Munich Startup: Please introduce Adventure briefly!
Thomas Less, Adventury: We are the smart capital investor Adventure, or AVY for short. We support startups in further developing their digital business models and achieving sustainable growth. We pursue the Service4Equity approach.
Adventury is backed by five partners: Christine Buckenmaier and Christian Steiner, the founders and managing directors of the digital marketing agency AnalyticaA; AnalyticaA itself; Rizek Ventures, owned by Alphapet founder and business angel David Rizek; and myself, Thomas Less. Before founding Adventury, I was Managing Partner at AnalyticaA for over seven years.
AnalyticaA pursued a very classic agency business: services for a fee. But then I asked myself, what about startups that urgently need our services but operate on tight budgets? My answer was the Service4Equity approach, and I founded Adventury last year, with the support of AnalyticaA.
Munich Startup: What exactly can startups expect from you?
Thomas Less: Service4Equity is still rarely offered in Germany, but in the US it is already widespread and an important part of the startup scene. The idea behind it is actually quite simple: We offer our agency services – all of AnalyticaA's marketing solutions, such as SEO and SEA, affiliate marketing, and social media marketing – to the startup and, in return, receive a direct share in the company's success.
But what's really exciting about this is the dynamic that develops. The interaction between us and the startups is completely different from what we're used to in the traditional client-agency relationship. Startups value our expert role very differently than traditional agency clients, and as a result, what we say in coaching or in conversations resonates with a completely different audience. We're perceived as colleagues who have a strong vested interest in our shared success.
Extensive business angel network
In addition, we also offer a large network. Both our shareholders as individuals and the participating companies have an extensive national and international network. Through the AnalyticaA group of companies and sister companies, we have expertise, personnel, and services with a focus on fashion and accessories. As an agency, however, we have served clients of all stripes from a wide variety of B2C and B2B industries. Our angel investor, Rizek Ventures, with David Rizek, one of the founders of Alpha Pet Ventures, also brings an extensive business angel network and corresponding expertise.
Munich Startup: How do you select suitable startups? And how exactly do you get tickets?
Thomas Less: Of course, the founding team is important to us; there has to be a certain basic sympathy, so to speak. If we believe we can't work well with the founders—or vice versa—then it makes no sense to force a collaboration. And of course, we check the startup's marketing in advance and determine whether the power of our 20-strong team of experts, who can get started on day one of our collaboration, is a suitable scaling lever. If, for example, the product isn't ready, it's too early for us to get involved. But of course, we also take a close look at the pitch deck, figures, annual financial statements, etc.
If everything fits and we come together, our tickets usually range between €25,000 and €250,000. The difference with other investors, however, is that the sum doesn't end up entirely in cash in the startup's account; instead, the startup receives a large portion of the agreed-upon services. If we determine together that additional work is needed, the startup can, of course, add additional services.
“We are like an insurance company.”
Munich Startup: What is your relationship with other investors?
Thomas Less: Very good. For the traditional VC investor, we are ultimately something like an insurance policy for the startup's scaling. Because once the product, app, software, or service is available, a large part of its success naturally depends on digital marketing.
A well-coordinated team of experts with experience from a wide range of customer projects and channels can, of course, accelerate much faster than a small team of one or two people in a startup and, on average, delivers better results more quickly.
On the other hand, we obviously also need other investors, as we primarily provide staff and time. But without a budget, even the best marketing team is pointless. Raising a financing round entirely on our own isn't in the nature of our offering.
We're now receiving inquiries from traditional cash investors who already have startups regarding collaborations or whether we'd be willing to take a look at their marketing setup from the outside. This wasn't something we originally considered, but we naturally welcome the idea of being approached as "insurance" for existing investments, and we're open to it.
Investment in B42
Munich Startup: Your first investment went into the Munich startup B42. How was that for you?
Thomas Less: That was an extremely exciting time for us. As our first investment, B42 was also the test case, still through AnalyticaA GmbH. Not just for our offering, but also for our contracts and potential pitfalls. As I mentioned earlier, Service4Equity is widely used in the US. Therefore, we based our contract framework on documents from a US law firm, which we then adapted for Germany. Simon Kofler, co-founder and CFO of B42 and an incredibly good CFO, provided us with significant support. At B42, I personally act as a coach for Ben Menges, the CMO, who works with our team. Both sides have truly benefited from this partnership from the very beginning, and we've really enjoyed working with B42.
Munich Startup: To be successful, a startup must…
Thomas Less: …Have excellent marketing, of course. But I think the topic of focus is also very important, and which key performance indicators management uses to manage the company. Sales and costs are often overestimated metrics – because they are actually just the results of other business drivers that are much more important for success.
“It is refreshing and motivating to meet so many smart people”
Munich Startup: As a young investor founded during the Corona crisis, how have you experienced the Munich startup scene so far?
Thomas Less: I have to tell you, I've found my dream job working with Munich startups. It's refreshing and motivating to meet so many smart people who are working on their own dreams with full commitment and enthusiasm. I'm also very pleasantly surprised by the other investors I've met and how open and approachable I, the "newcomer," have been. All in all, it's an exciting and interesting mix of characters. What I particularly like is everything that's happening in the Werksviertel—it's truly amazing what's being set up here.
Munich Startup: And what’s next for you?
Thomas Less: We've just started. We're already in talks with other startups, but we're looking forward to getting to know many more. So, if you'd like to talk to us, feel free to contact me anytime: directly by email to tom@adventury.de or via the contact options on our website Or, of course, via LinkedIn. Whether it's a startup or an investor, I'm always happy to connect.
