A fund is only as good as its ecosystem.
Operations, data, sourcing, advisors: four families of partners, each a specialist in its field, working for a single portfolio.
Every trade in specialist hands.
Investing in online stores means knowing how to find them, assess them, take them over and grow them. No single player masters all of these trades. Breakwater therefore relies on an ecosystem of partners, each responsible for a specific step.
TakeMyShop runs the stores. Lucrazia builds the new assets of the creation pocket. Sourcing for the established pocket combines direct acquisition, off-market deals and a network of partners specialising in the sale of e-commerce sites. TheLab provides indicators and benchmarks. Approved brokers and a panel of advisors complete the set-up.
These partners are paid so that they pull in the same direction as the investor. TakeMyShop and Lucrazia receive 15% of the stores' revenue: their fee grows with asset performance.
Who does what.
Integrated operator, paid 15% of revenue (TakeMyShop + Lucrazia), strictly aligned with asset performance.
Direct approach to sellers, off-market deals and a network of partners specialising in the sale of e-commerce sites in Europe. The channel for the established pocket (⅔).
Established European builder of e-commerce sites. Partner for the creation pocket (⅓).
Expert network providing proprietary e-commerce indicators and benchmarks, used for sourcing and portfolio monitoring alike.
You cash in, we handle the rest.
TakeMyShop is the fund's operator. Every store is run end to end from closing. The investor never has to step in.
More than one hundred stores are already under management in Europe. Tools, teams and processes are shared across the portfolio, and cross-store data makes it possible to spot early what works and what needs fixing.
The management mandate is governed by contract: scope of services, metrics tracked and reporting to the fund. It feeds directly into the half-yearly report sent to shareholders.
- —Operations
- —Customer acquisition
- —SEO
- —Customer service
- —Logistics
What the ecosystem keeps running.
What the ecosystem keeps running.
A multitude of small assets.
Lucrazia builds the niche stores of the creation pocket, for about €2k each. Stacking many positions dilutes the risk: a 25% success rate is enough to drive the upside.
WooCommerce architecture, 100% organic acquisition, no inventory: each supplier order is placed after the customer has paid. The target for each successful store is €800 of margin per month, for a value of €15 – 25k after three years.
- —Cost per site: ~€2k
- —Success rate: 25%
- —Target margin: €800/month
- —Value at 3 years: €15 – 25k
Sources: TakeMyShop, lucrazia.com, Breakwater Capital.
Several channels, one filter.
Every opportunity goes through a TakeMyShop pre-audit (metrics, traffic, profitability) before entering the process.
E-commerce founders and executives, reached through TakeMyShop and its management team's background.
Direct approach to sellers and off-market deals, complemented by a network of partners specialising in the sale of e-commerce sites.
An approved network of brokers giving access to pre-qualified deals ahead of the market.
A panel of e-commerce executives and M&A experts who take part in the due diligence of every deal.
A six-step audit process.
Each partner steps in at a specific stage, from first contact to the operational takeover.
Entrepreneur network, direct and off-market acquisition, partners and approved brokers.
TakeMyShop reviews metrics, traffic and profitability.
Financial, traffic, SEO, supplier and legal due diligence, led by operators and advisors.
Letter of intent and negotiation of terms.
All-cash acquisition, with no leverage.
TakeMyShop takes over operations from the sale.
Audits are led by operators, executives who have scaled businesses and e-commerce experts, not by finance profiles new to the sector.
Proprietary sourcing, fast execution.
How the fund identifies, audits and takes over each store, from first contact to the first day of operations.