Bas Godska

Who they are

Bas Godska is Founder and General Partner at Acrobator Ventures — he also co-founded the Netherlands for Ukraine Foundation (NL4UA) in 2022 and developed the C.A.S.H.C.O.W. B.O.M.B.E.R. growth marketing formula used across hundreds of companies.

Person

Bas launched Acrobator Ventures in 2019 from scratch — a self-described growth-hack VC fund, Amsterdam-based but wired into CEE and CIS founder networks. Before that, he spent years as a CMO and growth marketer at major e-commerce operations across Russia and Eastern Europe: Ozon.ru, Lamoda.ru, Kupivip.ru, Enter.ru, Gloria Jeans, and earlier in travel at Ebookers.com/Orbitz and lastminute.com/Travelocity Benelux — an unusually hands-on operating track for a VC. In 2012 he codified that experience into Acrobator Consultancy, a Kyiv-based growth shop that developed the C.A.S.H.C.O.W. B.O.M.B.E.R. methodology for acquisition, conversion, and retention; that consultancy shut down after Russia's invasion. The through-line is operator-turned-investor: he brings a marketer's instinct for unit economics into early-stage bets. Beyond the fund, he co-founded the Netherlands for Ukraine Foundation (NL4UA) in 2022 to support Ukrainian wounded military, oncology patients, and refugees; co-founded Travelata, a travel platform; and Possibly — co-founded Skrib, though that is less confirmed. He writes actively on LinkedIn and Startup Jedi about growth marketing, early-stage investing, the Eastern European tech ecosystem, and the C.A.S.H.C.O.W. B.O.M.B.E.R. algorithm — practical playbooks, not theory. He was a speaker at One Giant Leap 2026 and has appeared on the Honestquo Venture Podcast.

Company

The most recent deal signals are from early 2026: in February, Acrobator co-invested in Newo.ai's $25 million Series A led by Ratmir Timashev, bringing Newo.ai's total funding to approximately $32 million as it scales AI voice infrastructure for SMBs. That same month, Acrobator participated in Algorized's $13 million Series A led by Run Ventures — a Swiss physical-AI startup showcased at CES 2026 with KUKA and ASUS — to accelerate its human-aware robot-safety tech. In April 2026, Maroo, a payments platform for creative businesses that Acrobator had backed, was acquired by Helium Ventures after raising $3.8 million. The fund invests $200,000–$1.25 million at pre-seed and seed, often leading rounds, and describes its edge as pairing capital with a team of 15 growth specialists — an extension of Bas's consultancy model. Joachim Laqueur co-runs the firm, maintaining local presence while Amsterdam serves as headquarters.

Market

Acrobator sits in the early-stage European VC market with a specific niche: CEE and CIS founders building global B2B SaaS, AI/ML, cybersecurity, fintech, and synthetic-media platforms — a corridor most generalist funds underserve. The broader 2025–2026 VC environment is marked by valuation corrections, compressed SaaS multiples, a wave of M&A exits (Maroo being one), and surging investor appetite for AI and defense-tech, all of which affect how Acrobator prices and times its entries. Named competitors in its portfolio company's markets include Bland AI, Vapi, and Retell AI (in the AI voice agent space where Newo.ai competes), but Acrobator itself operates in a lightly contested niche — the growth-specialist-plus-capital model for Eastern European founders is a relatively distinctive positioning.

Network

Bas co-founded Acrobator Ventures with Joachim Laqueur, who co-manages the fund and maintains local presence in Eastern Europe. On the co-investment side, he regularly syndicates with Mike Reiner, Adam K. Carson, Florian Reichert, Picus Capital, Julian Roeoes, Marcel van der Heijden, and Speedinvest. He also sits on the board of Omdena as a Non-Executive Board Member and was an early angel in Miro, Harver, Chocofamily, and Piano before founding the fund.

Joachim Laqueur· Co-founder and Partner, Acrobator Ventures
Mike Reiner· Co-investor
Adam K. Carson· Co-investor
Florian Reichert· Co-investor
Marcel van der Heijden· Co-investor

How they likely show up

Career-long CMO and growth marketer at major e-commerce companies before turning investor → he evaluates startups through a funnel and unit-economics lens, not just vision.
Built and commercialised the C.A.S.H.C.O.W. B.O.M.B.E.R. methodology across hundreds of companies → he thinks in frameworks and will likely apply structured diagnostic thinking in any commercial conversation.
Long tenure shape (Acrobator Ventures since 2019, consultancy since 2012) → he plays long games and is unlikely to be swayed by short-term hype cycles.
Active LinkedIn writer on VC investing, portfolio milestones, and growth marketing → comfortable being publicly visible; he responds well to people who've done the reading.
Hybrid role type — investor, board member, growth advisor, and humanitarian co-founder running simultaneously → high agency, likely impatient with passive or unfocused meetings.
Co-founded NL4UA in 2022 while running a VC fund → personal stakes in Eastern European outcomes run deeper than a typical Western investor; the war context is not abstract for him.

Conversation tips

→ Reference a specific portfolio company — Miro, EasyDMARC, or Newo.ai — and ask about the growth inflection rather than the entry thesis; that's the conversation he actually enjoys.
→ If you mention AI, be specific about the application layer: he invests in AI/ML infrastructure and voice tech, not AI-as-buzzword — vague claims will land flat.
→ Don't skip the NL4UA angle if it's relevant to your context — he co-founded it while building the fund, so it's not a separate persona; it reflects how he operates.
→ Ask about the C.A.S.H.C.O.W. B.O.M.B.E.R. framework by name — he built it, has written about it extensively, and it's a genuine point of intellectual pride, not a gimmick.

Toolbox

Openers

Open on the Newo.ai $25M Series A in February 2026 — Acrobator co-invested in AI voice infrastructure for SMBs, a bet that AI-native voice agents will eat the SMB comms stack. Ask what made Ratmir Timashev's lead compelling.
Bring up the C.A.S.H.C.O.W. B.O.M.B.E.R. algorithm directly — he built this proprietary growth formula at Acrobator Consultancy and has used it across hundreds of companies; it's the intellectual foundation of why his fund claims to be a 'growth-hack VC,' not just a cheque.
Reference the Algorized CES 2026 showcase — Acrobator backed a physical-AI startup demoing human-aware robot safety with KUKA and ASUS, which is a notable pivot away from pure SaaS; it signals where he thinks the next wave of B2B AI is going.

Discovery questions

The C.A.S.H.C.O.W. B.O.M.B.E.R. framework was built for e-commerce — how much of it translates directly when you apply it to early-stage B2B SaaS or AI-infrastructure companies?
Acrobator invests $200K–$1.25M at pre-seed/seed in CEE and CIS founders — what does the pipeline look like now that the war has displaced so many Ukrainian technical founders across Europe?
You were an early angel in Miro before the fund existed — what did you see then that most Western investors were missing about Eastern European product teams?

Avoid

Don't treat the Eastern European focus as a risk factor to probe defensively — for Bas, it's a structural edge built over a decade of operating and investing in those markets, not a gap to be managed.

Make it yours