The right connection can change what becomes possible.
KT11 Venture connects relevant technologies, companies and people across investment, wealth, capital markets and related financial infrastructure — helping institutions discover external capabilities and technology companies create meaningful access, partnerships and commercial traction.
A relevant opportunity can start on either side.
A financial institution may be looking for a capability it does not have.
A technology company may have that capability but need access to the right institutions, partners or markets.
Connect works from either side — understanding what is relevant, identifying where there may be a genuine fit and helping the right conversations happen.
Find the capabilities that could actually matter.
New technologies and companies are easy to find. Understanding which ones are relevant to a specific business question is harder.
KT11 Venture helps financial institutions identify, assess and connect with external technologies, companies and capabilities where there is a concrete strategic or commercial reason to look outside the organisation.
- A capability is missingA strategic or commercial opportunity requires technology or expertise that does not exist inside the organisation.
- The market is movingRelevant technologies, propositions or companies are emerging elsewhere and need to be understood in the institution's own context.
- Several possible partners existThe question is not who exists, but which companies are sufficiently relevant to merit a serious conversation.
- An external route may be betterBuilding internally is not necessarily the best answer when an existing technology, company or partnership could provide a more credible route.
Market access is more than an introduction.
Entering a market or approaching a financial institution requires more than finding the right name. The proposition has to be relevant, the institution has to be right, and there needs to be a credible reason for both sides to engage.
KT11 Venture works with selected technology companies on market access, enterprise business development, commercial partnerships and, where appropriate, establishing a presence across CEE, DACH and wider Europe.
- Entering a new marketUnderstanding where the proposition fits, how the market works and which institutions or partners are genuinely relevant.
- Approaching financial institutionsIdentifying the right organisations and creating a credible reason for the right people to engage.
- Developing commercial tractionMoving beyond initial access towards qualified conversations, customer opportunities and partnerships.
- Building the right local routeWhere relevant, identifying commercial, technology or other partners that can help a company establish itself in the market.
The introduction is not the product.
A useful connection starts before the introduction. It requires understanding the opportunity, why it could matter to both sides and whether there is enough relevance for a serious conversation.
And it does not necessarily end with the introduction. Where useful, KT11 Venture can stay involved as conversations develop towards a commercial relationship, partnership or route into a market.
- Relevance firstA connection should begin with a clear reason why it could matter to both sides.
- Context before accessUnderstanding the opportunity, proposition and institutional context matters before making the connection.
- Selective rather than broadThe objective is not the largest possible network, but the most relevant route into it.
- Stay involved where it adds valueWhere useful, KT11 Venture can support the conversation beyond the introduction as a commercial opportunity or partnership develops.
Connect focuses on market access, business development, technology discovery and commercial relationships — not capital raising or investor intermediation.
Not every valuable connection starts with a commercial mandate.
Connecting Smart People
Some of the most interesting conversations happen between people who would not normally meet — because they work in different industries, approach a question from different perspectives or simply move in different professional circles. Smart People creates space for those connections.
Smart People began in Budapest in 2016, bringing together people from financial services, technology and the city's emerging startup ecosystem in places such as Mosaik and Brody Studios.
In 2027, KT11 Venture will bring it back — reconnecting with people from its earlier years while opening the conversation to new people, perspectives and questions.
Conversations
Reconnecting with people from the earlier Smart People years — revisiting the questions and ideas we discussed then, what happened since and how those questions look today.
Events
Curated gatherings around front-running questions, bringing together people with different backgrounds and perspectives — in unusual places and with room for a few surprises.
Dinners
People who would rarely meet. Around a table they would not normally share. Talking about a question worth bringing them together for.
The objective is not networking for its own sake. It is to create conversations that would otherwise be unlikely to happen — and see what new perspectives, relationships or ideas emerge from them.
Depending on the opportunity, Connect may involve:
The exact combination depends on the market, opportunity and commercial objective. Connect can stand alone or complement an Advise mandate where external capabilities, partners or market access become relevant.
- Market access & localisationUnderstanding a market, where a proposition could fit and what may need to adapt.
- Technology discovery & relevance filteringIdentifying external technologies, companies and capabilities against a specific strategic or commercial need.
- Enterprise business developmentIdentifying relevant institutions, creating access and developing qualified commercial conversations.
- Partner identification & developmentFinding and engaging commercial, technology or other partners that could help make an opportunity work.
- Selected introductionsConnecting the right organisations and people where there is a credible reason for both sides to engage.
- Market-entry & local setup supportHelping selected technology companies establish the relationships, structure and momentum needed to become active in a market — including, where appropriate, a temporary hands-on role.
Looking for a capability, partner or route into a market?
Whether you are looking for an external capability, exploring a commercial partnership or trying to enter a new market, a useful first conversation is often simply about what you are trying to make possible — and who might matter to making it happen.