Ukraine’s ICLUB exec on $100M investment returns, trends for 2025?
Yuriy Romanyukha, Managing Partner of the private investor community ICLUB, originally from Ukraine, details the company’s $100M investment returns and the gaming trends for 2025. Since its establishment in Zurich in 2018, the community has already made nine exits, generating over $15 million for investors.?
ICLUB is a mobile platform that brings together an exclusive community of over 1,100 angel investors from 42 countries. Every year, community investors participate in more than 30 deals and co-invest an average of $10 million annually in startups from the US, Europe, LATAM, MENA, and SEA regions. So far, more than $50 million has been invested through ICLUB into 85 companies.?
The minimum co-investment amount is $5,000 per deal, allowing participation without significant risk. The highest single investment in ICLUB’s history was $2 million from one investor in a single deal.
Generating high returns?
In the early stages, ICLUB investors follow a strategy of co-investing in 5-10 projects annually, with equal amounts across different industries and geographical areas. This approach aims to reduce investor risk and increase returns.
Early investors always have the option to invest further in a startup during subsequent funding rounds. This legal right, known as ProRata, provides a logical opportunity to invest in the best-performing projects, thereby enhancing the liquidity of a venture investor’s portfolio.
ICLUB’s portfolio includes a startup that works with Cristiano Ronaldo’s wife as an ambassador. According to Yuriy, modern marketers are no longer impressed by celebrity names alone. He added that the company impresses with its rigorous deal selection. For example, it invested in a dental project that became the number one in Europe, the US, and the UK within five years. Today, this company generates more than $100 million in annual revenue, and ICLUB invested in it at the idea stage.?
The community works in a co-investment format with leading global venture funds and angel investors. Additionally, 60 percent of the founders from the portfolio companies have previously exited their startups, demonstrating their experience in successful exits.
Global investment trends to watch out for in 2025?
Yuriy enumerated three things to watch out for in 2025. One is robotics, he said this trend is closer than we might imagine. Over the next five years, we will see reality enhanced by various robotic services: taxis, masseurs, personal assistants, baristas, nannies, and more.
Second is Biotech. Yuriy said technologies are already transforming how we receive treatment. Simple examples include mRNA vaccines and Ozempic, as well as the development of medicines for previously incurable diseases. A relevant project from ICLUB’s US portfolio has passed several trials and is preparing to launch new products in this field.
Finally, Yuriy cited consumer goods as technologies that are already altering the status quo of international brands on store shelves. New technologies enable not only online product sales but also innovative business models in subscription formats.?
OneUkraine and other ICLUB volunteer projects?
In 2022, ICLUB supported the volunteer project OneUkraine. Yuriy discussed other similar projects in the company’s portfolio.
“At the outbreak of the war, our team halted all investment work for three months, during which we turned into a volunteer hub. Moreover, three of our employees are serving in the Ukrainian Armed Forces (ZSU), and we keep their jobs open for them and provide all possible support,” Yuriy said.
“One project I’m proud of is the 1k Project, through which ICLUB investors could financially assist Ukrainian families who fled abroad, without any commissions. The project raised a total of $11 million, helping 11,000 Ukrainian families and over 40,000 children,” he elaborated. “As part of the project, displaced people received $1,000 each in financial aid to a payment card. The 1k Project facilitated the process and selected families in need of shelter from the military actions in their homeland.”?
