter, happiness, and shared love with your closest companions. Merry Christmas from the Black Pearls VC family: Marcin, Maciej, Aleksander, Hubert, and Wojciech to you!

08/12/2022

We are thrilled to announce our recent investment in Tapline.io, with a massive €31,7M pre-seed round! We are excited to expand our portfolio by introducing revenue-based financing.

Congratulations to three incredible founders: Hastie, Miller, and Peter Grouev! They have put their energies into creating the perfect platform for financing SaaS startups in CEE and DACH. Now the world gets to experience the results of their hard work.

Big applause to our Partner Aleksander Dobrzyniecki who was responsible for the process on our end. Congratulations to our co-investors: Fasanara Capital, V-Sharp Venture Studio, Antler, 365.fintech, IMPETUS Capital, DEPO Ventures, and business angels involved in that round.

We can’t wait to see the company become an industry leader in the region. Cheers to Tapline on this memorable milestone!

Berlin, Germany: 6th December 2022 - Tapline, a digital finance platform allowing SaaS companies to trade their future revenues for upfront and non-dilutive cash, has today announced a pre-seed funding of €31,7 million.

07/12/2022

We invite you to the "FNP prize" award ceremony by Fundacja na rzecz Nauki Polskiej. This award is considered the most important scientific award in Poland, and it's dedicated to researchers for their outstanding achievements or discoveries. It is an opportunity to meet with outstanding scientists, this year's award winners. The awards will be received by:

👉 Prof. Marcin Nowotny
👉 Prof. Bartosz Grzybowski
👉 Prof. Adam Lajtar

Link to live broadcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XYKTsjSb68&ab_channel=FundacjanarzeczNaukiPolskiej