User:Laura V7/sandbox/Axon Partners Group

Axon Partners Group Axon Partners Group was created in 2012 by the integration of two companies. Axon Capital -a Spanish regulated VC firm- and SVP Advisors, a consulting boutique specialized in telecoms and media, both founded in 2006 by Francisco Velázquez. The idea was to provide the best of the excellence of international companies and the flexibility and entrepreneurial spirit of the boutiques.

These two companies had different shareholders. On the one hand Axon Capital a small technology oriented VC firm coming from universities supported by some bluechip innovation centres in Spain such as the Politechnic University of Madrid and Fundacion Tecnalia, with minority stakes. On the other hand, SVP Advisors was a strategy consulting advisory firm with a team of partners with a vision to impact technology advisory at international level.

Axon Capital took its first steps into the VC world probably at the toughest times in recent financial services history, while SVP on the other hand moved up with clients all over the world, including governments and large telco operators. In the same year, 2006, Alfonso de León joined Axon as a part time co-founder supporting growth within Axon, while Dimitri Kallinis joined in 2009 SVP Advisors to drive excellence and growth in the consulting business.

In 2012 Axon Capital and SVP Advisors were integrated and Axon Partners Group, as we know it today, was born. The company was established as a partners’ firm with different divisions, managing VC funds in Spain and India, as well as serving clients in over thirty countries. The strategy consulting business continued to grow, increasing the scope of its projects in verticals such as energy. By 2012 the group had grown to 25 employees between Spain, US and Colombia.

In 2013 we started our ventures capital fund for Colombia and did our first cash exits in Spain. The company started to grow quickly so Axon decided to design its first career program enabling employees to ultimately become partners and profit from the global success of the firm.

In 2014 Corporate Finance division was created and offices in Mexico and Istanbul were set up. The investment scope expanded to Mexico and Perú, and some large advisory projects in oil and gas as well as food industry were executed, widening our sectors of knowledge. By 2014 the company had about 40 employees.

In 2015, the first corporate finance deals were closed, which were some of the largest in the tech world in Spain and Italy. By 2015, our funds had exited eight companies with more than 3x average exit multiple and Axon’s track record started to shows its consistency along investment processes. The advisory lines of business continued to grow steadily with large impact projects in Mexico and Saudi Arabia. Axon also expanded its practice to cloud and IT strategy as well as data analytics in the consumer space. This led to the creation of its first incubated startup: Finizens, a robo-advisor.

In 2016 Axon continues to grow steadily with over 70 employees around the world. We have bet on blockchain technology with Influity, have launched new investment strategies in brands and consumer verticals, leveraging strong execution capabilities of the firm’s seasoned professionals, and we have changed to a new brand office in the center of Madrid. Also, two new divisions have been created from the experience gathered over the years with the mission of providing the best of the excellence of international companies and the flexibility and entrepreneurship spirit of the boutiques.