MairDumont Ventures GmbH

Travel publishing and travel technology meet at MairDumont Ventures, the venture arm of the German MAIRDUMONT Group. The group is known for travel guide and map labels such as Kompass, Falk, Baedeker, DuMont and Marco Polo, and the venture arm has used that standing since 2015 to support digital travel companies as they grow. Its website, written in German and headlined with the line that travel is its passion, describes it as a travel tech venture capital firm.

One sector, studied closely

The unusual feature of the firm is its narrow focus. By investing only in travel, it says, it can look deeply into different business models and work out with each company where the untapped potential lies. Alongside money, portfolio companies draw on the group's experience, its network and its publishing brands, which the firm describes as strategic and operational support. Its target was fast-growing, early-stage and innovative businesses that change how people travel, whether they sell to consumers or to other businesses. The same entity is responsible for the group's digital acquisitions and venture projects.

Not taking new companies for now

The current website states that the firm is concentrating on its existing portfolio and is not adding further companies. That matters for anyone reading older descriptions, which invited founders to send in a short summary, a pitch deck and a business plan. Founders should read the site before approaching the firm.

Portfolio highlights

Transactions listed in the past twelve months show how the firm's holdings have developed. Holidu, a European vacation rental platform, raised further rounds of funding, reaching a Series E, after growing its business by about 50 per cent year on year even during the pandemic. Viselio, a digital visa specialist, was acquired by CIBT, a provider of visa and immigration services, to improve the visa process. The Australian marketplace Camplify acquired the European RV rental marketplace Paul Camper, a combination the firm welcomed as joining forces.

The people behind the strategy

The firm's team combines executives from the publishing group, who run its finance, technology and logistics and its travel guide series, with investment directors and venture partners from digital media and venture arms of large broadcasters and publishers. Advisers and supervisory board members include specialists in travel e-commerce who previously ran online travel brands, and who now support travel startups on operations and strategy.