Capital D

We are delighted to announce the final close of Fund 2 at more than twice the size of Fund 1!   Capital D has now raised from our LPs or syndicated to co-investors close to €300m, underpinning our investments across the intersection of technological, behavioural and mega trends in a range of sectors.   We’ve also announced the opening of our office in Luxembourg and our first hire in the market, giving us greater footprint to back and build disruptive European companies.   Get the full details: https://lnkd.in/gckVbVST   #CapitalD #Disruption #NextGenerationInvesting

The Diary of a CEO is a creator economy masterclass. In my exclusive story for Forbes Steven Bartlett shares with me unique insights into a business set to make $20m this year. Key takeaways: • His reluctance to see himself as a "podcaster" - and his commitment to authenticity above all else • The strategic pivot to video that allowed him to reach global audiences on platforms like Spotify • The podcast's exponential growth, from a solo project to a 40+ person media company • His insights on building community, ensuring quality, and turning passion into profit. Check the link in comments to read my full article. What lessons from Steven’s journey resonate most with you? #creatoreconomy #podcast ——- - I invest $m into creator businesses as Co-CEO at Electrify Video Partners. - I host The Business of Creators, breaking down the business of the Creator Economy. - Like and subscribe for Creator Economy content.

🚀 How do you turn a YouTube channel into a global franchise? It starts with 16 million subscribers. Two weeks ago we celebrated our first investment Astrum hitting 2 million subscribers. Today our flagship investment Veritasium crossed 16 million subscribers! The blueprint to success? We’re not passive investors, but actively involved in the day-to-day operations of the business bringing strategy, expertise and experience. We have tripled the size of the Veritasium team in the last 15 months, fuelling an ambitious vision to transform YouTube's top science channel into a worldwide brand. And we’re looking for partners. Our YouTube content output over the next 4 months is going to be more than double that of this time last year! If you’d like to sponsor the channel in 2024 or beyond, please get in touch with me or Barbara Abraul to find out more.  #CreatorEconomy #ScienceContent #InvestInCreators

2 million reasons why investing in niche content creators is the future of media.. I'm thrilled to announce that Astrum, our first investment, has just hit an incredible milestone on YouTube. This achievement is not just a number - it's a testament to the power of strategic investment and the incredible potential of niche content creators. Why is this milestone so significant? ⏰ It took Astrum 9 years to reach its first million subscribers. The second million? Less than 2 years! This exponential growth showcases the impact of targeted support and resources. 📈 We've seen watch time more than double since our investment, indicating not just more subscribers, but more active and engaged viewers. 🏛 We've grown the Astrum team 5x, allowing for more diverse content, better production quality, and faster output. 💰 Brand partnership revenue has also increased 5x, demonstrating the channel's growing influence and appeal to advertisers. When we first invested, Astrum's founder Alex McColgan was passionate and multi-talented, but spread thin. He had become the bottleneck to his own growth. Our investment has allowed Alex to focus on his strengths while having a team to handle other crucial aspects of the business. By providing resources, expertise, and support, we've helped turn a one-person passion project into a thriving digital media business. Our vision is to develop Astrum into the leading global astronomy franchise, expanding beyond YouTube to other platforms and formats. Congratulations to Alex and the entire Astrum team! Please DM me to learn more about our investments into leading content creators. #CreatorEconomy #Investment

🚨 New investment - Electrify Video Partners has made a strategic investment in Mentour Pilot and Mentour Now, two of YouTube's leading aviation channels! Why am I thrilled about this partnership? 🛫 Mentour Pilot, founded by airline pilot and creator Petter Hörnfeldt is the go-to source for in-depth aviation analysis reaching 2 million subscribers. 📈 This investment aligns perfectly with Electrify's mission to scale informative and inspirational creator businesses. 🚀 We're set to transform Mentour Pilot into a global aviation media franchise while preserving the authenticity fans love. Petter said "I'm really excited to start this journey with Electrify - it will give me access to a bigger team, which means I can create more content, and even better content for my audience, whilst continuing to grow the Mentour Pilot brand." At Electrify, we're passionate about empowering creators to reach new heights. With Mentour Pilot and Mentour Now joining our portfolio alongside channels like Veritasium, Astrum and Simple History, we're continuing to invest in the future of digital content. More investments coming soon.. #creatoreconomy #investor

We are long overdue to hire our first HR / people and culture team member at Electrify Video Partners! I'm excited to be lining up meetings with applicants over the next few weeks 🙌 https://lnkd.in/gk4fjQNv

I’m delighted to introduce the world to our new company, Jacquard. Brands have a content problem. Lifecycle marketing - with more channels, more campaigns, more languages, more testing etc - means they cannot produce enough impactful and relevant brand messaging. AI comes with the promise of automation and scale…but whenever humans have to mark the AI’s homework the benefit is lost. Joseph Marie Jacquard sought to solve a similar automation problem in the early 19th century. His technology - the Jacquard loom - was able to produce complex and beautiful woven fabrics at incredible speed. It was also an inspiration for Charles Babbage to invent the first mechanical computer as it was guided by a punch card system. It is a story of craft at scale. Amplification of human inputs and automation. This is why we have adopted this great name for our company as we seek to deliver on the promise of AI to serve marketers with brand messaging that resonates everywhere. Marketers must also activate the vast quantities of data that have been entrusted to them by customers expecting relevant communications with brands they love. With that in mind we’re also releasing a ground breaking Personalisation technology to address this challenge and say goodbye to “Hello Firstname”. Much gratitude to the customers of Phrasee who saw the importance of purpose-built architecture for brand messaging long before AI was a household discussion! Thanks to all the investors, fantastic employees, and partners, for building the foundations of this company that has such an important role at the dawn of a new Industrial Revolution. And thanks to our incredible agency, MultiAdaptor, for brilliant/beautiful work throughout the creative process. I look forward to innovating with you all to ensure brands resonate with their fans wherever they are.

Our portfolio company Phrasee is becoming Jacquard 👋

Congratulations to each and everyone at VONQ for this three-peat win of the prestigious Fosway Group recognition! #disruption #nextgenerationinvesting

Last week Capital D hosted its Annual Investor Meeting followed by a cocktail reception at the Courtauld Institute of Art, U. of London in Somerset House. Thanks to all investors, advisors and friends who attended.