Frederic Court of Felix Capital learned an important lesson about the strength of habits after an unsuccessful attempt to develop a textile marketplace during the dotcom boom. “Consumers can change their habits quickly, but it takes a lot longer in the workplace,” says Court, whose investments in consumer-focused firms like Moonbug, Mejuri, and Farfetch have earned him a spot on the Midas List Europe.
The London-based investor, which bills itself as the “creative class’s” venture fund, has raised a new $600 million round, bringing its total assets under management to $1.2 billion. Felix Capital’s founder and managing partner, Court, said the fund would maintain its “concentrated” focus on up to 25 investments in European and American firms that capitalize on shifting consumer behavior.
- “We started very early at Felix to talk about the emergence of a more digital lifestyle and that’s a trend that has only accelerated,” says Court. “We want to back members of the creative class that will come up with new brands that will resonate with a certain audience or sub-community.”
With early investments in fashion portal Farfetch, food delivery platform Deliveroo, and Peloton, Felix’s boutique approach to venture investing has proven a hit. The three firms, which are now publicly traded, have seen their stock prices fall from pandemic-era highs, as have many other IT stocks.
Inflation and the cost of living problem are causing major headwinds for Felix’s consumer-centric enterprises, but Court sees potential. “There were a few months during Covid when people were terrified, but what happened?” People learned to adapt. “As they evolved, new opportunities arose,” says Court, who also claims to have led the initial investment in luxury-focused Farfetch during the financial crisis in 2010.
Felix just achieved a private exit with the $3 billion sale of Moonbug, a children’s entertainment business, to private equity firm Blackstone in November 2021. According to Court, the fund had spent “double digit millions” in the company that runs the popular YouTube channels Cocomelon and Blippi before to its inception. Gwyneth Paltrow’s lifestyle business Goop has also received Felix’s support.
- “Back when Frederic set up his first fund there were very few funds in Europe that understood the power of the consumer,” says Rene Rechtman, CEO of Moonbug. “That’s changed with massive American platforms dominating industries but Frederic was definitely on the forefront of that.”
Felix and Court are best known for their fashion investments, but the fund also invests in strong brands from a variety of industries, including food, mobility, health, and ecommerce software, based on rising “digital lifestyle” themes. Web3, as well as sustainability companies, such as previous investments in Sorare, an NFT-based fantasy sports game, and Oatly, which went public in May 2021 with a $10 billion valuation, will be significant topics of the new fund, according to Court.
- “We are at a scale where we can choose our battles and have a positive impact,” says Court. “I often say the way we practice venture capital that the money-making part is a byproduct of backing distinctive, attractive and authentic businesses.”
After nearly two decades at Advent Venture Partners, where he oversaw investments in Dailymotion, Zong, and Ubiquisys, Court formed Felix Capital in 2015. Before co-founding a short-lived textile marketplace firm, the French investor worked at investment bank Lazard. “We could see the magnitude of change,” Court recalls, “but many of these changes took a decade or two decades.”
David Marcus, a former PayPal and Meta executive, collaborated with Court on his startup Zong and his new crypto business Lightspark. Marcus, who headed Facebook Messenger and Meta’s shelved Libra cryptocurrency project, adds, “He has always been highly in sync with the brands of the future, and the ideas that will become widespread over time.” “Not only was he a fantastic investor and board member, but he also served as my advisor as we pivoted the company and finally sold it to Paypal.”
Mara Auersperg de Lera, formerly of Mosaic Ventures and Balderton Capital, and Sophie Luck, formerly of German media conglomerate Hubert Burda’s venture arm, have also joined the fund as investors. Felix has also added Maria Raga, Depop CEO, Musa Tariq, GoFundMe CMO, and Branko Milutinovi, creator and CEO of gaming app developer Nordeus, to its advisory board.
