LocalGlobe is the pre-seed and seed fund within Phoenix Court, positioning itself as 'the trusted long-term partner for founders from pre-seed and seed.' Founded by entrepreneurs Robin and Saul Klein, the firm backs Europe's most ambitious founders from day one and stays with them for the long haul, with sister funds Latitude (Series B+) and Solar (scale) extending support toward IPO. They are founder-first to their core: 'We never forget that the company we invest in belongs to the founders and that we are part of their support team, and not the other way around.'
A hard, real, often known-but-unsolved problem rooted in a fragmented or painful status quo — articulated with specifics, not abstraction.
“This is a known but very hard problem to solve.” — A new financial system of record — our investment in Translucent
“Whilst setting up a single entity business has never been easier thanks to cloud accounting platforms like Xero and QuickBooks, these systems don't do multi-entity well.” — Remus Brett
“Painful application processes using archaic credit scoring systems, dark patterns designed to trick consumers into paying more interest than they need to, and convoluted rewards programs designed to be confusing and return little value back to customers.” — Remus Brett
“One in two people will develop cancer in their lifetime.” — How BioOrbit is using space to revolutionise drug manufacturing on Earth
A clear, often infrastructure-grade product that becomes a system of record or new standard, built by founders with exceptional product craft.
“A data platform for multinational and multi-entity companies that unifies financial data into a single location where it can be seen, used and edited. A new financial system of record.” — A new financial system of record — our investment in Translucent
“For Otta, job seekers come first” — Remus Brett
“I want to hear people talk about who their customer is, why their product is incredible, and how they're somehow going to change the world.” — Robin Klein
“Engaging content (video or live product demos)” — Robin Klein
Large, growing markets that extend well beyond the home country, sized with concrete numbers and global ambition.
“We don't believe this problem is limited to the UK” — Our investment in Otta
“In the UK alone, 1.64 million people work in digital tech jobs and growth rates in the sector is double the rest of the market” — Remus Brett
“2.8bn of us have a credit card, generating one of the highest margin, $104bn revenue lines for banks and card companies.” — Remus Brett
“India was the first country, as it's the largest SME market and was transforming digitally.” — Tide: Bringing financial structure to 2M businesses
Real, durable progress over spillover or vanity wins; at seed, evidence the team can compound and scale, shown with concrete member/customer milestones.
“Don't be fooled by spillover contract wins.” — What I learned from surviving the financial crisis
“Tide was small, with 30–40,000 members” — Tide: Bringing financial structure to 2M businesses
“Brace for contract negotiations…” — Remus Brett
Founders are the single most important factor: domain-deep, exceptional builders, with rare combinations of skill and the ability to hire complementary talent.
“For three cofounders to cover so many bases was indeed rare. Their ability to hire exceptional individuals to complement their skills only gives them greater talent defensibility.” — Our investment in Yonder
“It requires (1) a deep understanding of financial mechanics from general ledgers and charts of accounts in multiple markets to different tax regimes and treatment of FX and (2) exceptional product-building capabilities.” — Remus Brett
“Both Saul and I are entrepreneurs and founders. We've built companies from the ground up, and we've both been through the pain of doing that, the personal angst. So we've got specific empathy for founders, not just at the moment of making a deal with them, but also from living through what they go through.” — Robin Klein
“I have full conviction that humanity will use space for producing products.” — How BioOrbit is using space to revolutionise drug manufacturing on Earth
Models attacking large, high-margin incumbent revenue pools, often by rebuilding infrastructure rails; resilient and capital-aware so they don't run out of cash.
“2.8bn of us have a credit card, generating one of the highest margin, $104bn revenue lines for banks and card companies.” — Our investment in Yonder
“We focus on small businesses that don't have a finance structure and want to do as little admin as possible.” — Tide: Bringing financial structure to 2M businesses
“Please just make sure you don't run out of cash before the fun (re)starts.” — Remus Brett
Durable defensibility — 'talent defensibility', proprietary data, distribution and increasingly science — against incumbents whose status quo is weak.
“Their ability to hire exceptional individuals to complement their skills only gives them greater talent defensibility.” — Our investment in Yonder
“distribution, proprietary data, and increasingly, science” — Saul Klein
“dark patterns designed to trick consumers into paying more interest than they need to” — Remus Brett
A specific enabling shift — new infrastructure, regulation (Open Banking), falling costs, or a structural moment — that makes the opportunity buildable now.
“Open Banking created an entirely new and far more nuanced way of underwriting risk and minimising fraud (tracking at $30bn per year).” — Our investment in Yonder
“A tech stack from new players like Marqeta, Modulr and our own Weavr now made it possible to build entirely new infrastructure.” — Remus Brett
“It suddenly felt like the perfect opportunity” — How BioOrbit is using space to revolutionise drug manufacturing on Earth
“Scientific strength, industrial progress, funding, and academic excellence is at an unparalleled high.” — Saul Klein
Founders who confidently ask for a meaningful sum backed by a credible valuation, and who choose their investor as a long-term partner rather than just capital.
“Ability to confidently ask for large sums backed by solid valuation” — Three principles for raising startup venture capital
“It's not an exaggeration to say your choice of funding partner is almost as important as your choice of your founding team.” — Robin Klein
“Demonstrated integrity and honesty about challenges” — Robin Klein
“When startups pitch, I don't want a flat script. I want to hear people talk about who their customer is, why their product is incredible, and how they're somehow going to change the world.”
“Sentiment is low but structure is strong”