Accel, the US venture capital (VC) giant, has launched a startup scouting program in Europe, building on the legacy of its US project. Scouts in the “Starters” program are allocated $200К each to find, invest in, and nurture European startups with growth potential.
In the US, the VC has been supporting over 200 companies through its original scout program, launched in 2017. The program’s expansion not only builds on the US success but also seeks to uncover Europe’s booming startup ecosystem opportunities. “Starters” will help Accel widen its geographical reach, with 21 new scouts scattered across 10 countries and 12 cities in Europe.
With this initiative, the VC firm joins the efforts of other scout programs in Europe, such as Atomico’ angel program, and those of Blossom Capital, or Sequoia.
How does Accel’s scout program work?
One of the partners and program leaders, Andrei Brasoveanu, sheds light on the benefits for the local startup ecosystem:
“The idea is to empower up-and-coming operators to become angel investors which helps to build a new generation of investors but also enables a new iteration of founders to have great operators as mentors.”
The scout program is financed by funds, raised by Accel to support startups in Europe and Israel, amounting to $575M. The program leaders, Lucca Bocchio and Andrei Brasoveanu have designed the scheme with investment flexibility in mind. There is no minimum threshold of investments, nor any requirements for the frequency and speed of investment.
To the scouts, the scheme offers certain economic benefits. These include an interest in the investment and extra benefits if Accel leads the financing round of a startup in the program.
Thus far, startups in the program have varied widely, from healthy (cardiac analysis startup Idoven), to investment applications (heyfina) and fertility initiatives (Oviavo). Program leader, Lucca Bocchio says these investments bring fresh thinking to Accel. In the bigger startup picture, such programs can bring more diversity among the beneficiaries of venture capital.
Who are the Romanian scouts?
Accel’s scout program includes founders and operators from top companies such as Google, Deliveroo, Tier, or Monzo, ready to invest in early-stage tech startups. From Romania, two key partners have joined: Andrei Brasoveanu, lead of the initiative, and Dan Oros, Head of Marketing at Google and YouTube in Romania.
Andrei Brasoveanu is a venture capital investor with a particular interest in areas such as enterprise software, developer-oriented software, open-source, security, and financial services. He has partnered with multiple founders of companies such as Ermetic, Sorare, Humio, Tessian, Raycast, Personio, UiPath, Monzo, and JobToday.
Andrei has so far managed to attract Dan Oros, the Head of Marketing Google & YouTube Romania, to the local scout team. When he was not building and growing tech products, Dan Oros has been working with and investing in startups since 2015. At Google, he is currently supporting the growth of the digital and startup ecosystem through various programs.
“Happy to be part of Accel’s first scout programme in Europe. It’s a privilege to angel invest in talented founders and to support the fast-growing European tech ecosystem,” says Dan Oros on social media accounts.
