News | Rockaway Ventures

February 6, 2025

Rockaway Ventures Invests in CulturePulse: Driving Innovation in Behavioral Analysis and Security Risk Prediction Across Europe and Beyond

Rockaway Ventures, a European investment fund under the Rockaway Capital group, has announced its investment in CulturePulse, an innovative American startup specializing in advanced behavioral modeling. By expanding its portfolio with such forward-thinking companies, Rockaway Ventures reaffirms its position as a bold and ambitious venture capital player in Europe, committed to addressing global challenges through cutting-edge technology.

CulturePulse’s platform allows clients to better understand the complexities of social dynamics and predict both security and business risks on a global scale. Leveraging artificial intelligence and cognitive science, the platform’s unique ARES (Automated Risk Estimation) system enables the creation of precise, psychologically realistic digital twins of target audiences. These capabilities have already proven effective in high-impact projects, such as collaboration with the UN on a virtual model of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which analyzed the interactions of individuals across more than 80 social, demographic, and moral dimensions.

“We are driven by a vision to redefine the boundaries of what predictive technologies can achieve,” explains Dušan Zábrodský, Investment Partner at Rockaway Capital. “CulturePulse is not just another AI startup; their technology represents a fundamental shift in understanding human behavior and tackling societal challenges. Partnering with them aligns perfectly with our ambition to empower innovation that creates real-world impact.”

The company aims to use the $1.5 million raised in its first investment round, which remains open to additional investors, to expand its team and accelerate product development. The goal is to adapt their revolutionary technology for a broader spectrum of applications, from marketing strategies to urban planning.

“With Rockaway Ventures’ support, we are ready to push the boundaries of what is possible in predictive analysis,” says CulturePulse CEO Justin Lane. “Our technology doesn’t just analyze data; it truly understands and predicts human behavior in ways that were previously unimaginable.”

“Security and innovation are key areas where Europe must lead. At Rockaway Ventures, we see it as our mission to champion companies like CulturePulse, whose technologies are not only transformative but essential for addressing complex global issues,” adds Petr Šmíd, Investment Partner at Rockaway Ventures.

January 31, 2025

Cruxo Revolutionizes Supplier Advertising on E-commerce Platforms, Boosts E-shop Profits Across 6 Countries, and Secures a New CZK 15 Million Investment

Major e-commerce players in Europe are embracing the trend of optimizing their advertising space, where the potential for high-margin revenue lies—a game-changer in a competitive landscape where every percentage counts. Cruxo’s services are already being used by e-shops with annual revenues exceeding CZK 1 billion, such as Lekarna.cz, Dr.Max. EU, Astratex.EU, and Greece’s Kotsovolos. Cruxo’s founders now report further achievements: The platform has customers in 6 countries, supports multiple languages, and has secured investment from Czech Founders VC, Rockaway Ventures, and angel investors for further growth.

Retail media is a rapidly expanding sector within digital advertising, allowing brands to communicate with consumers directly on e-commerce sites through various ad formats. As people spend more time shopping online, retail media presents an opportunity to reach customers right at the decision-making point. Thanks to its high efficiency and targeting capabilities, e-commerce advertising is an effective tool for brands to influence their sales immediately. According to a recent AIB Europe study published in October, the European retail media market is expected to surpass €25 billion within two years (https://iabeurope.eu/the-retail-media-revolution-2024-state-of-play-and-outlook-in-europe/).

With growing ad investments on e-commerce sites, there is an increasing need to transform today’s manual ad ordering, placement, and optimization processes. CRUXO is a technology platform that significantly simplifies the planning, ordering, deployment, and evaluation processes. Beyond straightforward administration, it also uses data-driven optimization to maximize the effectiveness of an e-shop’s ad space. For both brands and e-shops, this results in higher sales revenue with less time spent on ad setup. CRUXO has recently introduced features to schedule ads within specific time intervals throughout the day, expanding targeting options.

“In the past year, we’ve confirmed that supplier marketing can be managed more efficiently and with higher performance. Large e-shops often run hundreds of campaigns monthly across various ad formats, requiring substantial manual input on both sides. Our platform automates this process for retailers, freeing up resources for more strategic initiatives. With data-based optimization of ad formats and contextual targeting, we deliver substantial value to retailers and suppliers,” says Michal Trunkát, co-founder and CEO.

“Rockaway has rich experience in the field of e-commerce thanks to investments in companies such as Mall.cz, Košík.cz and Bringmeister, which deal with similar challenges as Cruxo is addressing today. We are convinced that Cruxo, thanks to its technology and focus on process automation, will help e-shops increase their competitiveness and effectively respond to the changing needs of the market,” said Dušan Zábrodský, partner of Rockaway Ventures.

The CRUXO team is led by seasoned professionals from the advertising and retail industries, with a recent focus on customer-oriented operations targeting retailers and their suppliers. The technology behind the CRUXO platform is essential. Still, an in-depth understanding of retail business and ecosystem is equally important. Since the beginning of the year, CRUXO has been joined by partners Jakub Špryngl and Hana Pavlíková, who bring extensive management experience in retail and customer experience in Central Europe. Recently, Pavel Jančovič, who has held positions at Mall and CNC, joined the team as Chief Product Officer.

November 25, 2024

Apaleo Secures €20 Million Growth Equity Investment Led by PSG to Accelerate Global Expansion

Apaleo, the API-first open property management platform, today announced it has raised €20 million in a growth equity investment round led by PSG Equity, a leading growth equity firm that specializes in partnering with software and technology-enabled services companies to help navigate and capitalize on transformational growth. Existing investors Redalpine, FOMCAP IV, and Rockaway Ventures also participated in the round.

The funding will allow Apaleo to accelerate its international expansion, attract top-tier talent, and further develop its cutting-edge platform. The company plans to strengthen its presence throughout Europe and globally, solidifying its position as a market leader in hotels and serviced apartments. Apaleo will also deploy the capital to further expand its already sizeable reach across a broad spectrum of the accommodation and serviced living industries – including hotel chains, resorts, student housing, short-term rentals, camping, senior living and other accommodation verticals.

Apaleo’s rapidly expanding portfolio now spans over 30 countries worldwide, managing more than 85,000 units across diverse markets and serving over 1,700 properties. Customers now include well-known global hotel brands like citizenM, easyHotel, and Falkensteiner Hotels & Residences, cutting-edge serviced apartment providers such as Numa, limehome, and iLive, as well as boutique chains like Miiro Hotels and Korner Hotels in France and internationally.

Unlike all-in-one property management systems, Apaleo’s API-first model offers the freedom to integrate with over 250 specialised applications, enabling accommodation providers to build customised technology stacks according to specific needs. This open platform approach addresses the primary limitation of legacy PMS-centric technology in today’s hospitality sector, eliminating constraints and fostering industry-wide innovation in technology applications. Supported by its MACH (Microservices-based, API-first, Cloud-native, Headless) architecture, Apaleo offers scalability and adaptability, empowering accommodation businesses of any size and type to tailor their technology solutions to fit any business model.

September 11, 2023

Rockaway Ventures Strengthens German Footprint with Investment in Startup Raus

Raus has become the fourth German startup in the current portfolio of Rockaway Ventures, joining Apaleo, a cloud platform for the hotel industry, Freeway Camper, which specializes in motorhome rentals, and Vivere, a company providing comprehensive e-commerce services. Raus, the newest addition to the portfolio, brings an innovative approach to recreational accommodation with its network of portable and sustainable living units that can be easily installed in various locations.

Raus addresses the rapidly growing demand for flexible and eco-friendly nature stays, offering an escape from urban life. In the investment round led by ROCH Ventures, Raus raised €8.5 million, with participation from Rockaway Ventures, Speedinvest, 10x Founders, and others. As part of the investment, Raus secured an asset-backed loan from Germany’s Varengold Bank, which marks a significant step toward expanding its growth, strengthening its position in Germany, developing its online platform, innovating products, and, notably, pursuing geographic expansion across Europe, beginning in neighboring Austria in the coming weeks.

The expansion into Austria coincides with the launch of the new Cabin 2.0 model, which features a lighter and more compact design. In 2024, Raus aims to consolidate its presence in Germany, establish more community locations, enhance its proprietary technology for seamless stays, and expand its platform with additional products and services.

“We are extremely grateful for the support and trust of our investors in our business model and vision. With Raus, we are addressing critical challenges in the travel industry, meeting the ongoing demand for responsibility and sustainability, which will continue to be important for many years to come,” says Julian Trautwein, co-founder and CEO of Raus.

In the past year, Raus experienced a 500% year-on-year increase in revenue, a fivefold increase in guest numbers compared to the previous year, and a tripling in new bookings, demonstrating a sustained demand. Additionally, through close collaboration with farmers and foresters, Raus has positively impacted agricultural businesses, providing local partners with an average additional income of €1,500 per month.

“Raus has an exceptionally experienced and talented team that has succeeded in taking a leading position in a newly emerging vertical in the tourism and housing market. This is an area where we see long-term potential for innovation and growth. For Rockaway Ventures, this is another significant step as we continue to expand our portfolio in the dynamically developing German startup ecosystem with a company that has strong potential for geographic expansion,” explains Dušan Zábrodský, General Partner at Rockaway Ventures.

August 31, 2023

Embracing ESG principles is going beyond short-term financial gain

ESG has been with us for a while now. It has been slowly gaining momentum since the principles (Environmental, Social and Governance) were first mandated in financial evaluations through the 2006 United Nations’ PRI report. Initially, 63 investment firms with $6.5 trillion AUM signed on, growing to 2450 signatories representing over $80 trillion AUM by June 2019. While traditionally associated with large corporations, ESG considerations are now extending their reach into the realm of startups.

Success of a startup is no longer solely determined by financial performance as founders are expected to adjust to a dynamic and quickly evolving world. The path to achieve quantifiable value now leads through recognizing ESG factors at the core of business operations. Of course, not all ESG factors are applicable to your business, so you have to find the ones that do. Nevertheless, taking this approach will ensure long-term resilience and viability. In this blog post I will try to explain why I believe having ESG factors incorporated in your startup is beneficial and how Rockaway Ventures incorporated ESG into its mindset.

What are the benefits of ESG factors for your Startup

Prioritizing ESG from the outset expands your potential investor pool and significantly increases the likelihood of securing investment support. Angel investors as well as VC funds now assess these factors more than ever. This shift is driven by the growing influence of ESG practices on market benchmarks and financial performance. Additionally, meeting ESG standards becomes imperative for investments from development finance institutions (DFIs), and impact investors specifically seek out businesses with ESG factors in mind.

A recent study from Karney found that roughly half of the consumers in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), about 49 percent, consider ESG factors to be highly important, while an additional 40 percent view them as moderately important.

Ignoring ESG practices can lead to missed opportunities. Although it is challenging for resource-constrained startups, investing in ESG pays off when consumers and investors recognize your responsible approach.

ESG practices can also play a decisive role in the process of building trust, particularly when startups lack an established reputation and showcasing your corporate responsibility through ESG reporting can foster trust among internal and external stakeholders. Highlighting your focus on sustainability helps instill confidence when pitching to VC’s or investors as they often value transparency and a long-term commitment to the company’s success.

What does ESG factors mean for startup investing

Integrating ESG factors into startup investing means that the fund has to understand clearly what ESG is about and try to implement and integrate as many ESG factors as possible into their own policy to be able understand the complexity and importance of each of the metrics, to evaluate the investees based on clear process and to lead startups throughout the entire lifecycle. Today, startup investment demands a whole new approach within due diligence integrating exclusionary screenings, positive screenings and where possible also detailed impact of the environmental factors.

Even though such a process is hardly applicable on startups at pre-seed or seed stage having 5 or 20 employees focused on different problems it’s clear that this approach starting with always on ESG education of the startups, considering ESG factors throughout the evaluation process has an important impact and drives a mindset change. It is obvious to corporations and bigger companies already that this approach goes beyond short – term financial gain. It embraces the idea that responsible and sustainable practices incorporated in the business lead to financial savings, better product outcomes and overall more sustainable future and this applies to startups and investors as well.

By Kateřina Havrlant, Operating Partner of Rockaway Ventures Fund

April 26, 2023

Rockaway Ventures Fund expands its portfolio with the German startup Apaleo

After recent investments in the German FreewayCamper, the Czech platform Campiri or the Greek startup Spotawheel, Rockaway Ventures announced another interesting investment. This time to the German startup Apaleo, which focuses on developing a modern cloud platform for the hotel industry that allows accommodation facilities to easily manage their reservations, operations and invoicing.

The company raised a total of EUR 9 million in two tranches in Series A funding. Rockaway Ventures was the lead equity investor in this round along with Swiss fund Serpentine Ventures, supplemented by a number of angel investors. Apaleo is successfully disrupting the area of software solutions for the hotel industry and property management. It offers modern cloud technology based on open interfaces (API) and easily connects various internal and external hotel systems and applications. This allows hotels and accommodation facilities to gain more flexibility and easily adapt their services to the specific needs of customers.

Thanks to this, hotels and accommodation facilities can easily integrate their existing systems with the new Apaleo technology and thus build their unique proposition for their end customers. Startup Apaleo is experiencing strong expansion, achieving more than 100% year-over-year ARR growth during 2022. The platform is used by technologically progressive hotel groups and digital accommodation establishments in more than 15 countries. These include, for example, numa, Mollie’s by Soho House, mk hotels, Zetter Hotels & co, Limehome, SV Group, HR Group, Vagabond Club or Lindemann Hotels.

“As a long-term investor in European online travel, we appreciate how well Apaleo responds to current hospitality trends and the changing demands of modern customers. We strongly believe that Apaleo has the potential to become an important player in the global hospitality technology ecosystem,” adds Andrea Lauren, General Partner of Rockaway Ventures.

Martin Reichenbach, Co-CEO and co-founder of Apaleo, adds: “Apaleo is exactly what hotel groups and alternative accommodation providers have been asking for for a long time: a real platform where they can access their preferred technology package. During 2022, we saw clear signs that the hotel industry is ready and hungry for transformation. The new funding will allow us to continue our mission: to give every hospitality business the freedom to create their vision. We stand ready to continue to provide the technology core while our forward-thinking community helps hospitality companies innovate.”

September 13, 2022

Dušan Zábrodský, General partner of Rockaway Ventures: Decline is an Opportunity

The year 2021 was truly an exceptional one for the entire European venture capital ecosystem. Fundraising for growth funds set a new record of EUR 20 billion and venture capital one of EUR 18 billion. Roughly 5300 companies were on the receiving end of the investments, with the vast majority being small and medium-sized ones. All this despite the uncertainty caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

At Rockaway, we didn’t stay behind. In the fall of 2021 we started the Rockaway Ventures Fund and in April we’d received over CZK 600 million from investors. Building on the success of Rockaway Ventures, which since 2014 has managed to invest EUR 29 million, finish 22 investments and 11 exits, and with an annual IRR of 46 % can boast a portfolio valued at EUR 139 million that includes super-successful Czech unicorn Productboard or the Balkan Gjirafa.com e-commerce platform.

We started the new Rockaway Ventures Fund when company valuations were at a record high. We bet on highly fragmented and hitherto unconsolidated markets that have yet to be digitalized. Some examples are investments into Campiri, a Czech platform for renting recreational vehicles, Spotawheel, a Greek used car sales platform, or the German FreewayCamper platform.

However, within a short time the mood in the economy and on the market has changed radically. The war in Ukraine, energy dependence on Russia, rapidly increasing inflation – these are all critical factors affecting the entire venture capital ecosystem, and much more. The global economy is almost certainly facing stagflation, and so it’s obvious that after the “gold rush” of the last two years, were in for a very unpleasant sobering experience.

FEET BACK ON THE GROUND

This isn’t the first time venture capital has been in such situation. Many of us still vividly remember when the internet bubble burst in 2000, or the mortgage crisis of 2008. So it’s definitely not hard to find historical parallels. Almost ten years later we’re once again experiencing significant economic decline and limited access to liquidity on the market. The generally expected low degree of public consumption indicates that new start-ups will have increasing problems obtaining finances.

With increasing frequency we’re encountering the term “down round”, describing a situation where a company is offering additional shares for sale at a price lower than in the previous round of financing. A shining example is the story of the until recently most highly valued European start-up, Klarna. The valuation of this Swedish fintech company plummeted from 46 billion to 6.7 billion dollars, hence a hard-to-believe 85 %. That’s truly a gigantic drop and I think that we’ll hear more such stories in the near future.

It’s no wonder: tech companies are in a very difficult environment. While when the venture capital market was booming, investors looked primarily at rate of growth, now they’re mainly interested in sustainability and cash flow optimization. Plans for expansion or product development have to be put on hold in many cases, and not only European funds are taking a wait and see attitude that may last until the end of the year and maybe even longer. Nobody knows how far markets may still drop, and companies that were relying on obtaining financing for future growth are suddenly in a situation where they may not get it, and if they do, it will be on different terms than they were used to up to now.

IT’S NOT AS BAD AS IT MAY SEEM

However, from the perspective of a well-prepared investor, this can be an ideal opportunity. Thanks to the general decline in valuation, large European VC funds, including the Rockaway Ventures Fund, have the opportunity to negotiate better terms for new investments and to put together more interesting deals. It’s of course good to be careful, but experienced investors will still be looking for top start-ups, and if they come across a company with a convincing product and a sustainable business plan, from a long-term perspective there’s a great likelihood of high growth.

History tells us that VC funds that achieved up to a tenfold return in their portfolio made their most significant investments during a recession. Venture capital involves betting on the market’s future and smart investors see a decline as an opportunity. Plus if investors remains active even during a recession, through new investments they can help hire top-notch talent while the job market is in turmoil, which in the end lets funds play a more prominent role in directing their portfolio companies.

June 20, 2022

Rockaway Ventures announces another investment: Thanks to Germany's FreewayCamper it is once again betting on shared caravans

After recent investments in the Czech Campiri platform and the Greek Spotawheel start-up, Rockaway Ventures has announced another interesting investment. This time, it’s into Germany’s FreewayCamper, also supported by the founders of the successful Germany company FlixBus. Rockaway Ventures thus once again has set its sights on a company focusing on a camping product. FreewayCamper, which operates primarily in Germany, recently expanded to the Polish and Italian markets. Altogether it raised over EUR 30 million of financing, consisting of equity, venture debt and bank debt. Rockaway Ventures was the lead equity investor in the round.

FreewayCamper was founded at the end of 2019 in Munich by Julia Blum and Nikolai Voitiouk, who build on their extensive experience in e-commerce, M&A and marketing. FreewayCamper aims to disrupt how campground vacations are planned and how caravans are reserved. It is striving to achieve this through comprehensive digitalization of the whole booking process. The European outdoor travel market is currently estimated to be worth EUR 156 billion.

In a short time, the founders managed to surround themselves with an experienced management team, whose members came from FlixBus, the largest European bus transport platform. At FlixBus, Nikolai Voitiouk was responsible for CEE expansion. At Flixbus, whose attractive business model of aggregating bus transport offerings made it number one in Europe, Nikolai helped create its entire regional franchise model. As CEO of the FreewayCamper start-up, he wants to use a similar franchise model for its expansion in Germany and CEE. During the first quarter of this year, the company grew by more than 500 %, with 2021 revenues in the lower single digits of millions of euros. FreewayCamper offers a combination of its own fleet and franchise partners. This allows it to both scale the product quickly and provide a high-quality customer experience. It also provides campground reservation services, and is planning to integrate additional products.

“Already today freeway-camper.com is the fastest growing start-up inside the camping travel industry. Within just two years we have built the biggest network of camper rental stations in Germany. This year we started our international expansion with first stations in Poland and Italy. Thanks to the support of Rockaway Ventures and our other investors we will ensure the leading position in Europe within just few years and invest into the integration of the camper rental and campsites booking product”.

Rockaway Ventures had the opportunity to invest in the German platform in the seed investment round, together with existing international investors. Through its investment Rockaway intends to support further growth, fleet expansion and expansion to other countries, primarily Poland and Italy. Rockaway Ventures participated in the investment round alongside Flixbus founders’ SEK Ventures and other prominent German angel investors. The Rockaway Ventures Fund is thus continuing to invest in the highly fragmented caravan rental market. At the start of May the fund announced an investment into Czech start-up Campiri, founded by Lukáš Janoušek and Paul Tesar, which focuses on the digitalization of caravan rentals in the Czech Republic, with recent expansion to Poland, Greece, and Slovakia.

“We see huge potential in the caravan rental market. This is given primarily by extreme fragmentation and insufficient digitalization. And yet suitable tools for consolidation already exist. Our decision is also the result of excellent analytical work by the entire investment team. Despite the global economy’s gloomy outlook, we believe that this segment will be a winner in the long term,” says Rockaway Ventures General Partner Andrea Lauren.

This year the Rockaway Ventures Fund (RVF) opened the Czech RVF SICAV qualified investors fund – since April it is thus possible to invest in Rockaway Ventures through Amista and J&T Bank, and starting in July also through Conseq. RVF SICAV, which is registered with the Czech National Bank and administered by Amista invests solely in RVF. Its structure and investment amount allow investors to invest in Czech korunas, with a minimum investment amount of CZK 1 million, making investment into tech start-ups, including FreewayCamper, possible for a broader range of investors.

May 25, 2022

Anna Kreml: New talent on a ventures team that's on the move

There are usually two types of university students. There are those who try to fly through their semesters as quickly as possible and give a wide berth to anything else university-related, and then there are those who take advantage of every opportunity their studies offer them. Anna Kreml, who has been working for Rockaway since January as an Investment Associate, was without a doubt the second type – and about ten times over. But, as she says, work terms, competitions, Erasmus programmes, and other opportunities gradually opened doors to the world of investment. Today, at the age of 28, Anna is responsible for helping Rockaway find and analyze new start-ups that have market-changing potential.

“At the University of Economics in Prague, I studied international trade because I was interested in the essence of an education in economics, its international aspects, and economics as a science, as well as how companies work,” says Anna. On top of that, in her fourth year she also started taking law courses. “I liked the fact that there we delved into history and politics, and that I was able to get to know new people. But I didn’t want to spread myself too thin, so after one semester I stopped.”

Thanks to her excellent results in student competitions put on by McKinsey or Ernst&Young, for example, Anna attended several summer schools and work terms abroad, where she gradually gained experience in the area of M&A. Another important programme for her was Erasmus, in which she participated both during her bachelor’s and her master’s studies: “Right from first year I focused on getting into the University of Edinburgh, which is one of the best schools. Then, when I was doing my Master’s degree, I actually didn’t have to participate in another one – I ‘boned up’ on all the subjects in advance and was prepared to study law, plus at that time I was already working full time at EY in mergers and acquisitions. But I did it anyway,” she smiles. At the Erasmus School of Economics in Rotterdam she thus started exploring the technological part of the business and also had the opportunity to participate in several start-up summits abroad, such as the START Summit put on by the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland.

STARTUP–BANK–ROCKAWAY
Soon she was offered a job at Swiss start-up Viso.ai, where for several months she was able to work closely with both founders. She then returned to Prague to join the investment banking team at WOOD & Company as an analyst. “It was a higher goal for me than EY, because we were taking companies to the stock market. They’re transactions with greater orders of magnitude, and I was thus able to get to know another transaction banking spectrum,” she says.

After some time, however, Anna felt the desire to move on, and when at last year’s Forbes Next Big Thing conference she heard the keynote speech given by Rockaway investment partner Dušan Zábrodský, her mind was made up. “I realized that this was exactly what I wanted. I wrote the team, saying that I had experience they might find useful. I then had several meetings with Andrea Lauren (note: a Rockaway investment partner) and other members of the team, and that was that.”

Today, as one of Rockaway’s Investment Associates, Anna ensures the team knows about opportunities on the market they should pay closer attention to and that it will understand well, analyzes new start-ups, and explores their potential. In her view, it’s also one of the greatest challenges for anyone in the ventures field: to find relevant opportunities quickly and at the right time. “Working at Rockaway Ventures doesn’t mean ending at 5 p.m. You basically have to rub shoulders with founders, attend events and conferences, and desktop research is important too, where you need to investigate various regulatory changes, read through various technical documents, and contact the right companies that are doing fund-raising,” she explains.

TAKING CARE OF INVESTMENTS AS A NEVER-ENDING PROCESS
Fresh proof of Anna’s hard work and talent, and of the whole team, is the recent investment into Spotawheel, a Greek platform for buying and selling used cars that last year the Financial Times ranked as one of the fastest-growing specialized shops in Europe.

In addition, Anna manages the whole investment process, from the initial stage of getting to know the founder to the investment as such, and any subsequent help with growth or additional rounds of fund-raising. “It’s basically a never-ending process,” she laughs. But this ventures team member says that there’s always great support to be had. “The Rockaway team is incredibly varied, and everyone has various experiences and skills – from London banks, private equity, or from building their own companies. And you won’t find a similar digital portfolio anywhere in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, or Poland. As opposed to the world of transaction consulting, here the dominant mindset is that of company builders and business drive, but there’s also a friendly atmosphere. And I’m really glad that I can be a part of it all.

May 11, 2022

Rockaway Ventures bets on Czech startup Campiri

Rockaway Ventures has once again made another important investment. This time it has set it sights on Czech start-up Campiri. The promising caravan sharing web platform, which is also available in Poland, Slovakia, and Greece is aiming to further expand its services in eastern and southern Europe. In its seed round, Campiri received a total of EUR 1.03 million from Rockaway. Other investors in this round, which totalled EUR 2.3 million, were the Miton investment group and the Purple Ventures capital fund.

“Our plans for Campiri were always more than to just be a local player, and now, partly thanks to this investment, our chances have increased substantially. This is because the lion’s share of the finances are earmarked to support expansion and hire experienced people in the team for current and new markets. What’s more, we now see our greatest potential being in central, eastern, and southern Europe, and we’re convinced that this is the ideal time to enter local markets. While there are already several competitors in western Europe, in the CEE region digitalization is just beginning. And that’s why we’re confident that our ambitions in this area are absolutely realistic,” says Campiri CEO Lukáš Janoušek.

“We’re very happy about the Campiri investment. We were primarily interested in their digital business model, which makes it possible for owners to connect, with a few clicks, with clients interested in renting their caravan. In recent years we’ve seen an upswing in the popularity of this form of travel, which on top of everything else also has a demonstrably smaller environmental impact. Campiri’s support for sustainable projects within the camping and caravaning structure is also aligned with our ESG strategy, which is a key factor for us,” says Rockaway Capital investment partner Dušan Zábrodský, and adds: “At the same time, for us, financing Campiri is a logical continuation of our recent investments within the scope of the overall digitalization of car rental and sales.”

One single season of operation cemented the platform’s position as having the greatest number of caravans for rent in once place. Today, it has a varied selection of 400 vehicles. Campiri concluded 2021 with revenues of CZK 20 million, more than 5000 nights spent by customers in caravans, and a fifth of Czech rental agencies as partners. In the future, such coverage should also be the standard for other markets. The year 2022 will be marked by growing interest by private owners in renting out their caravans, with more than 100 already being offered by Campiri in the Czech Republic and Poland. For this year the target is to increase the total number of available vehicles to 1200 across all markets. Their own fleet, which today numbers 25 vehicles and thanks to the influx of capital will continue to grow, will help achieve this end.

Starting in April of this year, it will also be possible to invest in the Rockaway Ventures fund via AMISTA, Conseq, and J&T Bank. Rockaway Ventures Fund SICAV (RVF SICAV), registered with the Czech National Bank and administered by AMISTA, was created exclusively for investment into the Rockaway Ventures Fund. Its structure and investment amount allows investors to invest in Czech korunas, with a minimum investment amount of CZK 1 million, making investment possible for more investors.