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Blog
22. March 2024

Successful pitches: 10 tips for an impressive pitch deck 

In their day-to-day work, Kilian von Berlichingen, Senior Investment Manager at HTGF, and Arnas Bräutigam, Co-Founder of AddedVal.io, look at numerous pitch decks critically. In this blog post, they provide a series of tips on how you can avoid making the most common mistakes in your pitch deck  from left: Arnas Bräutigam, Co-Founder of AddedVal.io and Kilian von Berlichingen, Senior Investment Manager at HTGF 1. Keep your pitch deck short and sweet:Your pitch deck should be
 
Blog
22. February 2024

Digital health investments: Road to success requires bold steps and an interdisciplinary approach

Since as far back as 2012, High-Tech Gründerfonds has been investing in start-ups that operate at the intersection between healthcare and digital solutions. In this interview, our Senior Investment Managers Louis Heinz (Digital Tech) and Niels Sharman (Life Sciences) share some insights into the synergies that arise from the HTGF team’s diverse perspectives and also give their take on where the sector stands in Germany and internationally. Louis Heinz and Niels Sharman, Senior Investme
 
Blog
18. January 2024

2024: Trends, opportunities and challenges for founders

What trends and technologies can we expect to see in 2024? And what are the opportunities and challenges that founders will face? Our Partners Dr. Angelika Vlachou, Dr. Markus Kückelhaus and Markus Kreßmann provide an outlook, focusing on our investment fields industrial tech, life sciences & chemistry, and digital tech. Industrial Tech, Deep Tech and Climate Tech: An outlook by Dr. Markus Kückelhaus In the traditional industrial tech cluster, which encompasses fields such a
 
Blog
20. December 2023

The year in review – 2023 

As the year draws to an end, we sat down for a chat with the High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) management team. Read on to find out what Romy Schnelle, Alex von Frankenberg and Guido Schlitzer had to say about how HTGF fared in 2023, which trends are becoming important, and what will really count for start-ups moving forward.   What would you say were the highlights for HTGF this year?   Alex von Frankenberg: Looking at the figures, 2023 was a good year for us –
 
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ESG HTGF
20. November 2023

ESG at HTGF: Helping to drive sustainable innovations  

In this interview, Claudia Raber and Dr. Adrian Fuchs from our ESG team offer insights into their work and present High-Tech Gründerfonds’ (HTGF) recently published ESG Report. They talk about the importance of sustainability in the start-up world and show how we and our portfolio are actively contributing to a more sustainable future.  Our first ESG Report was recently published. What did it focus on?  Claudia: The ESG Report centred on our fourth fund generation, HTGF 
 
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Elias Lieberich
19. October 2023

Is Product Management the missing puzzle piece in Europe?

In his daily work with early-stage Industrial Tech founders, our Principal Gregor Haidl places particular emphasis on deeply understanding the customer and defining a successful product. Effective product management is a cornerstone, vital not only for start-ups, but for companies of all sizes and industries. Gregor sat down with Elias Lieberich, who brings an extensive background in product management.  Having spent over a decade at Google and YouTube building some of their biggest
 
Blog
19. October 2023

Quo vadis e-fuels? The road ahead for alternative fuels

What role will e-fuels play for the drivetrains of tomorrow? It’s a topic that is being talked about more and more in politics and across society – sometimes in a highly emotional way. After all, many believe that the use of alternative drivetrains hinges on a fundamental question: Will we ever be able to move away from the principle of using combustion engines? The discussion at the start of the year was an important one, as it shone a spotlight on the important topic of e-fuels an
 
Blog
18. September 2023

The best network is an active one – how HTGF supports C-level recruitment

For every company, finding access to specialized expertise and especially finding the perfect individual to complement a team can be a lengthy and resource-intensive search. This is where the HTGF can offer excellent support, thanks to its extensive network. It connects those who are seeking with those who are offering. For nearly three years, these threads have come together through Christina Siebel, Senior HR Relationship Manager. With over 15 years of professional experience in human reso
 
Blog
15. September 2023

Generation Greentech: How young ideas change the world

Five quick questions for Daniela Bach, Senior Investment Manager HTGF and Christian-Hauke Poensgen, Co-Founder Maya Climate Christian-Hauke Poensgen, Co-Founder, Maya Climate and Daniela Bach, Senior Investment Manager, HTGF What is Maya Climate and why can your idea make the world a little better? Christian-Hauke Poensgen: We are a financing platform for nature-based solutions (NbS). These are some of the most efficient and scalable solutions for avoiding and reducing carbon in
 
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Frank Hensel HTGF
15. August 2023

Investments in drug development: “We need to get to the source of the deals”

Dr. Frank Hensel is Principal at High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), where he is primarily responsible for start-ups from the field of drug development. Before joining HTGF, he was a successful entrepreneur himself and is now able to share his practical experience with start-ups. We sat down for a chat with him about the challenges of the sector, how HTGF is on the lookout for new innovations and why partnerships are especially important in this field. Frank, your investments are focused
 
Blog
9. August 2023

German robotic Start-up is Ready to Shape the Future of Automation in Textile Industry

Munich, Germany, 9 August 2023 – Munich-based deep tech start-up sewts closed a €7m series A financing round with an impressive set of top tier investors on board. The funding round was dominated by international leading industrial and tech investors: Emerald Technology Ventures, CNB Capital, EquityPitcher Ventures and Nabtesco Technology Venture as new investors, as well as further contributions from existing shareholders Bayern Kapital, APEX Ventures and HTGF. With the new funding
 
Blog
12. July 2023

How the circular economy will change our world 

Many companies are transforming their operations from a linear towards a more circular economy. The transformation process often takes a long time, is complex and costly.  Developing and promoting the circular economy is not just beneficial for the environment, but obviously it creates the possibility of better and more sustainable access to raw materials in the long-term. It might help to reduce the dependency on international suppliers and can strengthen the own position in the v
 
Blog
13. June 2023

Start-up Stories with Betterfront: delighting customers!

How can technology help venture capital firms make better investments? We explore this question in the latest edition of Start-up Stories, HTGF’s short video format. Our guest is Michel Geolier, co-founder and CEO of Betterfront. The Munich-based investment technology company offers a fundraising and data analytics platform that enables fund managers to attract, engage and retain institutional investors. In doing so, Betterfront is creating the largest secondary market platform for LP
 
Blog
13. June 2023

Interview with Kenza Ait Si Abbou: emotional AI can read humans – even better than we can

Could machines soon be capable of understanding us better than other people? There’s a good chance they will, believes Kenza Ait Si Abbou Lyadini. Here in Germany, the engineer is one of the most well-known experts in artificial intelligence, or AI for short. In her latest book “Menschenversteher” (Understanding humans), she explores the development of emotional AI. We sat down for a chat shortly before her keynote speech at the HTGF Family Day in May. In the interview, we talked about
 
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Bild Simone Menne (c) Jim Rakete Klein
19. April 2023

Simone Menne in conversation: “We need to get back to basics again” 

Simone Menne is one of the most important voices on the subject of innovation in Germany. She has a really good understanding of the business landscape in this country. Having previously held roles as CFO of Lufthansa and Boehringer Ingelheim, today she is an active member of multiple supervisory boards and shares her expertise with a wide audience. She will also be the keynote speaker at High-Tech Gründerfonds’ Family Day taking place on 9 and 10 May in Bonn. Ahead of the event, we sat d