• Skoove

  Participated · Equity · Apr 2019

  Skoove is a Berlin-based piano e-learning platform that provides interactive guidance and feedback via an app (iOS and browser) to help users develop piano and keyboard skills. Founded in 2014 by Dr. Florian Plenge and Stephan Schulz, the company offers 13 different courses, hundreds of popular tracks, and instruction in music theory, composition and freestyle playing. Users across 211 countries have taken more than 1 million lessons on Skoove. The team currently consists of 20 people. Skoove raised €3M in funding from Caparuca, MGO Digital Ventures, Ringier Digital Ventures and existing investors Egora Holding, IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft and High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF). The company intends to use the funds to further develop its technology and didactics and to grow its customer base, especially in North America and Europe. Skoove is a Berlin-based piano learning platform that provides professional online piano training. The company was co-founded in August 2014 by Dr Florian Plenge and Stephan Schulz and launched its web service in 2015. Since launch it has delivered over 200,000 piano lessons to users across 187 countries. In conjunction with its funding the company launched an iOS app on 8 March 2017, available free on iPad. Skoove is supported globally by the Microsoft Ventures Alumni Program. The company raised capital to scale operations. Skoove offers interactive, software-driven online piano lessons that connect a keyboard or e-piano to a computer and deliver real-time feedback that adapts to students' pace. The platform targets primarily beginner piano students aged 12 and older and runs in any web browser with a USB-connected keyboard or e-piano. Its curriculum, developed and curated by Dominik Schirmer (formerly a lecturer at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts), incorporates popular music and games that teach music theory and note reading. Public beta sign-up is free and available on the Skoove homepage. A version for acoustic pianos that uses devices' internal microphones is in development and slated for release later that year. Skoove was founded in August 2014 by Stephan Schulz and Florian Plenge and is a graduate of the Microsoft Ventures Accelerator, supported by the Microsoft Ventures Alumni program.

• CodeCheck

  Participated · Equity · Nov 2017

  CodeCheck is a Zurich-based online platform and smartphone app that lets users scan product barcodes to identify potentially harmful ingredients in food and cosmetics. The article describes it as the largest product guide in Europe. In its third financing round the company raised over CHF 1.5 million, with participation from existing backers Polytech Ecosystem Ventures and MGO Digital Ventures and support from the Swiss Technologiefonds. CodeCheck plans to use the fresh capital to develop an innovative CO2 feature that will show emissions per food item after a scan and present lower-emission product alternatives. A loan enabled by a Technologiefonds guarantee will help concretely implement that CO2 functionality. The company also intends to pursue international market expansion. Codecheck.info is a Swiss startup that provides independent online product checks through its website and smartphone app. Users scan a product barcode and receive immediate, detailed background information, with particularly strong coverage for food and personal-care products. The platform displays health and environmental indicators, such as whether a product is safe or produced in an eco-friendly way. Codecheck.info has become the leading independent product-check and primary consumer platform in the German-speaking market, with most traffic currently coming from Germany. The company plans to invest the new financing into expanding market and development activities, building additional features, and pursuing strong expansion into the German market and international marketing. Roman Bleichenbacher is CEO and founder.

• CHRONEXT

  Participated · Equity · Nov 2015

  CHRONEXT operates an independent Swiss digital platform for buying and selling new, vintage and certified pre-owned luxury watches, combining e-commerce convenience with the service of an experienced dealer. The company was founded in 2013 and maintains quality control through a team of more than 20 in-house watchmakers. CHRONEXT blends online access with dealer-level services, offering authentication and servicing for second-hand luxury timepieces. In 2022 the company reported annual revenue in the range of three‑digit millions. Management and investors have signaled plans to expand the business activities with additional support from new investors. The recent board and investor additions are intended to strengthen marketing and sales expertise. Chronext operates an online marketplace that buys and sells new and pre-owned luxury watches and manages pre- and after-sale service, payment, authentication and logistics. The company authenticates every watch via its own watchmakers and sells directly to customers through CHRONEXT. Its platform brings together over 1,800 retailers, brands and consumers to enable global transactions while ensuring legitimacy and service. Chronext reported $60 million in transaction volume in 2017 and expected to reach $130 million in 2018, indicating rapid growth. The founders, Philipp Man and Ludwig Wurlitzer, built the platform—Man with a background at Boston Consulting Group and GlencoreXstrata and Wurlitzer from fine art and IT—after researching the luxury watch market. The company focuses on removing information asymmetry and fakes from the used-watch market by providing authenticated, serviced pieces for buyers and sellers. Chronext operates a curated online marketplace for new and second‑hand luxury watches. Every watch offered is examined in the company’s certified in‑house watchmaking atelier, guaranteeing quality and authenticity. The company also provides a free "watchhunter" service to source models for consumers. Chronext runs a London boutique and maintains offices in Cologne. Founded in 2013 and based in Zug, Switzerland, the company plans to use new funding to expand into Germany and other countries. It announced a €11m Series C to support that expansion. Chronext is a Cologne-based e-commerce marketplace for buying, selling and servicing luxury watches that offers a secure customer experience. Founded in 2013 by CEO Philipp Man and Chief Product Officer Ludwig Wurlitzer, the company operates branches in London, Cologne and Zug, Switzerland. It serves an international client base numbering over tens of thousands of clients. Chronext combines marketplace transactions with watch servicing capabilities on its platform. The company closed a $5.3M venture capital round and plans to use the funds to increase marketing, technology and customer success efforts. It aims to expand its market share in German-speaking Europe and the UK.

No current team members are available.