Simon Capital

The managing directors, Dr. Friedrich Droste and Jan Leicht, lead the investment team. They are supported by principals Nico Heinz and Niklas Leske, alongside a compact team of investment managers. The firm’s website presents Droste and Leicht as the senior decision-makers driving strategy and portfolio oversight.

Bitburger Ventures GmbH is a limited partner in Simon Capital’s main fund vehicle. The investment team previously managed a portfolio on behalf of Bitburger Ventures before the current structure took shape. This relationship provides Simon Capital with long-term family-backed capital and industrial network access, while the firm retains independent investment discretion.

The firm engages in both direct investments and fund commitments. Simon Capital states it is invested in leading early-stage venture funds and uses those partnerships to co-invest alongside GPs. This dual approach broadens deal access and provides comparative market intelligence without building an internal fund-of-funds team at scale.

The firm focuses on Seed through Series A and supports companies beyond that stage. Its own description runs “from Seed to Series A — and beyond,” indicating early entry with capital reserved for follow-on rounds. Portfolio holdings suggest it enters at formation and growth inflection points rather than late-stage pre-IPO rounds.

Sourcing relies on a curated network of industry contacts from its limited partner base, combined with relationships built through fund commitments. The firm emphasizes warm introductions to founders and co-investors, leveraging its industrial heritage and German Mittelstand connections to access deals that are not broadly auctioned to outside managers.

There is no public disclosure of a separate philanthropic foundation. The firm’s website emphasizes a sustainability and impact lens in investing rather than a formal charitable vehicle. Its portfolio includes brands with social-impact components (e.g., Share), but the entity itself appears to operate purely as a private equity manager without a carved-out foundation.

The firm does not publish an exclusion list. Its three stated thesis areas — consumption, wellbeing, productivity — concentrate on consumer-facing and B2B products with sustainability angles. There is no disclosed exposure to heavy industry, extractive sectors, defense, or traditional financial infrastructure, suggesting a perimeter defined by positive selection rather than negative screening.