Shoe Investments

Shoe Investments is a hands-on investment firm based in the Netherlands, focusing on fast-growing, scalable startups and scale-ups led by strong entrepreneurs. The firm pursues both direct investments in Dutch companies and indirect investments in around 30 worldwide private equity and venture capital funds, emphasizing rapid growth ('popcorning'), sustainability, and social impact without exit pressure as an evergreen fund. It provides operational support in areas like finance, control, M&A, sales, and marketing to help portfolio companies achieve 5x growth over five years.

Founded by serial entrepreneur Pieter Schoen, the firm was established in 2018 to channel his investment activities following successes in IT, publishing, and notably the energy sector. Schoen co-founded the Nederlandse Energie Maatschappij (NLE), which grew to become the fourth-largest energy supplier in the Netherlands before its sale in 2018. Drawing from a family entrepreneurial history dating back to 1722 and his education in Business Administration from Erasmus University Rotterdam, Schoen created Shoe Investments to back visionary leaders in diverse sectors, building on prior vehicles like VOC Capital Partners.

Notable portfolio companies include Mama’s Maaltijden, which became the market leader in chilled fresh meals within three years; Equalture, promoting inclusive hiring processes; Loop, producing over 150 sustainable coffins monthly; IXXi, via a management buyout; zkr, a compliance software firm receiving a 6 million euro investment; Colect (formerly Apptitude), a fashion software developer; and Swishfund, an SMB financing platform. The firm holds 13 direct investments in Dutch scale-ups alongside its fund portfolio.

The team combines deep expertise in private equity, M&A, finance, and entrepreneurship. Pieter Schoen leads as founder, supported by CFO Lodewijk van der Heyden (ex-Siemens, banking), Investment Managers Tim Engels (ex-PwC), Koen de Vrij, Pepijn van der Leije (ex-Unilever), and analysts like Laurens van Hillegersberg, with Venture Partner Ronald van der Heide bringing 20 years of PE experience. This Rotterdam-based group offers pragmatic, operational value to investments.