NKB Ventures

We invest in companies building the infrastructure to enable large-scale adoption of blockchain technology and new fintech solutions.

We back the best teams in the sector and support them with all elements of our business, from the collective experience of our partners to hands-on help with marketing and PR.

Our deep domain expertise and in-house technology capability enable us to support founders and help them grow their companies from first customers through to transforming an industry.

We look to write a first cheque at Seed or Series A stage, with a view to continue investing in successful companies through to exit or IPO.

INVESTMENT CRITERIA:

  • Initial investment at Seed and Series A
  • Typical investment amount of $250k but up to $2m
  • Companies building blockchain infrastructure and services and innnovative fintech solutions
  • Companies led by strong teams of entrepreneurs

Team

BORIS ZELENY

Co-founder
Boris is a serial entrepreneur and investor, active in the technology space for more than 20 years.Boris is a serial entrepreneur and investor, active in the technology space for more than 20 years. He was a core investor and a key member of the team behind the success of AVG, a central European company which developed into one of the global leaders in cyber security. He is a member of several investment committees and holds Board positions in numerous technology companies. Boris is also active in philanthropy and is the founder and Chairman of the non-profit organization Green Foundation.

CHRIS BAXTER

Co-founder
Chris has more than 30 years of investment banking and investment management experience. Chris has more than 30 years of investment banking and investment management experience. He has held senior management positions at leading international institutions for over 15 years, including: Head of Investment Banking and CEO of Principal Investments at Renaissance Capital, an emerging markets investment bank; and Head of the eastern hemisphere Energy and Power sector team in Merrill Lynch, London. Chris is also a long term member of the Supervisory Board of an emerging market venture capital firm Buran VC. Chris graduated in engineering from Imperial College and received a number of awards for his outstanding academic results including an honorary Fellowship of the Royal Society of Arts Manufactures and Commerce (FRSA).

ROBERT COHEN

Senior Advisor
Robert has 25 years of experience in investment management and investment banking. Robert has 25 years of experience in investment management and investment banking. He is the Managing Partner of Benson Oak, a highly successful central European investment firm which he joined in 1996. Robert served on the Boards of several investee companies, including AVG, one of the global leaders in cyber security, where he handled strategic financing issues for the company and executed its first corporate acquisitions. He has previously managed Benson Oak’s corporate finance advisory business with a broad range of responsibilities including leading M&A advisory, private-equity financings, domestic and international capital market fund-raising and general management advisory.

SAM BURELL

Principal
Prior to joining NKB Ventures, Sam was at Octopus Ventures in London.Prior to joining NKB Ventures, Sam was at Octopus Ventures in London. He started his career as an officer in the Royal Marines, before joining ZipJet, a Rocket Internet start-up, as Head of Ops and then making his way into venture finance. He has an MBA from INSEAD.

OUR PORTFOLIO COMPANIES

Our portfolio companies are building businesses
which are transforming the landscape of digital assets

BCB Group
Bitwala
Blockfolio
Coinfirm
Vacuum Labs

Our portfolio companies are building businesses
which are transforming the landscape of digital assets

BCB Group

BCB Group is a financial services group specialising in digital assets. It caters to the needs of institutional clients who require robust financial facilities in frontier markets. Its service allows traditional brokers, hedge funds, crypto funds and wealth managers to extend their capabilities in the cryptocurrency market with a turn-key solution for onboarding, execution, settlement, reporting and custodianship.

Bitwala

Bitwala is building a blockchain banking experience that merges the crypto and fiat worlds. The Berlin-based platform combines a regular bank account with a bitcoin wallet and seamless bitcoin trading options. It allows customers to efficiently buy and sell bitcoin online or via its mobile app.

Blockfolio

Blockfolio is the leading network for mobile cryptocurrency portfolio tracking and management. Millions of people trust Blockfolio to stay connected to the pulse of the industry through market data, news, and direct updates from leaders of top crypto projects.

Coinfirm

Coinfirm is the global leader in regtech for digital currencies and the blockchain-based financial ecosystem. Its mission is to provide technology for regulatory compliance, bringing transparency and trust to the world of digital currencies. It serves as a foundation for the safe adoption of blockchain by all actors in the economy, including traditional financial institutions, governments, regulators as well as ordinary citizens.

Vacuum Labs

Vacuumlabs is at the forefront of digital design and engineering. With a strong focus on fintech and crypto, they combine their experience and talent to help build products that are ready to leave their mark in the world of financial transactions.

BLOCKCHAIN HUB

We have pioneered the first CEE early stage start-up accelerator program, focusing on blockchain technology. We aim to accommodate the most promising projects working on decentralized finance solutions democratising the public sector and projects which are tackling social challenges by leveraging blockchain technology.

Our mission is to contribute to the thriving ecosystem by building a global innovation centre to support and promote the collaboration between established players, start-ups, R&D institutions and governments in order to boost the adoption of blockchain technology.

Partnerships

NKB Ventures believes in partnering with like-minded investors with a view to building an ecosystem of professional firms. We invest in and collaborate with leading funds in the blockchain space.

A technology venture firm with a founder first philosophy, Benson Oak Benson Oak Ventures focuses on investments in Israel with a mission to support great entrepreneurs build the platforms of the future.

Founded in 2013, Pantera Capital is one of the oldest and largest investors in the nascent market for digital currencies and blockchain technology with more than $600 million AUM.

We would love to see your investment deck.
Please email it to ventures@nkbgroup.io