Sophia Bendz is joining Cherry Ventures as Partner. The former Global Marketing Director at Spotify starts September 1 and we cannot wait to begin working with her.

Sophia is a natural seed-stage investor. She has shown this through both her work at Atomico, where she currently serves as Partner, and her 40+ angel investments across Europe and North America. In fact, four Cherry companies are in her angel portfolio (shout out to Eastnine, Hedvig, LifeX, and Manual). Over time, Sophia has also developed a deep interest in the femtech space and her investments in that area include Clue, Grace Health, Daye, O School, and Boost Thyroid.

But that’s not all.

Sophia inherently understands that early-stage investments, our distinct focus here at Cherry, involve building long-term relationships with founders. Qualities such establishing trust, sharing knowledge, and making connections go much further in unlocking a business’s potential than the quantity of any initial investment. Like us, Sophia has shown she is passionate about finding young companies run by bold, ambitious founders and supporting them throughout the road ahead. As she herself says, “I love the hunt for the best and brightest founders. I love the excitement that comes with being the first check in. I love the optimism of what is to follow. And I love to support founders from Day One.” You can read more about her career and move from her herself here.

Yet, that’s still not all.

Sophia’s extensive background as an operator, namely at Spotify where she served as Global Marketing Director and oversaw the audio streaming platform’s growth from a tiny startup in a Stockholm apartment to an international player often named alongside tech giants like Twitter and Google, parallels Cherry’s DNA. We’re a team of entrepreneurs, started in angel investments, and soon became hooked on championing founders beyond capital.

Sophia will be based in Stockholm, adding to Cherry’s footprint in other major European tech hubs like Berlin, London, and Paris. She will keep close ties with Atomico, further strengthening our great relationship with the Atomico team. Her above experience and network in the Nordics will be an immense addition to Cherry and our portfolio when she begins her leadership role with us.

All this is to say: Welcome, Sophia! Again, we cannot wait to begin working with you.