Nicolas Brand

Fintech and blockchain

2024 - Current

I run my own investing and advisory business. Any guesses what N10D stands for?

Board Member

2025

Meanwhile is the first insurance carrier denominated entirely in Bitcoin (yes, using Bitcoin as the unit of account & with full support by the regulator)! Their first product, Bitcoin life insurance, allows premiums to be paid in Bitcoin, provides Bitcoin payouts, and offers simplified inheritance without the need for managing wallets or private keys.

Board Member

2025

I represent Blockstream Capital Partners following our $75 million investment in Komainu. Notably, I believe this was the first entirely Bitcoin-funded Series B round—a significant milestone for the industry that offers a glimpse of what’s to come!

Board Member

2023

I led Blockchain.com’s Series B funding round in 2017—many moons ago. Since then, we’ve navigated three crypto cycles (both the highs and the lows). CEO Peter is a formidable entrepreneur, it remains an absolute privilege to support him & his team as a board director.

Investor

2017 - 2024

Board Observer

2017 - 2021

Board Observer

2023 - 2024

I led their Series B in 2023. As a French fintech, they clearly needed another ‘Nicolas’ on the board (two just weren’t enough). Since then, Swan has hit milestone after milestone and was most recently recognised as the second fastest-growing fintech in France in the ‘2024 Sifted 50’ rankings.

Board Member

2022 - 2024

I co-led their large Seed round in 2022. Max, the founder, is a rare gem among entrepreneurs—displaying remarkable pedigree and business acumen at an incredibly young age (it did make me wonder what I was doing in my early twenties...). I spent considerable time with the team on securing the BaFin investment license, which came through at the end of 2023. Onwards and upwards from here!

Investor

2022 - 2024

I’ll be honest—I foolishly passed on investing in their Series A in 2017. What an error. I spent years trying to rectify that and finally invested in Alan during their Series E in 2022. Jean-Charles and Charles are truly once-in-a-generation founders. Their commitment to radical transparency is remarkable—just check out how they publicly dissect their company’s performance on their blog. Today, they’re leading the way in fully embracing AI, reinventing themselves once again.

Board Member

2021 - 2024

I invested in their Series A in 2021 and soon after worked with the founding team on navigating a nuclear team challenge. I hold CEO Piotr in extremely high regard; he powered through, reoriented the lending business towards the right segment, and successfully brought in Fortress Investment Group as a debt financing partner. Today, Uncapped is a vital working capital partner to the clients it serves.

Board Member

2020 - 2024

I first invested at the seed stage and later pre-empted by leading their Series A. In many ways, we were ahead of the market in Bitcoin, focusing on building real utility for Lightning (Bitcoin’s layer two) and growing the company into a regulated financial services firm. Co-founders Simon and André consequently achieved significant commercial growth by empowering the gaming industry to create customer engagement in entirely novel ways. I remain impressed with the team’s foresight and unwavering conviction in their vision. Check out Zebedee’s products—and have fun while earning Bitcoin!

Partner

2014 - 2024

It’s impossible to summarise ten years in Venture Capital in just a few sentences. Time in VC seems to move faster than the world around you—including riding the bull phase that culminated in 2021, followed by the hard landing as we exited the zero-interest-rate environment. I joined Lakestar in 2014 as the sixth member of the investment team when the firm had only one fund, became a Partner a year later, and by the time I left, we had raised five additional funds for both Early Stage and Growth Stage investing. Externally, I led fintech investing with my team, combining my passion for finance, technology, and innovation. The list of formidable entrepreneurs I’ve had the pleasure of working with is too long to name, but at the end of the day, it’s simple: YOU are what makes the world go round, and I’ve cherished working with every single one of you. Internally, I created and led the functional areas of portfolio construction and follow-on investing discipline. Separately, I held firm-wide responsibility as a member of the senior partner group, working alongside Lakestar’s founder and chairman, Klaus. I am deeply grateful for the extraordinary partnership and the journey we shared over all these years.