A €100 million second fund from Ghent-based Entourage comes with an unusual promise: the firm will stay out of founders’ boardrooms, even when leading a round. Pieterjan Bouten, who spent over a decade building Showpad into a software company with more than $100 million in annual recurring revenue, believes most venture investors destroy value through bad advice and operational meddling.
The early-stage firm closed Fund II after surpassing its €75 million target within two weeks. Commitments exceeded €100 million before Entourage capped the fund at that figure. Entrepreneurs, family offices, and private investors fully underwrote it, including founders from Aikido, TechWolf, and Collibra.
Entourage plans to deploy €1 million to €5 million per initial investment across roughly 25 pre-seed and seed companies in Europe and beyond. The fund retains capacity for follow-on funding.
Meanwhile, Bouten’s critique targets his own industry directly. “Most VCs destroy value in early-stage boardrooms,” he said. “Too few have built a company at scale. Great founders don’t need babysitting. They need trust, challenge when it counts and perspective at pivotal moments.”
That stance marks a significant departure for a firm writing checks up to €5 million at the earliest stages. Board seats traditionally serve as the primary governance mechanism for such investments. Entourage claims it leads or co-leads most rounds but almost never takes a seat.
The strategy appears to be working. Entourage made early investments in Aikido, which reached a $1 billion valuation in January 2026. Conveo raised a $50 million Series A from DST Global and Balderton Capital. Lexroom secured $50 million in a May 2026 Series B.
Fund II expands beyond the first fund’s software focus into AI, robotics, physical AI, and deep tech. Those sectors typically demand longer timelines and more capital, raising the stakes for Entourage’s hands-off approach. The firm’s first robotics and deep tech investments will test whether founder-first principles translate beyond software.
