Erik Averink

Erik Aeyelts Averink was a long-time technology investor and operator who served as a Venture Partner at Amsterdam-based Newion, the B2B-software-focused VC firm he joined in April 2011. He was a venture partner on Newion's second fund (Newion II) and, by colleagues' accounts, a foundational and highly valued member of the team.

His investing career began in 1993 at the Gilde IT fund, where he worked as an investment manager, director and partner, leading roughly 15 investments across Europe, Israel and the United States. In 2004 he moved to an operating role at SDL Tridion, one of the leading global web content management (WCM) software companies, first as Corporate Development Advisor and later as President of Products & Solutions (also cited as EVP, Marketing). He sat on the company's executive board and was part of the team that executed Tridion's acquisition by the UK-listed SDL plc in May 2007.

After leaving SDL Tridion in 2009, Erik acted as a business angel and advisor to a number of early- and later-stage companies — including serving as an independent board member at ADAM Software from 2009 — before formally joining Newion in 2011. He studied Economics at Erasmus University Rotterdam.

Erik passed away unexpectedly in the summer of 2023. Newion and many founders and peers he had backed published tributes describing his expertise and mentorship in building B2B software companies, and the firm noted that his loss deeply affected the team.

• Invested almost exclusively in early-stage B2B / enterprise software and SaaS companies — Newion's stated mandate is "early stage investments in B2B software companies."
• Backed companies at Seed and Series A, and reinvested across multiple rounds into winners (he described investing in one portfolio company, Foleon, three separate times).
• Looked for companies that could outgrow the Dutch/European market and compete globally — in his words on Foleon: *"The Netherlands and Europe have become too small, and [the company] has everything it takes to become one of the leading marketing technology providers in the world."*
• Drew on deep operator credibility (President/board roles at SDL Tridion) — he favored teams building real enterprise software and could add value on product strategy, internationalization and M&A/exit.