Saarbruecker 21

In Berlin's Prenzlauer Berg district, a group of friends who had built internet and technology companies in the 2000s shared offices in Saarbruecker Strasse 21. That address gave this angel investing group its name, abbreviated on its website as SB21. The members have invested in young startups since 2011, sometimes on their own and sometimes together, and they say they decide quickly and are available when a founder wants support, an introduction or simply a sounding board for a new idea.

Seed money with practical help

The group describes its offer as seed funding for strong founders and good ideas, but says the more important part is the help that comes with it. Having started companies of their own, the members say they can help founders avoid mistakes they made themselves, introduce them to the right people and share what they know in a hands-on way rather than only in conversation. They also argue that carrying insight from one industry to another adds value, and they invest across a wide range of topics because the group's backgrounds are so varied.

What the members have built

Everyone in the group has founded or run a company that was later sold or listed. Their experience on the site covers online dating, where one member founded a platform operating in 29 countries that is now part of a listed group, and dental aligners, through the company PlusDental. Others come from the Zalando shopping club business, German e-commerce including car parts, price comparison and fashion search, home furnishing, nutrition and sports brands, and Rocket Internet. One member runs a non-profit digital health company, and another has been a founding partner of early-stage funds including Project A and a Polish fund called Sunfish Partners. Individual members have put money into well over a dozen startups, beginning in 2012 with the online retailer Amorelie.

Who to ask for what

The site presents members as go-to contacts for particular topics: product and international expansion, pricing, online marketing and growth, strategy and financing rounds, commercial and supply chain questions, marketplaces and private label, digital health, people and organization, and technology, mobile and machine learning. For founders, that works out as a menu of former operators rather than a single investment committee.

Saarbruecker 21 is a group of friends and internet entrepreneurs who invest as business angels. They first met in the 2000s, and many of them worked together in an office building on Saarbruecker Strasse in Berlin Prenzlauer Berg.

What Saarbruecker 21 offers

• Seed funding: early money for young startups and their founders.
• Hands-on advice: practical help based on mistakes the members made while building their own companies.
• Introductions: connections to the right people in the members' networks.
• Operating experience: support in areas such as product, internationalisation, online marketing, strategy and people leadership.

Who it serves

The group backs young startups and their founders. Members have invested individually and, since 2011, collectively through the group.

Key facts

• Based in: Berlin, Germany
• Investing together since: 2011
• Members' backgrounds: founders and executives from e-commerce, online dating, dental aligners and Rocket Internet