European GP Spotlight: Frederic Court of Felix Capital

In honor of the one-year anniversary of the reopening of our London office, we are highlighting three Europe-based managers with whom we have the distinct privilege of partnering. For our third and final installment in the series, we sat down (virtually) with Frederick Court, Founder of Felix Capital, to discuss the current investment landscape in Europe, trends he is seeing in portfolio companies, how venture capital can contribute to our collective path forward in a post-COVID world, and more. .

The opportunity in venture capital in Europe continues to grow inline with how the world is quickly changing, driven in great part by technology, which is more pervasive every day. With global connectivity and large platforms in place, the opportunity is open globally, irrespective of location. In addition, Europe benefits from a growing pool of entrepreneurs – increasingly ambitious and experienced – as well as access to a growing pool of capital. Capital velocity isn’t at the level of the U.S. or China, but things are changing, and Europe is catching up with these markets.

Overall, we have seen how the COVID crisis has accelerated digital adoption in every aspect of our personal and professional lives. The transformation of Commerce is a central theme at Felix, and we have seen the acceleration towards eCommerce benefiting and enabling many of the brands and technology companies we back. The most striking illustration is probably Mirakl, a marketplace SaaS provider we backed in 2015 at our inception. The Company just closed the largest funding round for a startup in France with $300 million, reaching a $1.5 billion valuation. We balance our funds with exposure to B2B, so this is a good example of a European software company with the potential to be a world leader in its (large) market. In addition, as Consumers are more aware than ever of the importance of taking a proactive approach to their own health and wellbeing, resulting in healthier lifestyles, some portfolio companies have clearly benefited: we have seen usage and adoption at Peloton grow very strongly; we have also seen an increase in demand for healthy food propositions, such as YFood or La Ruche Qui Dit Oui.

By financing the potential leaders of tomorrow, venture capital can give the resources needed to emerging brands and platforms to accelerate a shift in behaviors at scale. We believe that venture capital is one of the many tools entrepreneurs can use to amplify their impact in the world. In addition, we have increased our exposure to companies that have a positive impact on the world, often with a strong sustainability angle, including investments in an electric bike brand, a sustainable packaging platform or a plant-based milk alternative.

Frederic is an investor at Felix Capital. He has worked in the technology industry for the past 20 years, prior to Felix as General Partner with Advent Ventures in London, and previously as an entrepreneur. At Felix, Frederic works closely with Farfetch, goop, The Business of Fashion, La Ruche Qui Dit Oui, Yoobic, Frichti and Mirakl. He led the investment in Olapic (sold to Monotype in 2016).