Olaf Sakkers is betting  he can beat the emerging-manager squeeze

Entering into the satellite of task superior has ne'er been easy, particularly arsenic a first-time money manager. But it’s particularly daunting close now.

According to PitchBook data, firms raising their 4th money “or later” captured a whopping 88.2% of U.S. VC fundraising dollars done the archetypal 3 quarters of this year, portion first-time funds captured a measly 4.5%. Just 81 first-time funds closed successful the archetypal 9 months of 2026. That puts the twelvemonth connected way to beryllium the worst for first-time managers successful astatine slightest a decade, according to PitchBook’s estimate.

Olaf Sakkers has spent the past 5 years proving that hard doesn’t mean impossible. He founded his money RedBlue Capital successful 2021 and closed its archetypal money with astir $5 cardinal successful superior commitments successful 2023. He has present held a archetypal adjacent connected a 2nd money that helium says volition full astatine slightest $50 million.

Raised successful South Africa, helium studied anthropology astatine Princeton, focusing connected planetary wellness and wellness policy, and wrote his thesis connected HIV successful his location country. He moved to Israel aft graduating and was drafted into the Israel Defense Forces, wherever helium says helium had a table occupation liaising with the U.S. military, and wherever helium became funny successful autonomous vehicles.

An instauration led to Michael Granoff, laminitis of the task steadfast Maniv Mobility and an aboriginal backer of electric-vehicle startup Better Place. Granoff, who had wealth to invest, hired him connected the spot, Sakkers says. Neither had been a task capitalist astatine that point, truthful they built a money “almost by accident,” learning arsenic they went. Sakkers says helium ran the concern process time to day, backing Israeli founders who were bringing cybersecurity skills into the automotive world, and aboriginal expanding to the U.S. and different markets.

By 2021, Sakkers says, helium was an adjacent spouse successful Maniv’s economics, but helium wanted thing antithetic — much ceremonial and scalable — truthful struck retired connected his own. He founded RedBlue Capital that aforesaid twelvemonth and closed its archetypal money with astir $5 cardinal successful superior commitments successful 2023. It backs what helium calls the “real economy,” including robotics, logistics, manufacturing and energy.

Getting determination has been a trial of endurance arsenic overmuch arsenic salesmanship, seemingly. Sakkers says that organization constricted partners, outfits similar endowments and pension funds, person been the toughest to triumph implicit due to the fact that his checks are tiny (and theirs are comparatively huge) but besides due to the fact that their hazard exemplary is built to “avoid getting a zero,” which is wherefore they thin to gravitate toward established brands.

Says Sakkers, it’s akin to founders who travel to beryllium seen arsenic “inevitable,” aft they’ve antecedently founded different company. Meanwhile first-time founders often conflict against the “gravity of perception,” meaning a much ascendant marque tin crook however radical comprehend a newer one.

His reply has been to fto the results speak, but it takes time. “It’s a semipermanent crippled of gathering trust, demonstrating show implicit time,” Sakkers says.

The archetypal money was a impervious of concept, backed by LPs helium had known for a while, including household offices. The 2nd draws connected household offices and institutions.

RedBlue writes tiny checks, $50,000 to $100,000, mostly joining deals led by different investors alternatively than starring them. That lets it bash much deals and beryllium “the past capitalist that they take” connected by promising applicable help, including introductions to pb investors similar Andreessen Horowitz and Thrive Capital, and to customers. Founders expect small from VCs, successful Sakker’s view, truthful RedBlue tries to overdeliver connected the enactment part.

By his account, the results are strong. Of 28 investments, helium says that 15 person been marked up, and helium cites a nett interior complaint of instrumentality of “significantly supra 50%.” There has been conscionable 1 exit — an acqui-hire — truthful astir gains from the tiny money stay connected insubstantial and unrealized.

Public records enactment portion of Sakker’s story. HappyRobot, which RedBlue backed early, raised a $150 cardinal Series C astatine a $1.2 cardinal valuation successful August. Westmag, which makes motors for drones and robots and which Sakkers backed astatine pre-seed alongside Nat Friedman, emerged successful June with an $11 cardinal effect led by Andreessen Horowitz. Flai, an AI startup for car dealerships, followed its 2025 effect with a $27 cardinal Series A. And Humble Robotics, a driverless-truck startup successful whose $24 cardinal effect circular RedBlue participated, announced a $51 cardinal Series A led by Obvious Ventures earlier this month.

Sakkers argues that subject is his edge. RedBlue publishes thesis essays, specified arsenic 1 connected robotics, and runs connected a customized database that helium built with Claude Code to log relationships, gathering notes and introductions.

That lets him and his lone full-time principal, based successful New York, enactment asynchronously. AI agents, helium says, are “useless if they conscionable person to guess,” truthful everything gets written down. He contrasts that with Benchmark’s much artisanal model, which helium says suits a steadfast with a grounds helium lacks. Long exit timelines for physical-world companies don’t interest him, either: adjacent a $50 cardinal to $100 cardinal fund, helium says, tin merchantability stakes connected the secondary market.

The information isn’t uniformly grim. Smaller task superior funds betwixt $1 cardinal and $10 cardinal consistently outperform larger funds of $100 cardinal oregon much astatine the apical extremity of nett TVPI (total worth to paid-in capital, which compares a fund’s full worth to the wealth invested successful it) crossed caller vintages tracked by the bundle outfit Carta.

In the meantime, Sakkers is retired determination knocking connected doors, making introductions betwixt disparate parties, and calling up reporters similar this 1 to archer his story. It’s not casual to marque a people successful a satellite wherever the spoils accrue to the few, but helium says helium ne'er earnestly considered a safer job. “Life is short, and regrets past forever,” helium says.