Robin Capital presents Robin Escape.

Annual General Meeting (AGM). June 20, 2024. St. Salvator bei Friesach, Austria.

Last week, we held our Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Austria. We captured some great moments in pictures, and a video is on the way. Below is a blog post by Ellie about the event. Scroll to the very end to see the photos.

To The Founders

A dream came true. Robin Capital is real. It felt surreal until now. Last week, we celebrated our first anniversary with our AGM (Annual General Meeting), which I called "Robin Escape." When you're a founder in the trenches, life is about resilience, perseverance, persistence, dedication, devotion, grit, and not giving up. You go out there and fight. You're obsessed with your product and passionate about your customers, and you build no matter what others say. It's hard; you are the person in the arena.

You can't openly share your vulnerabilities with your employees because you're responsible. You can't talk to many venture capital investors either—they lack the experience of building a successful SaaS enterprise sales firm. What you need are co-founders and peers who truly understand your journey. That's why I built this platform. I wanted to create a community based on trust, where we can support one another, be vulnerable, and exchange ideas rooted in truth. Here, we can genuinely bond and forge friendships that last a lifetime.

This is not about me. This is about you. This is not about ego. This is about trust, integrity, courage, and support. This is a mutual journey for all of us. When connecting to the light, the divine, and the spiritual, gratitude is the simplest exercise to get there, like a mantra. And let me tell you, with all my heart, I am grateful for all your trust and faith. I have found my purpose, which took so long, but now it's clear why. We often go through hell to understand what we want to fix and where we want to serve. Setting this up last year was challenging, but "he who has a why to live can bear almost any how" (Nietzsche). It was clear to me that I was in the trenches myself, building several companies with a lot of suffering, and the person I needed back then was me today. This is the gift I found; this is what I want to share, and this is what I want to do for the next 30 years—support founders. I am rooted in this, and I want to be of service.

That said, this is a mutual effort built on trust, and this trust creates community. This community is you. We are in this together, and I want us all to be successful. Thank you for your attendance, your time, and your courage. I am in awe of all of you.

This wouldn't have been possible without our sponsors: Bernhard Schluga and Kathi Schluga, I-AM-ESCAPE, Land Rover, Red Bull, Vagabund Moto, Kyrö, and P-Stash!

Fabian and Nils (the artists); DJ Wolf; Claudia Weaver on photos; Wouter on videos; Joachim and Doris from AllesWein; Iris Porsche Hotel; Thomas and the whole cooking team; and the Robin Cap team: Leon, Jerome, Renaud, Elmar, and Lea.

To The Limited Partners

Let me be clear. We’re not just building connections; we’re forging lifelong friendships. No one woke up this morning for anything less than that. Last year was hard. I didn't give in. I didn't give up. Only a few Solo GPs or emerging managers out there trying, but I went anyway. This is the Robin Escape, the video of the annual general meeting. I gave it my all. We did. As One.

This isn't about me. It's about everyone who encouraged me. The founders who let me be part of their journey. The peers who joined our mission, our team. The people working with Robin Capital—they are the foundation, the backbone. The ones I could call, who believed in me.

Building a Solo GP in the worst year for Venture Capital fundraising is lonely work. But the difference was made by the people who supported me, honestly and financially. This is for my Limited Partners. I couldn't be here without you. You are the reason I can live this dream, the reason I can support founders. You believed when no one else did. You invested when there was nothing but a vision, a mission, a dream. You had the courage to follow and enable me, and now, us, this community.

This isn't the end. It's just the beginning. I'm grateful to every Limited Partner who has joined and continues to join this family. You are everything to this journey.

Continuity is an hour, repetition is our friend, and discipline is our guide. We go step by step. We don't stop. And we go together—the founders, the team, the community, and the limited partners.

Thank you for your trust. Thank you for your support.

Sincerely, Robin

A Magical Escape for Robin Capital’s First AGM and Retreat

Ellie Sellwood, Freelance Copywriter and Content Specialist. 

Explore the full gallery of event photos here.

From a seated dinner on the side of a mountain to a helicopter ride, find out what we got up to at Robin Capital’s first AGM and Retreat.

It’s not every day that you have a chandelier-lit dinner on the side of a mountain surrounded by some of Europe’s top investors and founders. But that’s exactly how Robin kicked off his Retreat and Annual General Meeting at “I am Escape” in Sankt Salvator, last Wednesday.

As we emerged from our Land Rover Defender shuttle cars and scaled the small, but steep hill, to meet the other guests, my eyes filled with wonder – “Is this really for us?”

On top of the hill, was a long table laden with plates, glasses, and cutlery, adorned with crystal chandeliers. All around us, we could see the mountains, the pine trees, and the valley below.

The hot sun was slowly making its way down towards the treeline. And, as we helped ourselves to drinks, the conversations started to flow.

Once everyone had arrived and scaled the hill to meet everyone, Robin jumped up onto one of the Land Rovers to formally kick off the evening. He spoke about the importance of community, of trust, and of being open with each other.

Then, it was time to line up and fill our plates with barbecued meats and salad and take our places at the table. We talked, wined, and dined, all through the blue hour. Then, when it got dark, the chandeliers lit up casting a warm glow across the entire group. DJ Wolf Kolster’s music played out across the hill, under the moon.

This was just the beginning of a magical 2 days.

The journey

I have been working with Robin for the past 6 years. He was one of the first people I ever worked with when I started freelancing and I have helped him with many writing projects over the years.

For me, it was an honour to be invited, but I can also say that this is exactly the kind of person Robin is. In the mix of the 60 guests, were founders he has invested in, his Limited Partners, investors from other funds, but also those who have helped with accounting, legal matters, branding, web design and writing.

For me, getting to the Retreat and AGM for 2 days meant bringing my husband and 13-month-old son from Hamburg. We booked flights to Ljubljana, car hire, and an Airbnb in Friesach (the closest town). We made it work. This wasn’t an opportunity that I was going to miss.

Getting to Sankt Salvator was a real adventure. We flew into Ljubljana and drove through the mountains across the Austrian border. Many of the other guests carpooled from Salzburg, Munich, Klagenfurt, and beyond. This was a journey that we all took gladly – sometimes you have to go a long way to escape from the daily grind and this was a chance to switch off and connect with many like-minded people.

Arriving at “I am Escape” on Wednesday evening was the culmination of many long journeys and there was a buzz in the air from the very first moment.

Day 2

Day 2 of the Retreat began on Thursday afternoon. We were all picked up from Friesach or the Iris Porsche Hotel in Sankt Salvator and brought up to “I am Escape”. As we arrived, the helicopter landed in the field and everyone rushed over to watch.

After a quick briefing from Robin, it was time for the first group, including me, to take to the skies in the helicopter. Once we’d all bundled in, the blades started whirring and off we went.

The experience of flying so high above the mountains, circling the Retreat, and diving over the crest of a hill was unlike anything I have ever experienced. At one point, we dropped about 30 feet and my stomach fell through the floor.

When we were back on land, we headed over to the stable for drinks and snacks. The sun was fiercely hot, so many people were set up inside the stable building either working at one of the many tables or sitting around talking.

The Art Tour

Half of the group headed off on a trip to a hut in the mountains with Vagabund Moto but I opted for the Art Tour with artist Fabian Knecht. Fabian is a friend of Bernhard Schluga – our host and owner of “I am Escape.”  Fabian is currently building an art installation on the cliff face next to Bernhard’s home, the same cliffs that Bernhard used to climb as a child.

Fabian’s work is anti-authoritarian and nonconformist. Since 2015, he has been working on a series called “Isolation” in which he constructs exhibition spaces in the outside world. Instead of bringing nature into museums, he is bringing museums, or exhibition rooms,  into nature and capturing natural phenomena that can’t be replicated. This is exactly what he is doing at Bernhard’s home in the Carinthian mountains.

The tour took us up to the side of the mountain and up onto a structure that cost €500,000 to build. This structure has been built to frame a specific part of the cliff face and will house an exhibition room in the coming weeks.

Once we’d made it back down, it was time to refresh our drinks. While we mingled outside, a notary from Sankt Salvator showed up to sign some paperwork and check passports with the Limited Partners so that they could become part of the German registry. Many of the guests also returned with fresh haircuts thanks to the barber in the garage.

We then sat down for two panel discussions led by Viktoria Lindner (CEO and Co-founder at Bloom). The first panel was about AI with Max Bachem (CEO and Co-founder at Xaver), Fabian Beringer (from VidLab 7), and Jonas Diezun (from Beam.ai). The second discussion was about DNA for good with Renaud Visage (former CTO of Eventbrite and climate investor) and Jerome Ternynck (founder and Chairman of the Board at SmartRecruiters). To finish, we were all invited to form groups of 6 to discuss ways in which we could “do good” in our own companies.

The weather had been amazing all day, so the next stop was the pool.

After a quick and refreshing dip in the pool, we dressed for dinner and were told to find a table with people we hadn’t spoken to yet. We all fell into easy conversations while we snacked on charcuterie and fresh bread. Our smoked salmon starter was served and then it was time for Robin’s speech.

Framed by the huge glass doors of the stable, Robin spoke about family, about trust, about being vulnerable, and about making friends. It was clear that the Retreat was about all of us and the friendships that we had been able to build. In a time of increased remote work, human connection, and relationships are more important than ever, and over the past year, Robin has leveraged his network and his friends, many of whom were present to start something bigger than himself. He was full of gratitude and, as he had promised, he had a long list of thank yous and a long list of stories to share with us all.

The evening ended with a delicious main course, served family style so we could share the braised meat, mashed potato, and buttery vegetables. We shared a few glasses of Robin’s wine and enjoyed our cheesecake and berries for dessert, before wrapping up with coffees.

In the balmy evening air, a few of us shared some expertly made Gin and Tonics from the event sponsors Kyrö Distillery Company, and danced to the beats from DJ Wolf Kolster. Then it was time to leave in the Land Rovers one last time.

So, what did I get out of the event?

As I’ve said, I’ve worked with Robin for the past 6 years, but this was the first time I met him in person. This event was a chance for me, along with the other guests, to see firsthand everything that he stands for.

From talking with so many of the founders, investors, and team members of Robin Capital, I heard the same story again and again, Robin is someone who stands by his people and invests with his heart. He doesn’t just say it, he does it, every day.

He puts in 110% and really genuinely cares about everyone he works with. Yes, there may be other investors out there, but Robin does more than just invest money, he invests his time, his energy, and his passion, and you could feel this in every single detail at the Retreat.

By hosting his Retreat at “I am Escape,” Robin, and our hosts Bernhard and Kathi Schluga, took us into their home and created a one-of-a-kind retreat where everyone could come as they were, share their stories, and feel supported by the new friends they had made. Robin works with conviction and to see so many people, especially people who are normally very busy, show up is a testament to him and what he is doing with his fund.

Bernhard inherited this land and these buildings from his grandfather and, he and his wife Kathi have made something truly stunning. My thanks go out to them for pouring so much love into every single part of their home and making hosting 60 people look easy, even with their tiny baby to take care of.  

There’s only one word to sum up the Retreat with: magic.

By Ellie Sellwood

Thanks to Claudia Weaver for the amazing photographs.