Sophia Bendz

Sophia Bendz is a distinguished Partner at Cherry Ventures, a prominent early-stage venture capital firm based in Berlin, known for its focus on European startups. Her transition into venture capital follows a highly successful operational career, most notably as the Global Marketing Director at Spotify, where she played a pivotal role in the company's global expansion for seven years. This extensive background in scaling consumer technology companies provides her with invaluable insights into product-market fit, brand building, and international growth strategies, which she now leverages to support Cherry Ventures' portfolio.

At Cherry Ventures, Bendz is instrumental in identifying and nurturing promising pre-seed and seed-stage companies across various sectors. The firm typically invests in founders building disruptive technologies in areas such as consumer tech, SaaS, fintech, and impact-driven businesses. Her operational acumen is a significant asset, offering founders not just capital but also strategic guidance on marketing, talent acquisition, and scaling operations, drawing directly from her experience at one of Europe's most successful tech companies.

Cherry Ventures backs ambitious founders throughout Europe, with a strong emphasis on leading initial funding rounds. The firm's latest fund, Cherry Ventures IV, closed at a substantial €300 million (approximately $324 million), underscoring its capacity to support a wide range of early-stage ventures. Typical initial check sizes for Cherry Ventures, and by extension for Sophia Bendz's investments, generally range from €500,000 to €5 million (approximately $540,000 to $5.4 million), reflecting their commitment to providing substantial early capital to help companies achieve significant milestones. Bendz is particularly keen on backing diverse teams and founders with a clear vision for global impact, leveraging her deep network and experience to help them navigate the challenges of rapid growth.