Robbert Klerk

Robbert de Klerk is a Dutch-American attorney-turned-investor based in the Los Angeles area. He earned two Bachelor of Arts degrees from Pepperdine University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Minnesota Law School, all *cum laude*. After law school he became managing partner of a Southern California law firm, working as an active trial lawyer for roughly eight years while investing passively on the side.

In 2008, de Klerk retired from the practice of law to found Orange Equity, LLC, a Los Angeles–based boutique venture capital firm. The "Orange" in the name is a nod to his Dutch heritage — orange is both the national color of the Netherlands and the name of the Dutch royal family (House of Orange). Orange Equity is structured so the firm is meaningfully co-invested in each deal it closes and collects no fees of any kind until investors have recouped their principal.

De Klerk's most prominent role today is as CEO and co-managing partner of Bogart, LLC, the entity that owns and manages the name, voice, signature, photograph, likeness, and publicity rights of legendary actor Humphrey Bogart. He co-manages the estate alongside Stephen Humphrey Bogart, son of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. De Klerk has been winding down Orange Equity in order to concentrate on managing the Bogart estate, which includes licensing partnerships (such as Bogart's Gin), enforcement of publicity rights, and film/documentary projects.

• Invests as a boutique/angel-style VC across "a wide range of opportunities" rather than a single narrow vertical, with notable concentration in media and entertainment and digital media.
• Aligns interests with co-investors: Orange Equity is "significantly invested in each deal" it closes and "no fees of any kind are collected until all investors have recouped their principal investment."
• Operates as a small, hands-on partner-led shop (founded and run by de Klerk) rather than an institutional fund.
• Note: Orange Equity is fully invested and no longer actively seeking new deals — its last recorded investment was in 2013, and de Klerk's focus has shifted to the Bogart estate.