Our Approach
G+J Digital Ventures, founded at the end of 2015, encompasses a volume of 50 million euros composed of a combination of cash and media. We are a venture fund able to benefit from the resources and expertise of Gruner + Jahr and the Bertelsmann Group.
We make return-oriented investments in collaboration with our partners. Both a promising and successful business model, and a cooperative collaboration with our portfolio companies is highly important to us. To achieve maximum corporate value growth, we individually adapt the investments to the needs of our ventures. Additionally, we can also open doors to both Gruner + Jahr and Bertelsmann, which are both typically difficult for start-ups to access. At the same time, as a legally independent fund company, we enjoy a large measure of trust from our shareholders and the freedom that comes with it.
Our investments focus on scalable, early-stage digital companies that have already provided an initial proof of market and now want to reach the next level of growth.
We see our core competences as being in the “Food”, “Living”, “Fashion”, and “Family” markets, in which we also offer the greatest added value. We are also interested in exciting topics from higher-level segments such as AdTech / AdSales and publishing (particularly video and mobile). We prefer to cooperate with other investors in syndicate, not aiming for the role of lead investor.
-
Cash
Generally, a cash component does form a part of our investment package.
-
Media
We can access the wide reach of Gruner + Jahr both digitally and in print form. A media component forms another part of our investment package.
-
Netzwerk
We make the considerable network and substantial knowledge of Gruner + Jahr and the Bertelsmann Group, which is active on a global scale, available to our portfolio companies.
Our Brands
We are represented by brand leaders in all of our core markets. Gruner + Jahr stands for quality journalism, both online and off, and appeals to a sophisticated readership with strong purchasing power.
FOOD
Brands in FOOD
-
ESSEN & TRINKEN
With its 2.38 million readers (AWA 2015), ESSEN & TRINKEN is the most widely read food magazine in Germany. As a market leader, ESSEN & TRINKEN represents a zest for life, a focus on pleasure, and a level of cooking skill absolutely unique among culinary magazines. 12 top chefs develop recipes exclusively for ESSEN & TRINKEN in our kitchen, delighting our readers. To ensure that dishes are guaranteed to succeed, every recipe is cooked and refined three times before we “serve” it in ESSEN & TRINKEN.
-
BEEF
BEEF! needed to be simple. Today, there are so many men with a passion for cooking and an interest in food, kitchen devices, wines, and food preparation techniques, that we knew we just had to launch a culinary magazine just for men. Our success has proven us right. BEEF! grew in popularity at an astounding rate of speed, and has become an iconic magazine on the culinary scene. We began the magazine in hopes we would find a readership that approached cooking with love - and we weren’t disappointed.
-
SALON
SALON is the magazine for highly sophisticated hospitality, fine dining, and lifestyle topics. Here, old values are combined with new ideas, and updated design meets classic themes and tradition. Under the four headings “Cooking,” “Invitations,” “Table Talk,” and “Travel,” as well as a magazine section and a separate recipe book, SALON presents an abundance of ideas and inspirations for style and lifestyle, the newest food trends, and everything you need to create perfect moments with your guests: SALON inspires invitations that tell a story.
-
CHEFKOCH
More than 240,000 recipes, 70 forums, and over 100,000 helpful comments prove: CHEFKOCH.de is the top address for cooking enthusiasts on the German web. Over 2.2 million registered users discuss their favorite hobby in an active community, while rating, commenting on, and sharing their recipes. There’s something for everyone in this highly diverse community, from beginners in the kitchen to ambitious hobby chefs.
-
JAMIE
Jamie Oliver is the international star chef from England. With his simple, yet original recipes, his approachable and creative style, and his social engagement, he is both a popular figure and a culinary professional. He uses healthy, regional, and seasonal ingredients in all of his recipes. All of the recipes in JAMIE follow essentially the same principle: a little effort, with a big impact. They are designed to give hosts time to enjoy themselves with their guests, even if they need to cook.
-
DELI
DELI is the young food magazine for modern women interested in cooking, mindful nutrition, and hospitality. DELI offers special recipes that promise quick, easy results, and simple ideas to help readers find the right table decorations for any occasion. DELI offers inspiration, enjoyment, and vitality on every page. Almost 100 recipes per edition - from great vegetable sides to hearty pasta dishes - plus: tips and tricks from professionals, appetizing travel descriptions, and portraits of people who live for cooking - it’s all there in DELI.
-
STERN
Major, current, and exclusive stories, a clear focus on modern social questions, an opulent style, and a clear interest in social engagement make STERN a unique force on the German media landscape. The STERN offers powerful investigative reporting that opens up our view of the world. Its reporting is always human-focused, empathetic, and concrete.
-
BRIGITTE
For over 60 years, BRIGITTE has been a leading media presence for women in Germany. Magazines come and magazines go. BRIGITTE remains. More than 2.5 million women read BRIGITTE - the publication has the largest reach of any of its competitors, across all age groups. This success is easy to understand: Our readers have a very close relationship with BRIGITTE. The publication is honest with them, moves them emotionally, and helps them move forward. In doing so, it fulfills the most important task of a media brand: It builds trust. It then transfers this trust to the brands that advertise on its pages.
BEAUTY & FASHION
Brands in BEAUTY & FASHION
-
BARBARA - KEIN NORMALES FRAUENMAGAZIN
“Plenty of magazines tell me: You need to have more sex, eat less, and take personal training sessions. Are you ready for bikini season, ready for the summer, ready for fun? I always feel like I have to improve myself, or do something more with my figure. But really, I'd much rather enjoy life. Deep inside, I know that my upper thighs aren’t going to change just because I stand on my tiptoes for ten minutes a day three weeks before summer starts
-
BRIGITTE
For over 60 years, BRIGITTE has been a leading media presence for women in Germany. Magazines come and magazines go. BRIGITTE remains. More than 2.5 million women read BRIGITTE - the publication has the largest reach of any of its competitors, across all age groups. This success is easy to understand: Our readers have a very close relationship with BRIGITTE. The publication is honest with them, moves them emotionally, and helps them move forward. In doing so, it fulfills the most important task of a media brand: It builds trust. It then transfers this trust to the brands that advertise on its pages.
-
COUCH
COUCH is the young living & fashion magazine in a pocket format, filling the gap between classic interior design publications and young lifestyle magazines. COUCH is directed towards young women aged 20 to 39 who are interested in home and living topics. COUCH combines classic living topic like home trends, interior furnishing, and shopping tips with current, high-quality beauty, fashion, and lifestyle content.
-
GALA
GALA captivates. GALA, the premium people and lifestyle magazine, provides current reporting on stars from across the world every Thursday. With exclusive images and brilliant photo spreads, GALA enriches the reader's life, displaying glamorous, fascinating worlds. GALA inspires. GALA is in a class all its own – and the premium people and lifestyle magazine has confirmed this claim again and again. Every week, GALA presents all the most important news and trends from the fashion, beauty, and lifestyle world on more than 20 opulently designed pages.
-
BUSINESS PUNK
BUSINESS PUNK is the business lifestyle magazine for anyone who wants to make an impact. It’s for makers who do their own thing, and for people who like to shake things up in their companies. For them, a job is more than just a job. BUSINESS PUNK blends bold success stories from a generation of young entrepreneurs with the pop culture of the digital age, appealing to young readers who feel at home online and are hungry to experience life and find success.
LIVING
Brands in LIVING
-
LIVING AT HOME
LIVING AT HOME inspires. That's because LIVING AT HOME is full of ideas. Every month, four departments present readers with all the things that make life more beautiful: at home, with guests, in the garden, and on the go. Broader style collections are divided up, providing thematic diversity and information tailored to the reader's tastes – just as it is in a modern concept store. Information is presented to match the way our readers want to live: comfortably, lavishly, casually, and with sophistication. This also includes keeping things clean or redecorating – with style and class. The publication eschews major effort, focusing on big returns. Home – it’s more than just living.
-
ROOMIDO
ROOMIDO is the new community for living and interior design, offering inspiration, home solutions, and advice on a refined level. Creates a whole new connection between consumers and living experts. Brings interior design experts and living experts together. Offers users the option of storing photos in albums and sharing them with others. Makes interior design interactive: Readers can discuss living ideas and solutions.
-
SCHÖNER WOHNEN
SCHÖNER WOHNEN is synonymous with living and class: practical, relevant, and offering definitive style – the leading publication in the industry. Every month, SCHÖNER WOHNEN produces the best the world of living has to offer in unmistakable journalistic and aesthetic quality. The magazine gets readers excited about furniture, design, architecture, lifestyle, gardening, and travel, and inspires people to make their own personal dream homes a reality. The editorial staff uses its extensive skill and credibility to put the focus on great taste.
-
COUCH
COUCH is the young living & fashion magazine in a pocket format, filling the gap between classic interior design publications and young lifestyle magazines. COUCH is directed towards young women aged 20 to 39 who are interested in home and living topics. Friends, partnerships, family, and social networks are highly important to them, and they're extremely interested in fashion and beauty. COUCH is tailored to the needs of a trend-conscious, mobile generation of young women. Women who don’t just want to live in stylish, unique surroundings, but also want to look good at the same time. COUCH combines classic living topic like home trends, interior furnishing, and shopping tips with current, high-quality beauty, fashion, and lifestyle content.
-
HÄUSER
HÄUSER is the premium magazine for modern architecture and design. No other magazine offers so much in-house reporting, with opulent photo spreads by renowned photographers and information-rich texts. Each edition of the publication focuses on various key topics, such as “renovation,” “country living,” or “villas,” complemented by other residences to display the entire spectrum of sophisticated home architecture.
FAMILY
Brands in FAMILY
-
ELTERN
When a couple grows into a family, everything changes! A baby can turn your past life completely upside down. Initial happiness and euphoria can turn into questions: How will a baby affect our lives? How will we handle everything – a child, a job, love, and household chores? What’s best for our baby? And what’s best for us? The new publication ELTERN is there to support young parents, by accompanying them, encouraging them, and building them up: It’s totally fine if everything doesn’t go perfectly – we believe in you, and we know you can do it.
-
NIDO
The birth of a child radically changes your life – in a dramatic, wonderful way. But people stay the same. NIDO is the first magazine that appeals to the lifestyles of young parents. NIDO focuses on parents, for a change, rather than on children – making NIDO a unique lifestyle magazine for young parents. NIDO offers a complete spectrum of topics ranging from pop culture to politics, from fashion to travel, and from interior design to psychology and sex.
-
URBIA.de
URBIA.de is Germany's largest community of families, and a market leader among German-language online family and parent portals. Fourteen years of experience with the core online target audience demonstrate the quality of this diversified range of information related to fertility, pregnancy, babies, and much more.
-
FINDERZIMMER
Under the slogan “A second life for good quality children’s items,” the ELTERN and URBIA app offers an online marketplace where parents can easily purchase high-quality children’s items from other parents, and sell clothing their own children have grown out of. All parents have experienced it at one time or another: You're always buying clothes for your children, only to see them grow out of them in a flash. Intuitive user navigation makes it easy to put clothing and other items up for sale online quickly, or purchase items for your own kids. This helps parents protect their wallets and practice conscientious consumption. They can pass on children’s items to others who need them, and find unique pieces for their own kids. Many parents also prefer second-hand clothing, since it has already been washed multiple times by its previous owner, removing most harmful toxins.
-
BRIGITTE MOM
BRIGITTE MOM is aimed at women between 20 and 40 years of age. Women with children or who want children. Women with little time, and lots of stress. Feeling the pressure to be perfect. Available in print and for tablets. BRIGITTE MOM ... strikes the right chord. Mothers tend to oscillate between feelings of courage, anger, and pleasure. Get to the point, because mothers don’t have much time.
-
ELTERN FAMILY
The magazine for young families. ELTERN FAMILY is written for women, young mothers and parents of children aged between four and 14. Knowledgeable advice on family challenges. ELTERN FAMILY provides competent tips and recommendations on problems concerning upbringing, school, family and partnership. A family is one of life's great adventures. ELTERN FAMILY is a welcome guide through the ups and downs of a young family's daily life. Parents writing for parents. The ELTERN FAMILY editorial team are parents themselves, and let the reader know that whether they're frustrated or bursting with pride, other parents feel the same. Attractive ad combination for reaching young women. The “Familien Paket” ad combination of ELTERN and ELTERN FAMILY is unbeaten in reaching young women.
Our Team
-
Beate Koch
Managing Director
Beate has been responsible for the expansion of new digital business segments for G+J for some years, resulting, for example, in the acquisition of Ligatus, veeseo, trnd and danato for G+J. The implementation of G+J Digital Ventures as stand-alone society for minority participation in early stage financing was also a result of Beate's scope of functions. Beate previously held various positions in the product and strategy domains during the growth phase of the mobile telephony market. She has additional experience with start-up and private equity businesses. Beate studied business administration at RWTH Aachen.
-
Julia Köster
Investment Associate
Julia has been part of the team at G+J Digital Ventures since its beginning in September 2015. Along with good Dealflow and the identification of exciting businesses, she is responsible for the fund's establishment in the market. Before Julia came to G+J Digital Ventures, she completed – with a small stop at SevenVentures - a double degree in International Business in Maastricht and Lissabon. Previously she studied business administration with a focus on banks and capital markets, and spent considerable time aboard during the course of her studies (inc. in Argentina, Singapore and the USA).
-
David Wevers
Investment Associate
David has been working in the digital ecosystem for more than five years. He gained valuable experience in various fields, including start-ups, investors, and corporate strategy. He uses his broad experience to analyze investment opportunities and to support our portfolio companies. David studied business at the university of Bayreuth and the Zeppelin university.