Ticketbis founders launch €66.5m VC fund

All Iron Ventures, a Bilbao-based venture-capital firm founded by Ticketbis co-founders Jon Uriarte and Ander Michelena, has launched its first fund, worth €66.5 million, to invest in online marketplaces and other ecommerce businesses in Europe and the Americas.

Uriarte and Michelana founded Ticketbis, a secondary ticketing site which became dominant in Spain, Latin America and Asia, in 2009. The pair sold the company to StubHub in 2016 for a reported €165m.

The new fund, All Iron Ventures I, is one of Spain’s largest-ever ‘first’ fund raises and brings All Iron Ventures’ total investment capacity to around €110m. According to the company, the money has been completely raised from private investors, with no public support from Spanish or European institutions.

“All Iron Ventures partners up with bold founders promoting innovative start-ups”

“As first-time [fund] managers, we are delighted for having been able to close our first fund the way we have,” says Michelena. “We are proud of such an achievement and thankful to our investors for trusting us.”

ALl Iron Ventures is part of the broader All Iron Group, run by co-directors Hugo Fernández-Mardomingo and Diego Recondo, which also includes a publicly listed property company.

“All Iron Ventures partners up with bold founders promoting innovative start-ups. We know what it is to be a founder and empathise with the challenges our partner founders face,” comments Uriarte. “Our commitment and alignment with them are a win-win in terms of collaboration, growth and profitability for them and us.”

Existing All Iron investments include online learning marketplace Preply, electric scooter company Lime, pet care start-up Barkyn and refurbished electronics seller Refurbed.

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