Written by Alex Bredeen
Fuel Ventures are delighted to announce we have led a $65m pre seed investment round into Heroes, making it one of the largest pre-seed rounds in European history. Fuel Ventures have co-invested with a selection of top European and US investors, which will equip Heroes with the capital to take the European market by storm.
Heroes is a UK-based technology-driven e-commerce company operating a similar model to US unicorn Thrasio, that specialises in the acquisition and operation of small and medium-sized Amazon FBA brands predominantly operating on one or more European Amazon marketplaces.
Heroes was co-founded by twin brothers and second-time founders Alessio and Riccardo Bruni. Riccardo (EQT Ventures, M&A at Merrill Lynch) and Alessio Bruni (M&A at Perella Weinberg Partners, GM of Luno and VP of Retail at Lazada), both bring extensive experience in M&A, investing, eCommerce and Marketplaces.
Owing to the sizeable amount raised, the round will be used to purchase the already extensive list of Amazon FBA brands that the firm has already identified.
Alessio said in an article with TechCrunch: “What becomes evident to many founders at this point is that running a >$1 million business on Amazon is no longer a side-hustle. It requires significant resources to be dedicated to administrative tasks, tax filings, accounting, staff management, supply chain, logistics, cash-management, marketing etc. And some of these founders find themselves out of depth to manage such a big undertaking.”
This is where Heroes gives founders of these businesses a seamless exit and cash for the fruits of their hard work. Alessio adds “What we love about these brands is that they have already hit product-market fit and we just need to focus on growth.”
Mark Pearson, Founder and Managing Partner of Fuel Ventures said: “We're thrilled to be leading one of the largest pre-seed rounds in European history. I think the sheer size of the round goes to show how much we and our co-investors believe in this opportunity. We have seen a number of propositions in this space, however, none had the same execution capabilities displayed by Alessio and Riccardo. We believe Heroes will execute and move quickly, and given the amount of capital raised it should provide the necessary financial support for a rapid expansion.”
Heroes will be using the funding to continue hiring the early team and focus on the new acquisitions.
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