All Iron Ventures has closed its first fund, All Iron Ventures I, totalling commitments worth €66.5 million, and setting a record as one of the largest debut VC funds in Spain. The capital committed by the founding partners of the All Iron Group and other investors brings AIV’s total investment capacity to around €110 million.
All Iron Group has a truly entrepreneurial DNA. It was founded by Jon Uriarte and Ander Michelena, who in 2009 founded Ticketbis, a secondary ticketing marketplace. They scaled this business to close to 50 countries and ultimately sold to eBay in 2016 for more than €165 million – it’s one of the main success stories in the Spanish startup ecosystem.
Co-directors Hugo Fernández-Mardomingo and Diego Recondo lead AIV’s day-to-day operations. Since late 2017 they have been working closely with Jon Uriarte and Ander Michelena to design, build from scratch and to turn AIV into what it is today. They lead a growing team of ten people from AIV’s headquarters in the city of Bilbao, Spain.
It’s not surprising then that AIV stands out from that of most Spanish funds and aligns it with a new breed of entrepreneur-backed VCs that are emerging in Europe. Further to the Ticketbis story, AIV – and the All Iron Group as a whole – is an entrepreneurial venture in itself that leverages previous successes and the broader team’s operational experience.
Along the same lines, interestingly, AIV has also developed an incubation programme to put its experience in creating, scaling and selling companies at the service of select entrepreneurs with the aspiration to generate greater returns for its investors. In short, AIV is an entrepreneurial fund for entrepreneurs.
“All Iron Ventures partners up with bold founders promoting innovative startups. We know what it is to be a founder and empathize with the challenges our partner founders face. Our commitment and alignment with them are a win-win in terms of collaboration, growth and profitability for them and us”, added Jon Uriarte, co-founding partner of All Iron Group.
Unlike other first launches in Spain and in Europe, AIV’s first fund has been 100% raised among private investors. AIV has sought no public support from neither Spanish, nor European institutions. “As first-time managers, we are delighted for having been able to close our first fund the way we have. We are proud of such an achievement and thankful to our investors for trusting us”, pointed out Ander Michelena, co-founding partner of All Iron Group.
AIV leads or co-invests in initial rounds, mainly in Series A and pre-A, yet with flexibility to also invest earlier. Initial tickets are typically of up to €2 million. AIV also has the capacity to support portfolio companies in follow-on rounds.
Investments have so far mainly focused on B2C companies, with a preference for marketplaces, subscription and e-commerce models. Capital efficiency and clear path to profitability play a significant part in AIV’s investment decisions. The current portfolio includes well-known Spanish startups (Jeff, Lookiero, Lingokids, Spotahome or Seedtag, among others), and several other companies in Europe and the Americas such asBarkyn (Portugal), Preply (Ukraine), Refurbed (Austria), Paul Camper (Germany). Kodit (Finland), Rebag (US) and Zenklub (Brazil).
AIV has co-invested to date with multiple reputable US and European international VCs including, among others, Atomico, A16z, General Catalyst, Hoxton, Holtzbrinck, Point Nine, FJ Labs, MM,; Speedinvest, Kleiner Perkins, Local Globe and Seedcamp.
AIV is part of the broader All Iron Group, which includes All Iron RE I, a real estate holding company (socimi, a REIT equivalent) listed in the Spanish alternative stock exchange (BME Growth) since September and with assets valued at more than €70 million, bringing the Group’s investment firepower to close to €200 million.
