Germany-based VC Earlybird strengthens its ties to the US start-up market as Konstantin Guericke, series entrepreneur and co-founder of LinkedIn, formally joins the company full-time. Having been a venture partner and adviser for the past two years, Guericke will now act as a development and support partner for portfolio companies. Working from Silicon Valley, he will try to bridge the gap between the US and Europe. Most German VC firms lack a significant presence in the US up to this point,  so why not give a Germany firm a credible Silicon Valley presence to negotiate joint investments and help portfolio companies make an impact stateside.

The move comes as Earlybird announces a package of services for its portfolio companies, which include productivity app Wunderlist, photo-sharing app EyeEm and ride-sharing platform Carpooling.com.

Earlybird aims to increase productivity and connectivity among its portfolio companies  by organizing curated portfolio meet-ups, master classes and networking events, plus online access to special service provider deals, reference materials and the ability for firms to exchange information about best practice. A consolidated human resources database for the entire portfolio will follow in the future.

Having grown up in Germany, Guericke is now responsible for reinforcing the presence of Earlybird’s portfolio companies where the big VC money lies: California and especially Silicon Valley. His fluency in German should not hamper this undertaking.