Hello! Thank you for your interest in Leyden Ventures, we invest in technology companies in developed markets, primarily focused on early stage opportunities from our Fund and Late Stage/Secondary opportunities as part of our LP services platform. Do not hesitate to contact us.
Leyden.vc is managed by Gary Sheynkman (linkedin | bio) and Mohamed Hamdy (linkedin | bio). Between the two of us we’ve deployed capital in more than 50 startup investments across US, Europe, and MENA and have been investing together since 2016.
Why Founders Choose Us:
- We are operators and get our hands dirty. Hamdy was a founder of an online equity trading brokerage. Gary ran product for major media companies like VICE.
- We’ve been there as founders. We write copy. QA Apps. Get on calls. Founders recommend us.
- We open doors for strategic international capital and support companies seeking to enter the MENA region with tactical legal, commercial, and regulatory support.
From our founders:
Ahmed M. Co-Founder of DAPI YC S20 — In my journey, Mohamed was thoughtful and has given time and feedback whenever we needed. Mohamed Hamdy is one of the few angel investors in the region with true understating of building technology business. He is a great mentor and goes above and beyond to help founders even on a personal level. When Dapi was raising Mohamed was the first money in Dapi. As Dapi team we are very grateful for his continuous support and time. If you are looking for a founder friendly investors list, Mohamed Hamdy would defiantly is in the tops of that list.
Iba M. Co-Founder of TARA YC W15 — Three words. I trust Gary. When I need to think through decisions relating to product or even personal matters- he's usually been my first three calls. It's typically difficult for founders to have people in their network or investors that are a good sounding board, especially when a startup is moving at breakneck speeds, and Gary provides me with peace of mind when I need it. I can count on him to be available, day or night.
Vivek S. Co-Founder of Superhuman — Gary hustles for his founders. He was one of Superhuman’s earliest customers and quickly became our number one reporter of bugs and feature requests — it was not uncommon for Gary to provide detailed UX notes to our product and customer delight team. As an investor he has proactively referred many others customers onto Superhuman. And he's a lot of fun to talk to and to get to know. Highly recommend getting him on your cap table!
Amira R - Co-Founder of Bulkwhiz — It has been an absolute pleasure working with Mohamed. He is a hands on VC investor who is there for anything from bouncing growth ideas, to opening sales opportunities to securing new funding. He listens, gives heartfelt advice and follows through on every commitment. I would not be where I am with my startup today without him!
Why Investors Choose Us:
- We have an eye for talent. Hamdy launched and ran the first accelerator in the UAE. Gary launched the first Techstars program in MENA. We previously worked together at a Dubai SWF and collectively reviewed thousands of pitches.
- We've invested in breakout companies like Coinbase, Superhuman, Instacart, FundersClub, Dapi, and TaraAI long before they occupied the front page of TechCrunch.
- We’ve spent years and deployed millions of dollars building our deal platform by investing into programs, studios, scouts, and other funnels.
Thank you for considering Leyden Ventures. Please do not hesitate to contact us to learn more.
We look forward working with you!