Hexa’s financial strategy to launch 100+ companies by 2030

Hexa is a unique entrepreneurial platform focused on creating, developing, and investing in software companies worldwide. Over the past decade, we’ve launched more than 40 companies, including well-known names like Front, Aircall, Spendesk, Yousign, and Swan. As a result, we’ve helped create over 2,000 jobs globally and made a real difference in the work lives of millions. Today, our portfolio is valued at €4.5 billion, delivering significant financial returns—10 to 20 times the initial investment—for our earliest backers.

With our recent funding, we’re aiming to launch over 100+ new startups by 2030 to address emerging challenges in health, the future of work, AI, climate, and education. In 2024 alone, we’re planning to launch 10 to 12 new startups across six different sectors, with a target portfolio value of €25 billion by 2030.

Here’s how our financial model will help us get there.

A unique financial model for a unique activity

By creating startups ourselves instead of just investing in them, we enter at much lower valuations—5 to 10 times lower than what Seed-stage VCs typically pay.

Hexa started with a group of entrepreneurs united by big ideas and a belief that teamwork increases the chances of success. Unlike traditional investors, we focus on building startups from the ground up, not just funding them. We’ve pioneered the startup studio model, where we create companies alongside exceptional founders. For 12 months, we help them build their product and refine their strategy, offering our expertise, network, and funding until they’re ready to raise their first round of funding (Seed round).

Compared to investment funds, we operate differently—we don’t just invest money, we invest time, expertise, and capital as co-founders. This model works well for two main reasons: First, by building the startups ourselves, we enter at much lower valuations—5 to 10 times lower than what Seed-stage VCs pay—which dramatically boosts our returns.

Second, we’re able to create standout companies because we spend a lot of time selecting the right people and working on the right ideas. The startups we create benefit from our experience and extensive network. With three unicorns under our belt, we rank among the top 5% of investors worldwide.

In 2022, after 11 years of honing our startup creation process—and having three companies hit the billion-dollar valuation mark—we knew it was time to scale up. Our goal is to launch one or two new verticals each year (partnering with serial entrepreneurs), growing from creating 3 or 4 startups a year to 30 by 2030.

To fuel this growth, we had to rethink our funding strategy.

A new fund to support startup creation

The fund eliminates any conflict of interest and ensures our independence in choosing which companies we want to launch. It automatically invests as soon as a startup secures external validation, through a Seed round.

Since 2011, Hexa has financed all new startups through an “evergreen” holding company. This structure reinvests all profits, allowing us to fund new ventures and grow without relying on external capital. While this model worked well for launching 3 to 4 startups a year, it couldn’t support the launch of more than 10 to 20 annually.

To bridge the gap in cash flow that comes with our asset class and align everyone’s interests, we created our first fund. This €15 million fund invests in every company created by Hexa that has already closed a Seed round. It’s a “secondary” transaction between Hexa and the fund—Hexa sells a portion of its stake for cash, which is then reinvested in launching new startups.

This approach eliminates any conflict of interest and allows us to maintain complete independence in selecting the startups we launch at Hexa. The fund automatically invests once a startup secures external validation through a Seed round, keeping us free to pursue the best opportunities.

Investors loved the model—the €15 million was raised in just a few weeks. They saw it as a unique chance to participate in all Seed rounds for the next 20 startups we’re going to launch.

So far, the fund has invested in companies like Catalog (alongside LocalGlobe), Roundtable (with top European business angels), Elba (alongside XAnge), and Tengo (alongside Point Nine). We expect it will take about three years to deploy the full €15 million, meaning another fundraising round is likely in the next 18 months.

Raising capital at the Hexa level to explore new opportunities

The value of our 'Factory' reflects our proven ability to create successful startups and secure equity at a much more favorable price compared to traditional Seed funds.

While the new fund will finance many of our upcoming startups, we also needed to raise money at the holding level—Hexa itself—to support this expansion. We required resources to strengthen our platform, including the team supporting entrepreneurs and Partners, and to explore new initiatives beyond the traditional startup studio model. For example, we recently launched Hexa Scale, which aims to acquire companies on a steady growth trajectory and turn them into market leaders. And we have plenty of other ideas in the pipeline.

In addition to the €15 million fund, we raised another €20 million in capital—the first time since our €10 million raise in 2016. Initially, we planned to raise €10 million, but given the strong interest, we doubled it.

Hexa isn’t your typical asset. Investing in a startup can return 0x or 30x. Investing in a VC fund typically returns 2x to 4x. So, valuing Hexa is tricky since there aren’t many comparable models. If you only consider the value of our portfolio (i.e., the equity in the startups we’ve already launched), you’d be missing the real value created daily by our team of 30 who are building tomorrow’s unicorns.

In our view—and that of our investors—Hexa’s true value lies in two parts: the value of our portfolio, and the value of our "Factory" (our ability to consistently create high-performing startups and secure equity at a much better price than traditional Seed funds).

Our investors include a mix of entrepreneurs and long-term family investors, such as Dominique Vidal, Johan Van Damme, the Van Campenhout, Habert-Dassault, Le Hodey, Peterbroeck, Janssen, Van der Vaeren, and Lhoist families, as well as Alexandre Prot (Qonto), Gary Anssens (Alltricks), Olivier Duha (Webhelp), Violette Watine (Mademoiselle Bio), Gauthier Picquart (Rue du Commerce), and Pierre-Emmanuel Bercegeay (OuiHelp). We’re thrilled to have them on board and are incredibly grateful for their support.

Growing our eClub to seize more opportunities

In six years, we've syndicated 40 deals worth over €70 million, offering opportunities ranging from Seed co-investment in Yousign or Spendesk to later-stage rounds like Aircall's Series D.

Since our first fundraising round in 2016, we’ve put a lot of effort into building and maintaining an active community of co-investors. Early on, we realized Hexa shareholders wanted to invest more than what was needed to launch 3 to 4 startups a year. By offering co-investment opportunities, especially in later funding rounds, we’ve forged strong partnerships with these investors.

Since then, we’ve expanded co-investment opportunities and opened our community, which we call the ‘eClub.’ As of today, it includes 300 active investors and has syndicated 40 deals worth over €70 million. Over the last six years, we’ve offered a wide range of opportunities, from Seed co-investment in Yousign or Spendesk to later-stage rounds like Aircall's Series D.

Over time, the eClub has become a strategic asset for Hexa. Unlike a fund, we don’t exercise our anti-dilution rights during follow-on funding rounds (our strategy focuses on launching new projects, not investing in multiple rounds). By offering these rights to the eClub—but retaining voting rights—we stay a key shareholder, protecting both our interests and those of our co-investors.

The eClub has also allowed us to seize big opportunities. When we wanted to invest in Yousign in 2019, we needed to raise €3 million quickly to make the deal happen. Thanks to our community, we made it happen with relative ease. Moving forward, we expect the eClub to continue playing a key role in similar projects, particularly to support Hexa Scale.

What’s next?

We’ve built the infrastructure needed to launch dozens of companies each year, putting us on track to multiply the value of our portfolio fivefold by 2030.

After years of growing our portfolio, we believe we’ve reached a critical mass that will allow our investors to benefit from regular, recurring cash flows, further strengthening our financial model. With successes like Aircall, Yousign, Spendesk, and Swan, many of our co-investors are seeing returns of 10 to 20 times their investment, and we hope these gains will be reinvested in our next wave of successes.

We’re seeing many exciting new co-investment opportunities on the horizon. We’re always eager to connect with new families, investors, and entrepreneurs who share our values. If you’re interested in staying informed about future investment opportunities, feel free to register your interest here.

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