Naturally, we have a strong track record in the startup segment and remain an accessible partner for ambitious founding teams through Gateway as well. However, our strategic focus is clearly on transferring our fast-paced mindset and digitally driven expertise to larger mid-sized companies and already well-established brands.

During our nearly one-year test phase, we were able to clearly demonstrate that operational expertise from the VC context can create significant value even without an equity stake, particularly for larger organizations.

Not at all - and that is exactly our premise. We continue to see ourselves as an entrepreneurial partner, not as a typical consultancy or agency. This means we work without buzzword noise, deliver honest value, and take on the role of the devil’s advocate when necessary to drive real change.

For our existing investment portfolio, nothing changes: the same team, the same contacts, and the same focus - with the added benefit that our portfolio companies will now have access to an even broader team with additional capabilities.

The only real change is our market presence. In our acquisition process, we now have a much wider selection of potential projects and can make decisions significantly faster. As a result, Gateway is also stepping into visibility and self-marketing more proactively for the first time.

What sets us apart is our heritage. We do not come from the traditional services industry, but from entrepreneurship. With more than nine years of venture capital experience and the strategic perspective of a shareholder, we know exactly which levers matter at which stage - where focus is required, where operational depth is essential, and which measures actually drive growth rather than just filling presentations.

This is not meant as industry bashing at all. I started my own career at a large, well-known agency and still value that foundation highly. However, based on more than 150 pitch meetings and countless conversations with founders and executives, it is clear that overall quality in recent years has partly declined due to lower entry barriers and high revenue pressure - from performance marketing agencies to strategy consultancies.

Our ambition is to consistently deliver outstanding quality. That is why we select our mandates very deliberately and according to clear quality standards.

In essence, our selection process is not that far removed from our investment DNA. While Gateway operates in a broader field, the core decision criteria remain the same. Above all, we need to see a clear lever where we can create real value. We aim to deliver excellent results and value partnerships built on trust and collaboration at eye level.

If we are not convinced that we can achieve meaningful impact with our resources, we prefer to allocate those limited capacities elsewhere. We are in the fortunate position of not having to accept every mandate, and we see this selectiveness as a central quality promise to our partners. While we pursue ambitious growth targets, these will never come at the expense of result quality.

Exactly. Over the years, we have proven that the combination of these three disciplines creates enormous leverage. Personally, I currently see the greatest opportunity in AI consulting and selected AI-based services, such as our AI content production, which already makes entire photo and video productions obsolete.

In this field, we positioned ourselves early as a first mover, consistently deepened our expertise, and achieved measurable results for our partners.

In the startup environment, it is often a lack of abstraction. Strong belief in one’s own product is essential, but without an external, realistic perspective, objectivity is easily lost. There is often too little distance to critically question one’s own business model, structures, and results, and to adapt them in time.

In the corporate world, the issue is typically rigid structures and slow decision-making processes. In an extremely fast-moving environment, this inertia costs significant potential, especially when it comes to tool stacks or the rapid adoption of new technologies.

That said, these mistakes also occur in companies that already work with external partners. An outside perspective alone does not guarantee success. In the end, beyond a strong plan, it is the operational execution that truly matters.

That’s a great question - and not an easy one. There were many learnings, of course, but if I had to name one spontaneously, it would be that we, as the “young guns from the VC world,” absolutely do not need to hide from more traditional players. In fact, our direct and honest way of working has been particularly well received by high-caliber partners.

PAPA OSCAR Ventures GmbH was founded in 2017 and is today one of the leading investment firms for E-commerce and Direct-to-Consumer brands in Europe. The company combines capital with comprehensive operational support through internal expert teams in marketing, sales, strategy, product development, and IT.