Ponooc Ponooc

Investing in a sustainable future

Get to know us
WHAT WE DO

Amsterdam based venture capital and growth financing

A Sustainable Future

The earth’s natural resources are finite. We believe that the solutions to these serious problems our generation is facing are within the scope of business driven innovation. Therefore, we invest in companies that innovate their way into a sustainable future.

Energy and Mobility

Ponooc’s venture capital fund provides growth capital to start-ups and scale-ups with a focus on sustainable energy or mobility solutions. We have a track record when it comes to energy related investments and an extensive network which we can leverage in the mobility industry. Exceptional opportunities which do not fit with these themes may be considered.

A Proactive Shareholder

Ponooc aims to be a proactive shareholder. Our objective is to obtain a relevant minority stake. We commit to stay aboard as long as we continue to add value to the venture. We believe our knowledge, network, and investment can make a difference, both for the venture and in the energy transition.

About Ponooc

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Organisations we helped grow

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Our team

Friso Bensdorp

Investment Director

Maurits Koning

Investment Director

Max van Zoest

Investment Manager

Steven Uitentuis

Venture Director

Rui Li
Rui Li

Investment Manager

Meet our team members

Mark Frequin

Mark is the former Director General for Mobility in the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management. Before that he was a.o. Director General for Energy and Director General For IT and Telecommunications in the Ministry of Economic Affairs. Currently he is active as the Director General in the Ministry of Health, where he is responsible for the national committee health-means Covid-19. Mark is also a special advisor to the government for public leadership. He is writer of books as a.o. ‘Yes Minister, no minister‘ and chair of the organisation for government-managers.

Daniel Ropers

After founding bol.com in 1999 as a young McKinsey consultant, Daniel led bol.com as its CEO to become the by far largest online retailer of the Benelux, with revenues close to 2Bn Euro and growth rates of around 30% by the time he left the company in 2017. After 2 years as CEO of Springer Nature, the leading global research publishing group, Daniel is now acting as a senior advisor, investor, and board member. He is serving numerous clients in the private equity, digital consulting, and corporate space, with focus on digital transformation, digital strategy creation, and organisational implementation.

Peter Mensing

Peter has been with Booz Allen & Hamilton for over 30 years, most recent as EVP Europe. Peter is a member/chair of various boards: Swapfiets, Eurocaps, Lunchgarden, Prodalim, Ksyos, Vascobelo, Ajax, and is on the advisory board of New York Pizza, IMT, Bregal Freshstream, and Vortex Capital Partners. In non-profit, Peter is active as a board member of Dioraphte, de Balie, and chairman of the Stedelijk Museum Fonds.

Carlo van de Weijer

Carlo van de Weijer is general manager of the newly founded Eindhoven AI System Institute EAISI at Eindhoven University of Technology. He advises ministries and industries around the world on the future of mobility and is member of the supervisory board of several high-tech companies and start-ups. Furthermore, he is a weekly columnist in the leading Dutch financial newspaper.

Janus Smalbraak

Janus started his career with NeSBIC and currently is the CEO of Pon Holdings. Furthermore, Janus is advisor to private equity funds CVC and Gilde Buy Out Fund, board member of RAI vereniging, which is the Dutch Automobile and two wheeler Association, and serves as supervisory board member on the boards of IMCD and the Volkswagen Bank.

Fanja Pon

Fanja is the President of the supervisory board of Pon Holdings - a Dutch family owned multinational mobility conglomerate - and acts as chairman of the Ponooc Investment Committee. She also serves as a member of the supervisory boards of URUS - a new global player dedicated to serving dairy and beef cattle producers around the globe - and the Club of Rome in Germany.

Rui Li

Studies / Background
I studied Industrial Design Engineering at Delft University of Technology, with a Masters in Strategic Product Design. Few years later I also got my MBA at INSEAD.

Why Ponooc?
Earlier I’ve worked for McKinsey and a fast paced scale-up in the bicycle industry. While I loved both, they both had things I liked that the other didn’t have. At Ponooc I find the best of both worlds: Intellectually challenging and fast paced work in an environment where both ventures and people grow.

Most important Ponooc principle
We are in this together

Skiing or snowboarding?
Proud self taught skier (lots of speed but no elegance whatsoever)

Hobbies or interests?
I am a fanatic DJ and used to perform for large crowds. Absolutely loved it, but it wasn’t sustainable to be a night owl too often. Another thing I like to do is to fully dedicate myself to a (sportive) challenge without any prior experience in it, like doing a full Iron Man triathlon. But it doesn’t always need to be extreme. I really enjoy cooking as well, and having a nice beer(s)/wine(s) with friends.

My worst habit is
I laugh about my own jokes..

Steven Uitentuis

Studies / Background
I have my Bachelor in Mechanical Engineering at the TUDelft, with an exchange program of business adaministration at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam. I completed my Master at Mechnical Engineering faculty in Production Engineering & Logistics.

Why Ponooc?
Why not?

Most important Ponooc principle
We are dedicated and follow through.
Starting is easy. Completing is difficult. I believe that you have to be fully dedicated to be successful.

First job
Restocking in a supermarket since I was 12 years old. But shout out to selling Ice cream on a boat on the lakes, which was the best paid activity ever.

Skiing or snowboarding?
In case of fresh powpow: snowboarding, but on slope: Skiing

Hobbies or interests?
I’m a big fan of croissants with butter & Hagelslag but I’m passionate about road cycling and like to run for a couple of miles.

My favorite book is
How to win friends and influence people written by Dale Carnegie. I learned more from this book than 4 years of high school.

I live together with?
My wife Wieke and our new roommate: our daughter Lara.

I learn by
Doing. Failing. Doing it again.

If I could put one message on a billboard for millions of people to see, it would be
Everyone has a hidden talent they don’t know, until Tequila.

Friso Bensdorp

Studies / Background
I studied Business Law at Groningen University and Business Administration at Nyenrode University

Why Ponooc?
I love working in venture capital. Working closely with passionate and inspirational founders. Being involved with innovation and new business models. Intellectually stimulating work. And never a dull moment, with highs and lows alternating at breakneck speed!

Most important Ponooc principle
We are in this together. We work as a team, challenging each other on our convictions, and sharing success and failures jointly. We are in this together also stands for how we work with our ventures: by developing strong partnerships and mutual trust

First job
Picking flower bulbs in the summer vacation to earn my Technics stereo, which led to the start of a DJ business with a highschool friend. We soon learned that only playing Madonna and Michael Jackson songs is not going to make you successful in that business

Skiing or snowboarding?
Hiking. But skiing is not too bad either..

Hobbies or interests?
Reading non-fiction. Playing golf and tennis. Watching / following sports with the exception of swimming, netball and And playing the occasional game of chess, with a good glass of wine

My favorite book is
The art of the good life, by Rolf Dobelli. I usually do not read self-help books. But this little book is well written and full of wisdom. I regularly re-read this book to help me deal with my many shortcomings so that one day, in the distant future, I can say, like a famous Dutch soccer play once said: “before I make a mistake, I don’t make it”

I live together with?
My wife Carolien and our three children Boele, Kate and Noep. And let’s not forget our labradoodle dog Toffee

If I could put one message on a billboard for millions of people to see, it would be
"Life is too short to drink bad wine"

Max van Zoest

Studies / Background
I hold a BSc in Econometrics from Maastricht university with an exchange at NTU Singapore and a MSc in computer science from TU Delft, during which I studied philosophy and entrepreneurship at Melbourne University for one semester.
Before joining Ponooc, I worked at Google’s Cloud division in Dublin and interned at NBI Investors.

Why Ponooc?
Because I strongly believe that great companies and sustainable companies are not mutually exclusive concepts. Working with amazing founders that share this conviction and helping them build companies that lead the sustainable economy of the future challenges and excites me.

Most important Ponooc principle
“We challenge our opinions” - at Ponooc we have strong ideas about how things will work out, but we are not afraid to put these ideas to the test and be proved wrong. I like to believe that this is how I approach life in general.

I learn by
Reading, trial, and error

First job
Painting wooden shoes (klompen) in a traditional wooden shoe factory (yes I’m Dutch).

Skiing or snowboarding?
Snowboarding and surfing when the slopes are green

My favorite book is
‘On the shortness of life’ by Seneca, which reminds me that the most valuable asset is time.

My worst habit is
Impatience

Maurits Koning

Studies / Background
I’ve got a bachelor in Philosophy and a master in Finance. For some an unusual combination, for me less so. In fact, the longer I thought about it, almost all disciplines find their origin in philosophy. Especially ethics, philosophy of science and political philosophy have my utmost interest. And yes, I do use the concepts of these fields in my work everyday.

Why Ponooc?
Although mobility is as old as people, it’s fascinating to see how so many bright people are continuously innovating the way we transport (ourselves). Being able to contribute to these great ideas and turning them - together with our teams - into real value is what keeps me going every single day!

Most important Ponooc principle
“We’re dedicated and follow through”. We support - in good and bad times - the teams we invest in. We do not give up easily, but don’t walk away from difficult discussions either. In negation lies the basis for the better answer.

First job
Driving a ride-on mower. Will be probably my last one as well!

Skiing or snowboarding?
I like technique, speed, elegance and people that don’t ruin slopes. You can do the math yourself.

Hobbies or interests?
Participate actively and passively (i.e. watch) sports! From the Masters to paris-Roubaix and from FC Groningen to Max Verstappen.

I live together with? 
My beautiful wife Renee and fatboy-cat Abu & real-cat Zaza

My worst habit is
Swearing. Hands down.