Venture Rock
Venture studioAbu Dhabi · 7 people tracked
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Investment thesis
Venturerock focuses on supporting first-time founders, solo entrepreneurs, serial entrepreneurs, and domain experts who aim to build for impact and transform systems. The firm combines hands-on mentorship from experienced entrepreneurs with structured access to talent networks, industry professionals, and knowledge resources. By integrating venture building needs into a single environment—from product testing to strategic guidance—Venturerock helps founders reduce risks through systematic growth methodology while leveraging a vibrant ecosystem of corporate partners and local media.
Source: firm website, verified Aug 6, 2026.
Team · 7 people
from the firm's websiteA serial entrepreneur who founded 12 companies between 1994 and 2008 and invested in over 150 startups between 2004 and 2018, active across Europe, Asia and Africa. He co-founded Hapgids (which became Just-Eat.com), iChoosr, and the Dutch and African Startupbootcamp programs, joined Contrarian Ventures in 2016 focusing on early-stage energy tech, and founded Venturerock in 2018.
Mei Lin Fung serves as Vice Chair of the UN AI for Good Impact Steering Committee and Chair of the IEEE SSIT Sustainability Technical Committee. She co-founded the People-Centered Internet with Vint Cerf and the Nehitek Foundation with Michael MacFarland, and contributed to the development of early CRM systems at Oracle alongside Tom Siebel and Marc Benioff. Her career encompasses roles at Shell, Intel, and the U.S. Department of Defense, with current focus on digital public infrastructure, AI governance, and MSME financing, supported by academic training in mathematics and management from the Australian National University and MIT.
Navin Danapal is Managing Partner at Venturerock Asia, where he engages with corporate and government stakeholders across the region to develop frameworks in technology, media, telecommunications, and business development. His work includes organizing technology conferences and hackathons in Southeast Asia, establishing venture capital infrastructure through SOSV's regional office, and facilitating connections between investors and startups that have generated over $2 million in investments resulting in 10x returns. Danapal advises government agencies and corporations on innovation initiatives, speaks at international conferences on topics including fintech and space economy, and mentors entrepreneurs and venture capital professionals across the region.
Xander van der Heijden is founder and CEO of UNL Global and co-founder of Venturerock. With over 25 years in technology entrepreneurship, he holds multiple patents in distributed and network computing, developed early cloud architecture and open-source encryption technology in the 1990s, and has founded more than 20 companies with multiple exits and over $100 million in capital raised. He created UNL to address the gap in global digital addressing systems, developing a micro-location database and mapping technology with centimeter-level accuracy for outdoor, indoor, and three-dimensional locations.
Mark Burbach serves as Chief Investment Officer at R/A Wealth Advisors, where he oversees investment management functions including strategic portfolio management, tactical asset allocation, manager selection, and risk management. His background in financial services includes experience in team building and development across investment and people management disciplines.
Pascal Verloop is COO and Co-Founder of UNL. He has experience exploring innovative business concepts based on new technologies across corporate and entrepreneurial settings, with focus on product and business strategy during ideation, prototyping, and growth phases.
Founder mafia
4 people who came through Venture Rock went on to found or lead other companies.
What they invest in
from 4 of 7 portfolio companiesSaaS ×3Data & Infrastructure ×2Enterprise Software ×2Fintech ×2Crypto & Web3 ×1Cybersecurity ×1Developer Tools ×1GovTech ×1
HQs:Netherlands×1
Investments · 7 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathINFRINITY builds a blockchain-based financial infrastructure that embeds identity, assets, and payments at the protocol level, allowing businesses to create products with financial services at their core.
Crypto & Web3Data & InfrastructureFintechAmsterdam, NL
Other
Tracked investments with no reachable website or further public details — typically companies that wound down, renamed, or were absorbed.
FAIRNANCEInsrPOGR
Frequently asked questions
- How many investments has Venture Rock made?
- Venture Rock has 7 tracked investments.
- What sectors does Venture Rock focus on?
- Venture Rock focuses on Fintech, PropTech, Sector Agnostic, Sports Tech.
- Where is Venture Rock located?
- Venture Rock is headquartered in Abu Dhabi, AE.
Images
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