Cusp Capital

𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗛𝟭 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲, 𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗻𝗼 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿: medtech compliance, customer research, and personal tax advice. Looking at them together says more than any one of them alone. CertHub, Delta Labs, and Laborai all sit in fields that used to be gated by expertise. Getting a medical device approved meant hiring specialists. Understanding customers meant commissioning research. Getting good tax advice meant knowing someone who could give it to you. In each case, software is starting to do that work instead, at a fraction of the cost and time it used to take. That is the pattern we look for. Not the sector, not the stage, the moment a field stops requiring scale to be done well. We are looking for the next companies doing exactly this. #VentureCapital #CuspCapital #EuropeanTech

𝗔 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗼 After Jan himself was a guest on the DEALMACHER Podcast a few weeks ago, our venture partner Wilken was now also on the mic with İskender. Straddling two worlds, he has come to understand how to recognize one’s own market power, how FOMO works, and why, in the end, the stronger brand almost always wins. 

𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸. 𝗢𝘂𝗿𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗿𝘂𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸. This summer marked the third year of our summer networking event for the entrepreneurs, teams, and partners around Cusp Capital.  What stood out this year was the same as the two years before: a lot of familiar faces. People who came the first year, then the second, and now the third. That kind of return says more about a network than any single event could. It's the same thing we look for in a company. One strong moment rarely convinces us. Consistency over time does. Building that kind of consistency also means working with people who show up the same way, year after year. Gebrüder Otto Gourmet GmbH catered the event again this year, and they continue to be exactly the kind of reliable partner you want when hosting something like this. To everyone who has been part of this since year one, and to everyone who joined for the first time this summer: which of your own long-standing traditions has shaped how you work? 

𝗢𝗻 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗲 𝟯𝟬, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 ruhrSUMMIT 26, 𝘄𝗲’𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗥𝟮𝟲 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗗𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗕𝗼𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗺 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻. Last year, we brought together a small group of investors and friends from the ecosystem for dinner. It was simple, personal and exactly the kind of setting we value: good conversations, direct exchange and people who care about backing ambitious founders in the region and beyond. So we’re doing it again. We’re hosting the dinner together with our friends Gründerfonds Ruhr, supported by HEUKING and CoCo Finance GmbH. We’re fully booked and looking forward to seeing many familiar faces, and a few new ones around the table on June 30. Reach out if you want to meet us at this year's ruhrSUMMIT 26. 

We'd like to give a huge thank you (and shoutout!) to the VCs backing FRAME 2026 as sponsors: Atomico, Base10 Partners, EQT Group, Cusp Capital, daphni, HV Capital, and The Westly Group. FRAME is Reframe Venture's annual conference for VCs and LPs working on responsible investing — held this year on the 17 September, in London. Sponsor support keeps tickets accessible across the community. Get your tickets now: https://luma.com/x3entqty

Hinterland of Things 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 – 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗽  This week, we kicked off #hinterland26 with our exclusive pre-dinner on Wednesday evening, co-hosted once again with our friends at neoteq ventures and, for the first time, together with NRW.Venture by NRW.BANK. As in previous years, the dinner offered a more personal setting to reconnect with familiar faces and meet new ones ahead of the conference.  A heartfelt thank you to Osborne Clarke, Seitz, and RSM Ebner Stolz for supporting the evening as sponsors. This year, Jan also supported the OUT OF THE BOX.NRW Award by helping curate the Top 25 companies. A warm shoutout to this year’s winner OSPHIM. A big thank you to everyone who joined us for the dinner and spent time with us throughout the conference. Find a few impressions below and see you next year.   Simon, Jan, Jan, Yannick, Frederic, Julia, Patrick, Thorsten 

𝗬𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘀, Maximilian 𝗮𝗻𝗱 Kevin 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 TTY 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘀𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽. No success theater. No polished fundraising playbook. Just early stage founders, operators and investors speaking openly about the first months, the wrong turns, and the moments where it is unclear whether things are working.  A valuable afternoon with the French founder community, and a great reminder of why these local conversations matter. Thank you Kevin, Quentin, Guillaume, Willy and everyone who joined. Looking forward to more of this in France.  #FrenchTech #StartupEcosystem #EarlyStageFounders

💸 Für alle, die verstehen wollen, warum Fundraising nicht nur aus Venture Capital besteht. Live-Session für Founder, CFOs, Finance-Leads und alle, die ihren Runway strategisch verlängern wollen. 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐮𝐦 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧 𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐩𝐬 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧 𝐅ö𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐧 — 𝐰ä𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐢𝐞 𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐳𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐠 𝐚𝐮𝐟 𝐝𝐢𝐞 𝐧ä𝐜𝐡𝐬𝐭𝐞 𝐕𝐂-𝐑𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐧? Viele Startups fokussieren sich im Fundraising auf Venture Capital. Staatliche Förderungen bleiben dabei oft ungenutzt – obwohl sie zusätzlichen finanziellen Spielraum schaffen und den Runway deutlich verlängern können. Laura Schmück, Head of Finance bei Cusp Capital, gibt Einblicke, worauf VCs wirklich achten und teilt aus ihrer Rolle als Mentorin für Portfolio-Startups, was finanziell gut aufgestellte Unternehmen von anderen unterscheidet. Clara Isis Römer, Senior R&D Consultant bei Coup, zeigt, wie Startups Venture Capital und staatliche Förderungen sinnvoll kombinieren können – und warum sich der Aufwand am Ende lohnt. Moderiert wird das Gespräch von Arne Wittern, Co-Founder & CEO von Coup. In der Startup Insider Live-Session erfährst du, wie du zusätzliche Finanzierungspotenziale erschließt und deinen Runway strategisch verlängerst. 📅 Mittwoch, 24. Juni | 11:00 Uhr 🎙️ Laura Schmück – Head of Finance, Cusp Capital 🎙️ Dr. Clara Isis Römer – Senior R&D Consultant, Coup 🎤 Moderation: Arne Wittern – Co-Founder & CEO, Coup ⏱️ 30 Minuten + Q&A 👉 Kostenlos anmelden: https://lnkd.in/d2c9ze9G Besonders relevant für alle, die verstehen wollen, wie moderne Startup-Finanzierung heute funktioniert – und welche Finanzierungspotenziale häufig ungenutzt bleiben. #Fundraising #VentureCapital #StartupFinance #Forschungszulage #Fördermittel #StartupInsiderLive #VC #Finance