Global Founders Capital

Global Founders Capital (GFC) is a venture capital firm established in 2013 and headquartered in Berlin, Germany. The firm is stage agnostic, meaning it invests in companies at various stages of development, from early-stage ventures to those preparing for an initial public offering. GFC focuses on empowering talented entrepreneurs and seeks investment opportunities in sectors such as internet, retail, financial software, media, communication, and information technology. With a global perspective, GFC aims to support innovative companies across all continents.

Oliver Samwer

Co-Founder & Investor

Marc Samwer

Co-Founder & Advisor

Past deals in Leasing

getmomo

Seed Round in 2022
Developer of a digital banking platform designed to simplify the management of rental deposits and rents. The company's platform quickly sets up rental deposits and creates rental accounts without changing their existing software that facilitates digital tenancy contracts, simplifies inventory management, and provides digital claims settlement, enabling landlords to secure rental units in seconds, open accounts with just a few clicks, and spend less time monitoring rent to reduce costs and increase income efficiently.

Zenbase

Seed Round in 2022
Zenbase is a leader in flexible rent payments, and is committed to economic inclusion that fosters financial empowerment for renters. Our solutions improve the financial wellness of renters while improving operational efficiency for property managers. Rent is usually due on the 1st of the month but that doesn’t align with most people’s bi-monthly pay cycle. We’ve fixed that misalignment and provided other financial tools to help level the playing field.

OwnHome

Series A in 2022
Bringing rent-to-own to Australia

Awning

Seed Round in 2021
Awning is a technology platform and brokerage built exclusively for individuals to invest in single-family rental properties, on a mission to make investing in real estate simple and accessible for everyone.

Pacaso

Series C in 2021
Pacaso modernizes the generations-old practice of co-owning a second home, creating a marketplace that makes buying and selling easy, and adding professional management and technology to make scheduling dates and owning the home seamless and simple. Buyers considering a second home can tell Pacaso where they want to buy, how much they want to spend and how much time they expect to spend in the house. Pacaso and its real estate agent partners will help them find the perfect home and set up a professionally managed LLC uniquely designed for co-ownership. The buyer will purchase their desired share — for example, half of the home, which will guarantee them access to the home for half the year — and Pacaso will briefly purchase the remainder of the home, before reselling the remaining portion to vetted buyers. Pacaso will manage the property, and owners will use Pacaso’s mobile app to make scheduling easy and equitable.

OwnHome

Seed Round in 2021
Bringing rent-to-own to Australia

Pacaso

Series B in 2021
Pacaso modernizes the generations-old practice of co-owning a second home, creating a marketplace that makes buying and selling easy, and adding professional management and technology to make scheduling dates and owning the home seamless and simple. Buyers considering a second home can tell Pacaso where they want to buy, how much they want to spend and how much time they expect to spend in the house. Pacaso and its real estate agent partners will help them find the perfect home and set up a professionally managed LLC uniquely designed for co-ownership. The buyer will purchase their desired share — for example, half of the home, which will guarantee them access to the home for half the year — and Pacaso will briefly purchase the remainder of the home, before reselling the remaining portion to vetted buyers. Pacaso will manage the property, and owners will use Pacaso’s mobile app to make scheduling easy and equitable.

Pacaso

Series A in 2020
Pacaso modernizes the generations-old practice of co-owning a second home, creating a marketplace that makes buying and selling easy, and adding professional management and technology to make scheduling dates and owning the home seamless and simple. Buyers considering a second home can tell Pacaso where they want to buy, how much they want to spend and how much time they expect to spend in the house. Pacaso and its real estate agent partners will help them find the perfect home and set up a professionally managed LLC uniquely designed for co-ownership. The buyer will purchase their desired share — for example, half of the home, which will guarantee them access to the home for half the year — and Pacaso will briefly purchase the remainder of the home, before reselling the remaining portion to vetted buyers. Pacaso will manage the property, and owners will use Pacaso’s mobile app to make scheduling easy and equitable.

Ender

Seed Round in 2019
Ender is a real estate company that helps owners of rental homes to more efficiently handle day-to-day operations of property management. Its platform aims at streamlining the rental property management process. The company uses a technology to streamline the leasing process that involves automating responses to tenant inquiries, providing access to secure self-showings, bringing the application process, and rent paying online. Ender was founded in 2019 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas.

Knotel

Series C in 2019
Knotel is a flexible workspace platform that provides tailored office solutions for established and growing companies. Founded in 2016, Knotel aims to offer businesses the flexibility to scale according to their unique needs. With over 5 million square feet of space across more than 300 locations worldwide, Knotel is focused on transforming commercial real estate. The company employs an in-house team of architects, interior designers, and workplace strategists to customize each workspace, allowing clients to concentrate on their core operations and culture.

Lyght GmbH

Pre Seed Round in 2019
Lyght Living brings flexibility to all spaces and places. Customers can rent furniture for as long as they like, without dealing with the cost, hassle, or commitment of owning. At the same time, Lyght Living takes care of carbon footprint by ensuring a circular approach.

Tenderd

Seed Round in 2019
Tenderd LLC operates an on-demand marketplace in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, specializing in the rental of heavy construction equipment such as bulldozers and cranes. The company connects equipment owners with construction and engineering firms across the Middle East and North Africa, offering a comprehensive fleet distributed throughout the UAE. Tenderd ensures high standards by inspecting and verifying both the machines and their operators. The platform not only facilitates equipment rentals but also manages a network of contractors to assist clients with their construction needs. Additionally, Tenderd provides analytics capabilities to optimize fleet utilization, monitor fuel consumption, and track equipment performance, thereby enhancing operational efficiency and sustainability.

TheGuarantors

Series B in 2019
TheGuarantors is a FinTech company that offers innovative risk and financial solutions for the real estate ecosystem. With a focus on data and industry expertise in real estate, risk, and finance, TheGuarantors has created winning opportunities for landlords, leasing staff, brokers, renters, and tenants by taking the risk out of the leasing process and making it more efficient at the same time. While Guaranti solves for risk on the multifamily side, Securiti is bringing office landlords and tenants closer together by making the security package cheaper and easier to buy. We are rethinking industry inefficiencies and market needs to create solutions where everyone wins. TheGuarantors were named to CNBC's 2018 Upstart 100 list of promising startups to watch.

Goodlord

Series B in 2018
Goodlord is a London-based company that offers a cloud-based software platform designed to streamline the rental process for landlords, estate agents, and tenants. Founded in 2014, the platform facilitates the creation and management of tenancy agreements by allowing tenants to pay holding deposits, complete references, and sign leases online. This digital approach reduces administrative burdens for agents and enhances the overall experience for both tenants and landlords. Additionally, Goodlord provides a marketplace for agents to offer supplementary services such as insurance and utilities, further adding value to the rental process. The company aims to make transactions and the associated paperwork more efficient and transparent.

REZI

Series A in 2018
REZI a rental company that uses our proprietary analytics, technology and financial products to improve the rental experience for landlords and tenants alike.

Boatsetter

Series A in 2018
Boatsetter is a boat rental community connecting boat owners, boat captains, and anyone who seeks a water-full experience. Boatsetter.com offers a unique Boat sharing marketplace that will, for the first time, make boat rentals accessible to consumers regardless of their boating experience. We have created a catalyst for growth by unlocking the 95% idle capacity of privately owned vessels, which in turn helps boat owners realize returns on their boat investments. Our distinct approach combines best-in-class collaborative market tools from companies like Airbnb (home rentals) and Uber (professional drivers) to create the only model capable of bringing the “new sharing economy” to the marine industry. We’ve assembled a uniquely qualified team of marine professionals, tech start-up veterans, and car rental industry experts to bring today’s collaborative “sharing” economy to the boating industry. We have significant traction and have established a national network of marine-industry businesses that are partnering with us on an exclusive basis to roll out the platform in the US.

Zeus Living

Series A in 2017
Zeus Living, Inc. is a property management company that specializes in renting furnished housing to startups, students, and businesses across the Bay Area, Seattle, Los Angeles, and the District of Columbia. Founded in 2015 and headquartered in San Francisco, California, the company not only offers rental services but also manages furnished properties on behalf of property owners. Additionally, Zeus Living has developed a web-based application that provides detailed property information to enhance the rental experience for both tenants and landlords.

TheGuarantors

Series A in 2017
TheGuarantors is a FinTech company that offers innovative risk and financial solutions for the real estate ecosystem. With a focus on data and industry expertise in real estate, risk, and finance, TheGuarantors has created winning opportunities for landlords, leasing staff, brokers, renters, and tenants by taking the risk out of the leasing process and making it more efficient at the same time. While Guaranti solves for risk on the multifamily side, Securiti is bringing office landlords and tenants closer together by making the security package cheaper and easier to buy. We are rethinking industry inefficiencies and market needs to create solutions where everyone wins. TheGuarantors were named to CNBC's 2018 Upstart 100 list of promising startups to watch.

HipCar

Venture Round in 2017
HipCar is a car sharing application in Indonesia where anyone can rent a car by just uploading driver's license and ID card, fast process without survey, car can be rent anytime (24JAM) to keep short time (minimum 15 minutes).

Goodlord

Series A in 2017
Goodlord is a London-based company that offers a cloud-based software platform designed to streamline the rental process for landlords, estate agents, and tenants. Founded in 2014, the platform facilitates the creation and management of tenancy agreements by allowing tenants to pay holding deposits, complete references, and sign leases online. This digital approach reduces administrative burdens for agents and enhances the overall experience for both tenants and landlords. Additionally, Goodlord provides a marketplace for agents to offer supplementary services such as insurance and utilities, further adding value to the rental process. The company aims to make transactions and the associated paperwork more efficient and transparent.

OpenRent

Series A in 2017
OpenRent Ltd. is an online rental platform based in London, United Kingdom, established in 2011. The company provides a streamlined service that allows landlords to list properties and tenants to search for rentals, primarily in London. OpenRent facilitates the entire renting process online, eliminating traditional agent and administrative fees, which enables significant cost savings for users. All properties listed on the platform are guaranteed to be available, and landlords can manage aspects such as inquiries, viewings, contract signing, and deposit handling through the platform. OpenRent charges a nominal fee of £29 per property, with the first listing offered for free, thus providing an accessible alternative to conventional rental agents.

Knotel

Series A in 2017
Knotel is a flexible workspace platform that provides tailored office solutions for established and growing companies. Founded in 2016, Knotel aims to offer businesses the flexibility to scale according to their unique needs. With over 5 million square feet of space across more than 300 locations worldwide, Knotel is focused on transforming commercial real estate. The company employs an in-house team of architects, interior designers, and workplace strategists to customize each workspace, allowing clients to concentrate on their core operations and culture.

Goodlord

Seed Round in 2016
Goodlord is a London-based company that offers a cloud-based software platform designed to streamline the rental process for landlords, estate agents, and tenants. Founded in 2014, the platform facilitates the creation and management of tenancy agreements by allowing tenants to pay holding deposits, complete references, and sign leases online. This digital approach reduces administrative burdens for agents and enhances the overall experience for both tenants and landlords. Additionally, Goodlord provides a marketplace for agents to offer supplementary services such as insurance and utilities, further adding value to the rental process. The company aims to make transactions and the associated paperwork more efficient and transparent.