About
About
About
BlackWood
BlackWood
BlackWood
We support early-stage companies across Fintech, Cleantech and Web3 with our $25M debut fund.
We support early-stage companies across Fintech, Cleantech and Web3 with our $25M debut fund.
We support early-stage companies across Fintech, Cleantech and Web3 with our $25M debut fund.
The story behind our logo
Who is Sleipnir?
Odin’s eight-legged horse. The fastest being in Norse mythology.
It moves between worlds and over any terrain. Land, sea, sky, and the in-between.
We chose Sleipnir, or "Slippy” to friends, because he crosses terrain that slows everyone else down.
Sleipnir is not the hero. The rider is.
The story behind our logo
Who is Sleipnir?
Odin’s eight-legged horse. The fastest being in Norse mythology.
It moves between worlds and over any terrain. Land, sea, sky, and the in-between.
We chose Sleipnir, or "Slippy” to friends, because he crosses terrain that slows everyone else down.
Sleipnir is not the hero. The rider is.
The story behind our logo
Who is Sleipnir?
Odin’s eight-legged horse. The fastest being in Norse mythology.
It moves between worlds and over any terrain. Land, sea, sky, and the in-between.
We chose Sleipnir, or "Slippy” to friends, because he crosses terrain that slows everyone else down.
Sleipnir is not the hero. The rider is.
BlackWood Platform
BlackWood Platform
BlackWood Platform
A platform built to serve
A platform built to serve
A platform built to serve
Fundraising
We have raised billions of dollars across prior roles, so we know what it takes. We'll help you run a successful process, build the narrative, pressure-test your data room, and get to “yes” faster.
Fundraising
We have raised billions of dollars across prior roles, so we know what it takes. We'll help you run a successful process, build the narrative, pressure-test your data room, and get to “yes” faster.
Fundraising
We have raised billions of dollars across prior roles, so we know what it takes. We'll help you run a successful process, build the narrative, pressure-test your data room, and get to “yes” faster.
Network
Our investor club counts 1,200+ angels and experts, which we can pull on when needed. Joining BlackWood means joining a community of like-minded people on a mission to change the world. Need an intro to Santa Claus? Difficult, but we'll try.
Network
Our investor club counts 1,200+ angels and experts, which we can pull on when needed. Joining BlackWood means joining a community of like-minded people on a mission to change the world. Need an intro to Santa Claus? Difficult, but we'll try.
Network
Our investor club counts 1,200+ angels and experts, which we can pull on when needed. Joining BlackWood means joining a community of like-minded people on a mission to change the world. Need an intro to Santa Claus? Difficult, but we'll try.
We're building too
We are a team of young, hungry and ambitious individuals that will work alongside you to fullfill our common goals. We're available 24/7 whether it's for a late-night strategy session, making difficult HR decisions, or simply if you need a shoulder to cry on.
We're building too
We are a team of young, hungry and ambitious individuals that will work alongside you to fullfill our common goals. We're available 24/7 whether it's for a late-night strategy session, making difficult HR decisions, or simply if you need a shoulder to cry on.
We're building too
We are a team of young, hungry and ambitious individuals that will work alongside you to fullfill our common goals. We're available 24/7 whether it's for a late-night strategy session, making difficult HR decisions, or simply if you need a shoulder to cry on.
Founder testimonials
Founder testimonials
Founder testimonials
Do we deliver post-wire? Here’s what our founders said about us, anonymously.
Do we deliver post-wire? Here’s what our founders said about us, anonymously.
Do we deliver post-wire? Here’s what our founders said about us, anonymously.
“Engaged and not overbearing. Good portfolio introduction (discussing potential partnership). No challenges in funding round closing process.”
“They’re supportive, but also let you build the business. They’re a young, hungry, fun team who care.”
“The openness, patience and support I got through what wasn’t at all a straightforward process, keeping the faith and trusting me to make things right.”
“The continued support has been highly valuable, particularly in areas such as hiring processes, educational sessions, and founder exchange opportunities within the portfolio.(...)"
“Always quick to help, and move fast. Not as rigid as old VCs”
“Engaged and not overbearing. Good portfolio introduction (discussing potential partnership). No challenges in funding round closing process.”
“They’re supportive, but also let you build the business. They’re a young, hungry, fun team who care.”
“The openness, patience and support I got through what wasn’t at all a straightforward process, keeping the faith and trusting me to make things right.”
“The continued support has been highly valuable, particularly in areas such as hiring processes, educational sessions, and founder exchange opportunities within the portfolio.(...)"
“Always quick to help, and move fast. Not as rigid as old VCs”
“Engaged and not overbearing. Good portfolio introduction (discussing potential partnership). No challenges in funding round closing process.”
“They’re supportive, but also let you build the business. They’re a young, hungry, fun team who care.”
“The openness, patience and support I got through what wasn’t at all a straightforward process, keeping the faith and trusting me to make things right.”
“The continued support has been highly valuable, particularly in areas such as hiring processes, educational sessions, and founder exchange opportunities within the portfolio.(...)"
“Always quick to help, and move fast. Not as rigid as old VCs”
Our values
Our values
The five commandments
The five commandments
Our values
Venture investing is, at its core, a long-term partnership. We work in uncertainty, with incomplete information, and with people putting real parts of their lives on the line. In that environment, values aren’t slogans – they’re important principles that we live by. They shape how we make decisions, how we navigate disagreement, how we treat founders, and how we show up for our investors.
There is a spiritual element to building anything extraordinary.
Not religion, but a belief in possibility beyond what is immediately visible. “Asking more from the universe” begins with staying open to the uncertainty that surrounds all meaningful creation - in business, life, even in relationships. Breakthroughs rarely come from linear paths. They come from people willing to dance with the unknown, to trust their ambition before the world validates it, and to treat opportunity as something you co‑create rather than passively receive.
To ask for more is to refuse the artificial constraints of convention. Society will always suggest what is realistic, sensible, or appropriate. Founders who change the world don’t listen to that voice. They lean into intuition, follow signals others dismiss, and pursue outcomes that exceed what their environment has prepared them for.
We believe potential expands in proportion to the size of the questions you dare to ask. Ask small, and you stay small. Ask boldly, and you reshape the terrain around you.
Ask more from the universe
Founders recognise their own. They recognise the people who have felt the weight of building something from nothing, who have hustled for every meeting, every introduction, every inch of progress. Everyone in this team has built before. We know the sting of rejection, the exhilaration of movement, and the pressure of holding a vision the world has yet to catch up to.
BlackWood is our company to build now. We operate with the same instincts that drive great founders: relentless when the path is unclear, inventive when the resources are thin, and unwilling to wait for permission when the moment calls for action.
Founders feel this in the way we move - fast, intentional, steady through complexity. It’s the same qualities that Sleipnir embodied: speed with precision, strength with intention and the ability to move across boundaries that others consider impossible.
Founders don’t need cheerleaders, but partners who can carry the weight with them. Partners who can keep pace when things accelerate and stay stable when things shake. Partners who are building something of their own.
Built like founders
Every great company begins with a moment when a small group of people makes an unspoken agreement: “what we are building together matters more than any one of us”. At BlackWood, that agreement sits at the centre of everything we do.
When the mission comes first, something fundamental shifts. Decisions gain clarity because they are no longer about personal preference, but about what strengthens the whole. Disagreements become constructive. Pride gives way to progress. Effort sharpens. And when a direction is chosen, we stand shoulder to shoulder behind it, because we are committed to the same outcome.
There is a subtle spirituality to building this way. A belief that when people orient themselves toward something larger than their own comfort or ego, the work takes on a different kind of meaning.
We put the mission first because great companies are not built on individual brilliance alone. They are built by people willing to place the work above themselves - and to stand behind it together, especially when it matters most.
Mission first
Every great company begins with a moment when a small group of people makes an unspoken agreement: “what we are building together matters more than any one of us”. At BlackWood, that agreement sits at the centre of everything we do.
When the mission comes first, something fundamental shifts. Decisions gain clarity because they are no longer about personal preference, but about what strengthens the whole. Disagreements become constructive. Pride gives way to progress. Effort sharpens. And when a direction is chosen, we stand shoulder to shoulder behind it, because we are committed to the same outcome.
There is a subtle spirituality to building this way. A belief that when people orient themselves toward something larger than their own comfort or ego, the work takes on a different kind of meaning.
We put the mission first because great companies are not built on individual brilliance alone. They are built by people willing to place the work above themselves - and to stand behind it together, especially when it matters most.
Art and science
Every great company begins with a moment when a small group of people makes an unspoken agreement: “what we are building together matters more than any one of us”. At BlackWood, that agreement sits at the centre of everything we do.
When the mission comes first, something fundamental shifts. Decisions gain clarity because they are no longer about personal preference, but about what strengthens the whole. Disagreements become constructive. Pride gives way to progress. Effort sharpens. And when a direction is chosen, we stand shoulder to shoulder behind it, because we are committed to the same outcome.
There is a subtle spirituality to building this way. A belief that when people orient themselves toward something larger than their own comfort or ego, the work takes on a different kind of meaning.
We put the mission first because great companies are not built on individual brilliance alone. They are built by people willing to place the work above themselves - and to stand behind it together, especially when it matters most.
Leave your mark
Our values
Venture investing is, at its core, a long-term partnership. We work in uncertainty, with incomplete information, and with people putting real parts of their lives on the line. In that environment, values aren’t slogans – they’re important principles that we live by. They shape how we make decisions, how we navigate disagreement, how we treat founders, and how we show up for our investors.
Ask more from the universe
Built like founders
Mission first
Art and science
Leave your mark
Our values
The five commandments
Our values
Venture investing is, at its core, a long-term partnership. We work in uncertainty, with incomplete information, and with people putting real parts of their lives on the line. In that environment, values aren’t slogans – they’re important principles that we live by. They shape how we make decisions, how we navigate disagreement, how we treat founders, and how we show up for our investors.
Ask more from the universe
Built like founders
Mission first
Art and science
Leave your mark
Thesis
Thesis
Thesis
Where we invest
Where we invest
Where we invest
We invest at the pre-seed and seed stages as we believe that these are the most exciting times for a company. The firm belief that drives founders to come together to work towards a common goal, the unfathomable determination and grit needed to continue when things get difficult, and the innumerable challenges faced along the way - is what it’s all about.
This stage is all about people. We like to believe that we’re good at spotting the outliers, the brave, and the most serious founders in Europe. We like to help them go from 0 (or near 0) to become a defining force within their respective categories.
We want 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. That is what we live and breathe for.
Our style is simple: we move fast, stay close, and back teams we want to build with ourselves.
We invest at the pre-seed and seed stages as we believe that these are the most exciting times for a company. The firm belief that drives founders to come together to work towards a common goal, the unfathomable determination and grit needed to continue when things get difficult, and the innumerable challenges faced along the way - is what it’s all about.
This stage is all about people. We like to believe that we’re good at spotting the outliers, the brave, and the most serious founders in Europe. We like to help them go from 0 (or near 0) to become a defining force within their respective categories.
We want 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. That is what we live and breathe for.
Our style is simple: we move fast, stay close, and back teams we want to build with ourselves.
We invest at the pre-seed and seed stages as we believe that these are the most exciting times for a company. The firm belief that drives founders to come together to work towards a common goal, the unfathomable determination and grit needed to continue when things get difficult, and the innumerable challenges faced along the way - is what it’s all about.
This stage is all about people. We like to believe that we’re good at spotting the outliers, the brave, and the most serious founders in Europe. We like to help them go from 0 (or near 0) to become a defining force within their respective categories.
We want 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. That is what we live and breathe for.
Our style is simple: we move fast, stay close, and back teams we want to build with ourselves.
