Ordinary Capital Collective – Unlocking Seamless Fund Access with Mara

Ordinary Capital Collective (OCC) is a Germany-based syndicate initiated by three investors, founders, and business professionals who pool resources to access high-quality venture opportunities. With a member base of sophisticated investors, many investing through personal entities, OCC needed a reliable partner to handle the complexity of onboarding and administration for fund commitments.
When the opportunity arose to back Vanagon Ventures, OCC turned to Mara to streamline the process. Mara managed the onboarding for 15 OCC members—ensuring smooth participation across both individual and entity-based investors..

About Ordinary Capital Collective

  • Who they are: A Germany-based syndicate by three female investors founded to democratize access to venture fund investments.
  • Their model: Pooling capital to collectively invest in VC funds.
  • Investor profile: Members are experienced professionals and entrepreneurs, often investing through personal companies or  holding entities.
  • Future plans: Following the successful execution of their first deal with Mara, OCC plans to expand its activity by investing in additional VC funds and  continuing to use SPVs for efficient collective fund investments.

The Opportunity

For their first Mara-powered deal, OCC members invested in Vanagon Ventures, a venture fund focused on early-stage deep tech start-ups developing purpose-built solutions in the B2B sectors Industrial, Nature, and Digital Infrastructure. Vanagon’s disciplined capital deployment strategy and thematic focus resonated strongly with OCC’s members, who valued the fund’s forward-looking and impact-oriented approach. Mara ensured that all 15 OCC investors could participate efficiently and without friction, despite the additional complexities of cross-border administration.

Challenge

Like many international syndicates, OCC faced challenges that required a flexible partner:

  1. Entity-based Investors
    Many members invested through personal companies, making KYC/AML processes more complex for traditional platforms.
  2. Defaulting investor risk
    Pooled fund commitments can present risk when investors are called for capital over time rather than upfront. The risk is that one or several investments fail to meet their financial obligations to the overall pooled commitment, which presents risk to the overall pool. Mara provided a legal and operational
    structure to mitigate this risk.
  3. Platform flexibility
    OCC had used another platform before but wanted to test another suitable partner. Based on strong recommendations and proven reliability, they chose Mara for this collaboration.

Solution

Mara provided the infrastructure OCC needed to invest with confidence:

  1. Streamlined onboarding
    Mara successfully onboarded all 15 members—including those investing through
    entities—without delays or friction.
  2. End-to-End administration
    From document distribution and signature collection to capital calls and reporting,
    Mara manages the entire back office process with the Vanagon fund.
  3. Entity-Friendly KYC
    Mara’s platform is built to handle the more complex requirements of investors coming
    in through entities, a critical capability for OCC.
  4. Commercial flexibility
    Mara offered adaptable commercial terms, such as deferred payment until the first
    capital call, eliminating upfront costs for the syndicate.

Impact and
value proposition

The partnership with Mara delivered immediate and lasting benefits for OCC:

  • Seamless First Deal: 15 members successfully invested in Vanagon Ventures with no
    administrative headaches.
  • Confidence in Process: Smooth onboarding of entity-based investors proved Mara’s
    ability to handle complex structures efficiently.
  • Future Growth: With plans to back more funds, OCC now sees Mara as a trusted long-
    term partner for scaling their syndicate activity.

“With Mara’s support, we were able to realize our second collective investment — demonstrating once more that venture capital investing doesn’t have to be limited to large tickets. We deeply appreciate Mara’s hands-on, solution-oriented approach and look forward to continuing to grow together”

- Nicola Siegmund, OCC

Conclusion

Ordinary Capital Collective represents a new generation of professional investor syndicates in Europe — seeking efficient, transparent, and collaborative access to global venture capital. By partnering with Mara, OCC was able to invest in Vanagon Ventures with confidence, delegating onboarding, KYC, and administration to a trusted infrastructure partner. For OCC, Mara wasn’t just a service provider—it was an enabler of growth, helping their members focus on identifying great funds rather than dealing with operational friction. As OCC continues to expand its investment activity, Mara will remain a key partner — providing the flexibility, efficiency, and global reach needed to scale collaborative investing.