After a year of building in stealth, Entourage, a new venture capital and studio, has launched with a $30 million fund.
Founded by Showpad co-founder Pieterjan Bouten in 2023, Entourage aims to build and fund new and upcoming B2B Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) companies in Europe.
Entourage plans to back such companies through Entourage Studio, its venture studio, and also through its early stage investment fund, Entourage Capital.
The funds were raised from a collection of software entrepreneurs including Jason Lemkin, Stijn Christiaens, Zhong Xu and Joris Van Der Gucht, and family offices including Coral & Wallace, Alychlo and Baltisse.
In The Pocket, a European digital services firm, is Entourage’s long-term partner and studio backer.
“We want to build and fund the next generation of B2B-focused SaaS businesses with a focus on innovative products and services that drive growth and transformation in the enterprise category,” Bouten said.
“There are profound transformations taking place. Businesses have to respond quicker than ever before to innovation, and there has never been a bigger opportunity to unlock that value.”
Entourage Studio
Entourage Studio has already begun work with its first company – Tekst – an artificial intelligence (AI) platform to automate support and back-office for big enterprises.
“With Entourage Studio we aim to build multiple high-growth B2B SaaS companies from scratch over the next couple of years,” Bouten added.
“We have thought hard about how we can be the most constructive and founder friendly partner, respecting the future proofness of the cap table as well as the independence of ambitious founders. At Entourage, founders will always be in the lead and in control.”
The studio aims to support and launch three to five companies in the next few years.
Entourage Capital
On the other hand, Entourage Capital has also kicked off operations by adding three B2B SaaS companies in its portfolio: Aikido, Henchman and NineID.
Aikido is a cybersecurity firm which recently raised a €5 million follow-on round from Notion Capital and Connect Ventures. Henchman is a legaltech start-up and NineID operates in the control and contractor management sector.
Looking ahead, Entourage Capital aims to invest in companies that are between seed to Series A stages, with a goal to invest in 12 to 15 companies in the next few years.
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Shruti Khairnar is a seasoned B2B reporter with a diverse background in financial journalism. She has written for prominent B2B publications including FinTech Futures, ESG Investor, Sustainabonds and more.
