Nova Founders Capital

Co-founders Raphael Straus and Sohil Shah lead investment decisions. Both previously worked at Goldman Sachs and Rocket Internet, where they gained experience scaling marketplace businesses in emerging markets. The firm maintains a flat structure with no external investment committee, allowing the founders to move quickly on acquisitions without the layered approval processes typical of institutional fund managers.

The firm sources primarily through its network of Rocket Internet alumni, European family offices, and local-country operating teams in Southeast Asia. It targets businesses that are already operational but underperforming, often approaching founders directly rather than participating in broad auction processes. This proprietary origination model depends on the firm's reputation for closing transactions without financing contingencies.

Nova Founders functions as a hybrid — part holding company, part deal-by-deal investment vehicle. It does not manage a traditional closed-end fund with a fixed investment period and mandatory distributions. Instead, it raises capital per transaction from a network of European family offices and industrial groups, giving it permanent-capital flexibility to hold assets indefinitely.

The firm targets internet platform businesses — marketplaces, classifieds, fintech lenders, and digital health platforms — operating in Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe. It prefers companies with existing revenue and a path to near-term profitability, typically in countries where a comparable Western model has already proven viable. Deal sizes range from $5 million to $50 million in equity deployment.

The firm installs operating partners directly into portfolio companies, often taking C-level roles during the first 12 to 24 months of ownership. These operators focus on unit economics, technology infrastructure, and go-to-market restructuring. Nova Founders centralizes strategy and capital allocation at the London level while executing operational changes through local-country teams.

Yes. The firm has a track record of co-investing with German internet holding companies and single-family offices that share its permanent-capital orientation. These relationships are deal-specific rather than programmatic, and the firm does not operate a formal co-investment platform open to outside limited partners.

Capital comes from a concentrated group of European family offices and industrial conglomerates, though the firm does not publicly disclose the identities of its backers. The founders have indicated they do not raise from institutional limited partners such as pension funds or endowments, preferring the alignment and patience of private family capital.