Investment
We invest in ambitious start-ups and help them realise their impact potential
We back ambitious founders building commercially scalable solutions for the green transition. As active, hands-on pre-seed and seed investors, we partner with companies where impact and growth scale together, working side by side to build the future we need.
What We Look for in the Ventures We Back
Impact & commercial potential
We back ventures where the business model is the sustainability contribution, and where every step toward impact also fuels commercial growth.
Founders with an edge
Teams with the outstanding technical and commercial edge; we step in alongside them with hands-on experience, deep knowledge, and broad support to make their ventures scale.
Future defining technology
We look for breakthrough innovations that leap past incremental change, reshaping industries, unlocking markets, and accelerating the green transition at scale.
Societal resilience
We invest in ventures that strengthen society's ability to withstand and adapt, from energy independence to resource security, building resilience that scales across markets.
THE FOOTPRINT FUND I
Stage
Pre-seed & seedTicket size
€0.5-2mFund size
€73MFund type
Article 9Geo
Northern EuropeVintage year
2024
Our portfolio
We invest in start- and scaleups with a direct link between commercial scaling and clear sustainability contribution, run by founders dedicated to creating real impact.
- REEL about ?overlay=reel-energy
REEL
B2B electricity supplier, trader, and balancing-responsible party
- Nordic Salt Cycle about ?overlay=nordic-salt-cycle
Nordic Salt Cycle
Accelerating the transition to a mineral economy
- Circular economyabout /verticals/circular-economyCircular economy
- Octarine bioabout ?overlay=octarine-bio
Octarine bio
Bio-based dye palette that replaces conventional synthetic dyes
- Biosolutionsabout /verticals/biosolutionsBiosolutions
- Greenshiftabout ?overlay=greenshift
Greenshift
Cutting cloud computing costs and emissions by up to 40%
- Climate techabout /verticals/climate-techClimate tech
- NobodyWhoabout ?overlay=nobodywho
NobodyWho
Small Language Models: Europe’s Next AI Advantage
- Climate techabout /verticals/climate-techClimate tech
- Cellugy about ?overlay=cellugy
Cellugy
Biofabricating high-performance cellulose to replace petrochemicals
- Biosolutionsabout /verticals/biosolutionsBiosolutions
- A:gain about ?overlay=a-gain
A:gain
Circular building products at scale
- Built environmentabout /verticals/built-environmentBuilt environment
- SemperCycle about ?overlay=sempercycle
SemperCycle
Enabling a circular, low-carbon economy for unrecyclable plastics
- Circular economyabout /verticals/circular-economyCircular economy
- Rock Flour Company about ?overlay=rock-flour-company
Rock Flour Company
Nature’s solution to net-negative agriculture
- Food & agricultureabout /verticals/food-and-agricultureFood & agriculture
- FoodOpabout ?overlay=foodop
FoodOp
Digital platform helping kitchens reduce food waste
- Food & agricultureabout /verticals/food-and-agricultureFood & agriculture
- Agrain about ?overlay=agrain
Agrain
Providing ingredients for the future of food
- Food & agricultureabout /verticals/food-and-agricultureFood & agriculture
- Søuldabout ?overlay=sould
Søuld
Acoustic products made from eelgrass
- Built environmentabout /verticals/built-environmentBuilt environment
- PerPlantabout ?overlay=perplant
PerPlant
Democratising AI in agriculture by supporting sustainable farming
- Food & agricultureabout /verticals/food-and-agricultureFood & agriculture
- Catalysta about ?overlay=catalysta
Catalysta
Automate GHG reporting with complete coverage
- Climate techabout /verticals/climate-techClimate tech
A venture fund powered by a large team of experts
Our model means that our startups gain access to not only investors, but an extended team of experts, entrepreneurs, and advisors with deep knowledge in various areas such as commercial excellence, sustainability, R&D, marketing & communications, and much more. When we invest, we all get involved.
The fund team
We have a core fund team involved in every investment we make, supported by the whole Footprint Firm.
- Asbjørn Bøhm Støvringabout ?overlay=asbjorn-bohm-stovring
abs@thefootprintfirm.com about mailto:abs@thefootprintfirm.comAsbjørn Bøhm Støvring
Manager, Head of Impact & ESG
- Belinda Taylor about ?overlay=belinda-taylor
bta@thefootprintfirm.com about mailto:bta@thefootprintfirm.comBelinda Taylor
Platform Growth & Marketing Manager
- Emma Bjerregård about ?overlay=emma-bjerregard
ebj@thefootprintfirm.com about mailto:ebj@thefootprintfirm.comEmma Bjerregård
Investment Manager
- Jakob Wichmann about ?overlay=jakob-wichmann
jmw@thefootprintfirm.com about mailto:jmw@thefootprintfirm.comJakob Wichmann
Co-Founding Partner
- Ludvig Schack Holsteinborgabout ?overlay=ludvig-schack-holsteinborg
lsh@thefootprintfirm.com about mailto:lsh@thefootprintfirm.comLudvig Schack Holsteinborg
Director
- Rene K. Andersen about ?overlay=rene-k-andersen
rka@thefootprintfirm.com about mailto:rka@thefootprintfirm.comRene K. Andersen
Partner & Chief Financial Officer
- Sofie Käll about ?overlay=sofie-kall
ska@thefootprintfirm.com about mailto:ska@thefootprintfirm.comSofie Käll
Chief Investment Officer
- Tamas Kovacs about ?overlay=tamas-kovacs
tko@thefootprintfirm.com about mailto:tko@thefootprintfirm.comTamas Kovacs
Investment Manager
- Will Nunn about ?overlay=will-nunn
wnu@thefootprintfirm.com about mailto:wnu@thefootprintfirm.comWill Nunn
Investment Manager
We invest early and are in it for the long run
We’re in it together, side by side with founders, sleeves rolled up, moving from vision to venture to scale. With deep sustainability expertise, hard-won experience, and a powerful network, our people become your people – accelerating what must happen.
Our Value Creation House is how we back founders from day one through growth, building together at every stage of the journey.
- Leveraging our large client base
- Leveraging our platform
- Using AI to identify leads
- Operational model
- Market analysis
- Go-to-market planning
- De-risking tech
- Milestone idenitification
- R&D organization setup
- Value proposition
- Brand strategy
- Marketing strategy
- Professionalization
- Financial modeling
- Capital allocation
- Sustainability strategy
- Article 9 readiness
- Impact quantification
- EU Taxonomy alignment
- Active board member
- Support in board building
- Healthy founder-board dynamics
- Recruitment support
- Leadership facilitation
- Founder resilience
- DEI resources & networks
Our investment verticals focus on solutions that accelerate the green transition
- Circular economy
- Built environment
- Biosolutions
- Climate tech
- Energy
- Food & agriculture
Our investment verticals focus on solutions that accelerate the green transition
Our current linear ‘take-make-waste’ system use 60% more resources than the earth can generate every year. We invest in solutions that enable reuse, upcycling and recycling of waste streams to enable a circular economy.
- Circular economyabout /verticals/circular-economyCircular economy
The future worth backing will not arrive by chance
This is a decisive moment. The Footprint Fund invests in breakthrough solutions that can shift systems and restore balance, pairing venture returns with measurable impact. The future won’t happen by chance. Come venture with us.
Impact supporters podcast
Impact supporters is a podcast by The Footprint Firm. It's where founders, investors, and system-changers talk honestly about building the future. Each conversation unpacks what it takes to scale bold ideas into lasting impact - front frontier technologies to new business models driving the green transition.
Impact supporters
The one podcast purely dedicated to impact VC
Come venture with us
Pitch us
Have a venture where impact and growth scale together? We invest early and work side-by-side powered by the whole Footprint Firm team.
Octarine bio
Bio-based dye palette that replaces conventional synthetic dyes
Investment vertical
- Biosolutionsabout /verticals/biosolutionsBiosolutions
Stage
- Seed
Website
www.octarinebio.com about https://www.octarinebio.com/The challenge
The textile industry, particularly conventional dyeing, is one of the most polluting industries globally. Its reliance on fossil-based synthetic dyes burdens the planet with high water and energy use, toxic chemical pollutants, and substantial greenhouse gas emissions. Finding vibrant, broad-spectrum colours that are environmentally friendly has long been a barrier, as natural dyes often lack the range, consistency, and scalability that fashion and textile supply chains demand.
The solution
Octarine Bio uses synthetic biology and precision fermentation to produce a bio-based dye palette that replaces conventional synthetic dyes. Their dyes are vibrant, scalable, and compatible with natural and synthetic fabrics, while reducing water use, energy consumption, CO₂ emissions, and toxicity. With Octarine’s nature-derived dyes, the textile industry can adopt sustainable colour solutions without compromising quality or scale.