Talking about the booming startup scene in Croatia, people often say “It all started with an idea”, but, how did these ideas turn into successful businesses?

To your surprise, most of the startups in Croatia are funded by VC firms and are also guided by their mentorship panel. 

So, here’s a well-researched list of the top 6 venture capital firms in Croatia, along with detailed information on their investment preferences.

Top 6 Venture Capital Firms in Croatia

Following is the list of some of the top-ranking VC firms in Croatia.

Fil Rouge Capital

Website: Fil Rouge Capital | Capital for the BOLD

Investor Type: Venture Capital Firm

Investment Interests: Tech, Software, Blockchain, Web3, Consumer Products, and Digital Businesses. 

Investment Stage: Early and Seed

Founded in 2014, Fil Rouge Capital is the biggest and most active VC firm in Croatia with almost 100 investments. The firm is headquartered in Zagreb and strongly focuses on startups that are in the early/seed stage.

The angels at FRC focus on emerging tech startups that have strong business models. The startup must be led by individuals with at least 4 years of relevant industry experience and should also be well aware of the marketing strategies.

Aside from investment, Fil Rouge Capital also has an amazing mentorship panel, consisting of some of the most experienced individuals. The investment range of FRC can range up to  €3M. Some of their portfolio companies are:

Beyond Seen Screen: A startup whose mission is to revolutionize TV programs by making them interactive. They achieve this by connecting primary screens (such as TVs) with secondary screens (such as mobile devices or tablets). 

Reveris: Reveris is a multifaceted startup providing services in many different fields. Most of their common services are from the blockchain tech revolutionizing data security and supply chain management.

South Central Ventures

Website: SC Ventures (sc-ventures.com)

Investor Type: Venture Capital Firm

Investment Interests: Tech, Healthcare, Retail, Delivery Services, and Consumer Products. 

Investment Stage: Early and Seed

South Central Ventures is a venture capital firm that was founded in 2015. The firm invests in small & medium tech companies in the Western Balkans. Currently, they have funded around 50 startups and have offices in Ljubljana, Zagreb, Belgrade, and Skopje.

Moreover, the investors at SCV focus on startups that have decent revenue generation processes and can double the investment within the first 2 years of investment. They look for early-stage, high-growth companies that are led by experienced leaders. SCV also organizes the annual SCV Summit, where mentors meet the startups and help them where things aren't going in their favor. 

The investment range of SCV lies between  €500,000 to  €5M. Some of their portfolio companies are:

57hours: 57hours is a travel marketplace booking platform designed to connect travelers with tour guides & explorers for adventure activities.

HireApp: HireApp is a gig platform in the US hospitality sector, utilizing advanced technology to link professionals with shifts. Their services are reshaping the landscape of staffing and the future of work.

Mily Tech: A delivery analytics platform tailored for parcel delivery companies. It collects, connects, and enriches delivery data to help parcel delivery companies reach breakthrough performance in the last mile.

Pixyle: Pixyle AI helps fashion retailers with image recognition solutions, enabling them to deliver a better online shopping experience. The software boosts e-commerce sales and improves efficiency in catalogue management with smart product data entry.

Day One Capital

Website: Home (dayonecapital.com)

Investor Type: Venture Capital Firm

Investment Interests: AI and Software

Investment Stage: Early and Seed

With a total of 44 startups in their portfolio, Day One Capital is also a reputable VC firm that funds startups in Croatia. The network has been operating since 2018 and invests in innovative tech-related startups at the early and seed stages.

During the screening tests, the investors at Day One Capital focus on businesses that can revolutionize modern technology and come up with new ideas. The startup must be able to at least 2-3x the investment within the first 2 years and have a strong revenue-generating stream.

Aside from investments, Day One Capital also conducts many growth events, startup accelerators, and networking events to boost the entrepreneurial culture in Croatia. Their investment range is between  €100,000 to  €1.5M. Notable names in their portfolio are:

Turbine: Turbine is a developer of cancer combination therapies that leverage bioinformatics, network medicine, and artificial intelligence. This enables cancer patients to receive a low-cost and effective cancer treatment plan. They secured a total funding of  €26.9 million in their latest Series A round.

Volteum: Volteum is a developer of an electric fleet optimization platform designed for fleet optimization for electric cars and vans. They have raised a total funding of  €1.29 million over 1 round from 8 investors.

Webshippy: Webshippy is a developer of a cloud-based logistics software designed to automatically synchronize webshop orders. The company’s software offers automatically controlled packing stations and barcode-based identification.

Credo Ventures

Website: Credo (credoventures.com)

Investor Type: Venture Capital Firm

Investment Interests: Tech

Investment Stage: Seed

Credo Ventures is another venture capital firm that invests in Croatia-based startups. The network was founded in 2009 and has funded around 100 startups. 

During the investment, the angels prefer startups with proven growth, qualified teams, and the ability to serve as an international brand. Moreover, they also invest in tech based businesses that have the potential to grow.

Other than its investment activities, Credo Ventures also has a strong network of international mentors and is known for its services like operational support and mentoring. The investment range of Credo Ventures can range up to several million euros. Among their huge portfolio, notable portfolio companies are:

Collabwriting: Collabwriting is a platform that helps you organize online research through team collaboration directly on web pages. The company recently won a significant €880,000 grand investment prize, indicating strong financial backing and investor confidence.

Fabrica AI: Fabrica AI is a developer of automatic tile grouting robots. The company uses deep learning models with computer vision and light detection and merged with simultaneous localization. They have raised a total funding of  €2.2 million.

Axoflow: Axoflow is a company that operates in the cyber-security and information technology industries. It offers a platform that transforms on-premises and cloud logs, metrics, and traces into a cloud-native observability infrastructure. Axoflow has raised a total of  €2.5 million.

J&T Ventures

Website: J&T Ventures (jtventures.cz)

Investor Type: Venture Capital Firm

Investment Interests: Travel

Investment Stage: Seed

J&T Ventures is a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage companies and is headquartered in Prague, Czech Republic. Even though the firm doesn't have many offices in Croatia, it still invests in 1-2 startups each year.

The investors prioritize startups that are in the travel sector and are providing innovative services. The firm invests in companies in exchange for equity or an ownership stake. Moreover, J&T Ventures only organizes 1 pitching competition per year and invests in the startups with the lowest competition.

The investment range of J&T Ventures is around  €2.5M. Some of their portfolio companies are:

Daytrip: Daytrip is a global travel platform providing private door-to-door car transfers in over 110 countries worldwide. They have raised a total funding of  €18.8 million in their latest Series B round.

Davinci Travel System: Davinci Travel System is a B2B online platform for booking and management of group reservations at hotels. They have raised a total funding of  €2.32 million over 1 round from 4 investors.

PortfoLion Capital Partners

Website: PortfoLion

Investor Type: Venture Capital Firm

Investment Interests: AI and Health sciences

Investment Stage: Early and Seed 

PortfoLion Capital Partners is another venture capital firm that supports startups throughout different stages. They usually invest at the Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C, and also in established enterprises.

Like most other firms, PortfoLion Capital Partners prefers businesses that can make long-term deals and generate 3x ROI within 24 months of funding. 

The investment range of PortfoLion Capital Partners lies between  €500,000 to  €3M. Notable portfolio companies are:

edrone: edrone is a developer of artificial intelligence (AI) -powered marketing automation for e-commerce businesses. They have raised a total funding of  €5 million in their latest Later Stage VC round.

Mindgram: Mindgram is a science-based platform and mobile app for complete mental wellness. The platform provides well-being tools to employees in order to build resilient and socially responsible organizations.

Wrap-Up

Finally, as we have concluded the list of the top-ranking investors in Croatia, you must be thinking about the pitching procedure and how first-time investor meetings can turn out to be a disappointment.

However, here is a pro tip to help you secure the investment. 

“Angel Investors value short pitch decks that convey the most value and provide real-time statistics”

Frequently Asked Questions