Zhong Xu

Co-Founder & CEO, Deliverect

Reviewed Updated Aug 3, 2026

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Location Ghent, Belgium

Last Verified Investment Casper (Series A (€5M, non-operational co-founder participation)) — Apr 20, 2022

Social @zhxu LinkedIn

Stage Focus

seed series-a

Sector Focus

foodtech saas hospitality marketplace restaurant-tech

Background

Zhong Xu is the co-founder and CEO of Deliverect, a Ghent-based SaaS platform that connects delivery marketplaces such as Uber Eats, Deliveroo and DoorDash with restaurant point-of-sale systems ¹². Born in Shanghai, he moved to Belgium as a child when his father pursued a PhD ³. He began building websites for Chinese restaurants at age 16 and taught himself C++ to build a point-of-sale system in his teens ³.

Xu earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science (2004–2007) and a master’s degree in software engineering (2007–2009), both from Ghent University ¹. He worked as a senior engineer at Belgian broadcast-tech company EVS, developing mobile and cloud applications used at the London Olympics, UEFA, and the BBC ¹. In 2012 he co-founded POSIOS, a cloud- and iPad-based POS system for hospitality; POSIOS was acquired by Lightspeed Commerce in 2014, after which Xu served as Global Director of Hospitality at Lightspeed until 2018 ¹⁴.

He co-founded Deliverect with Jan Hollez, Jerome Laredo and Jelte Vrijhoef in September 2018 ²⁴. Deliverect reached unicorn status in January 2022 following a $150M Series D and has since publicly reported processing more than one billion orders across 68,000+ restaurant locations ²⁵. Xu is a member of the Forbes Technology Council ⁶.

Stated Thesis

Xu does not run a fund and has not published a formal investment thesis. Publicly listed aggregator data describes him as an angel investor focused on food-and-beverage, SaaS and consumer technology in the Netherlands and Belgium, with a small-check profile in the $5K–$50K range and a $25K sweet spot ⁷. Note that this range is self-reported to NFX Signal and has not been independently verified against primary press disclosures.

His public commentary about founders and building companies — captured in interviews rather than as an investment thesis — emphasizes execution and speed. Asked about advice to founders, he has said: “Speed beats perfection – don’t force yourself to make the best product, but rather try to launch quicker than later to get feedback from customers” ⁸, and “The ‘idea’ is really not that important, it’s all about execution” ⁸.

Inferred Thesis

Sample size caveat: Only two publicly confirmed angel investments could be independently verified from primary sources (Orderchamp seed 2020, Casper Series A 2022). Aggregator listings mention two additional deals (Vendorvue, Mealhero) attributed to Xu, but neither round’s primary press coverage names him individually ⁹¹⁰¹¹. The analysis below is qualitative.

Sector focus: All verified deals sit in food-and-beverage or restaurant-adjacent commerce — Orderchamp is a B2B wholesale marketplace for independent retailers ¹², Casper is a Belgian ghost-kitchen operator ¹³. This mirrors Xu’s operating experience in restaurant POS and delivery integration.

Stage: Seed and Series A. Orderchamp participation was in a seed round with Dutch VC henQ and other angels ¹²; Casper was a €5M Series A led by Slingshot Ventures ¹³. Both round sizes fall well below institutional-lead thresholds — consistent with an angel-check role.

Geographic focus: Benelux. Both confirmed deals are Ghent- or Amsterdam-based ¹²¹³.

Co-investor patterns: In the Orderchamp seed, Xu invested alongside fellow operator-angels Stefan van den Berg (former CEO of Afterpay) and Thomas Plantenga (CEO of Vinted) ¹². In Casper, he participated alongside his Deliverect co-founder Jan Hollez and Belgian serial entrepreneur Jürgen Ingels (Smartfin) ¹³. Both patterns suggest he prefers syndicates of operating founders over pure-financial investors.

Important caveat on Casper: Xu is publicly described as a co-founder of Casper, though “he has never been operationally involved” per Casper CEO Matthias Laga ¹⁴. The Series A participation is therefore best characterized as insider-plus-angel rather than a purely arm’s-length angel check.

Portfolio

Only two angel-check investments could be independently confirmed via primary press. Aggregator sources (Signal/NFX, Tracxn) list additional attributions that could not be verified in original round announcements and are not included below.

Company	Year	Stage	Source
Orderchamp	2020-09	Seed (alongside henQ, Stefan van den Berg, Thomas Plantenga)	¹²
Casper	2022-04-20	Series A (€5M lead: Slingshot Ventures) — non-operational co-founder participation	¹³¹⁴

In Their Own Words

On execution vs. ideas, from an interview with Digital Web Solutions:

“The ‘idea’ is really not that important, it’s all about execution.” ⁸

On speed:

“Speed beats perfection – don’t force yourself to make the best product, but rather try to launch quicker than later to get feedback from customers.” ⁸

On the founder mindset:

“Just do it, be naïve and hungry. Don’t overthink it and just take the first step.” ⁸

On risk and starting POSIOS, his first company:

“Starting POSIOS in 2010 was probably the best but also the riskiest and craziest decision.” ⁸

“You should always just start and don’t regret things in life.” ⁸

On what drives him:

“I like being outside of my comfort zone, so it means that I like the unknown and the challenging.” ⁸

“If something seems impossible, I always want to take a crack at it and make the impossible possible.” ⁸

On endurance in company-building, reflecting on closing Deliverect’s Series C during the Covid lockdowns:

“It was about grit, resourcefulness, and refusing to quit even when everything looked fragile. You don’t need a fancy boardroom to close a round sometimes the most important deals of your life get signed on an ironing plank in a basement.” ¹⁵

“Behind every ‘unicorn story’ are endless sacrifices, doubts, and sleepless nights. The truth is, building a company is often more about endurance than genius.” ¹⁵

“Entrepreneurship is glorified, but the reality is lonely, gritty, and often messy.” ¹⁵