Jonathan Kurfess

Ep.17 Drop #20Angel 🎙 The one & only Philipp Moehring, Co-Founder of Tiny Supercomputer Investment Company, joined me in the hot seat for a rare public appearance 🔥 👉 Introducing Tiny Supercomputer Investment Company FUND III ✍ 👉 Higher valuations = higher expectations 💣 👉 Giving Founders the freedom to be extreme 🤪 👉 Your access gives you your price 💰 Some Founder References on Philipp: dennis müller (Amie): "More than most, pmoe is a cheerleader. The journey is already hard enough, some VC's make it harder by sending unsolicited articles with "seen this?". He's the opposite. always fun to brainstorm ideas with him. Differentiated intros relative to others." David Budde (trawa): “He‘s been a great sparring partner and has a ton of experience. I remember, the night before our Pre-Seed closing, we found a minor but important error in our cap table. Unsure what to do, we called Phil late that evening for guidance. To me, it‘s super important to know that I can reach my investors, if it actually matters, and that they‘ll be able to help! + he’s just a really nice guy.” Milos Rusic (deepset): “Phil is amazing! He was actively involved in assembling each of our funding rounds - even in the first round where he committed before we had settled for a lead investor. He actively helped to construct our favourite setup of lead investors for that initial round. He knows everyone and his support is not limited to great intros - he really helps founders to assess and identify which investor could be a right fit for them. 100% reliable, massive value for every company. What they do is really unique.” This was a special one to do, hope you enjoy 🍿 https://lnkd.in/gTRT_SmJ 20VC, #AngelInvesting, #technology, #podcast, #entrepreneurship, #VC, #Founder, #Investing

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How do I actually get proper money as a founder? I spoke about this in the Für-Gründer.de Podcast with editor Elena Todeva. What financing options are there? How do I find the VC that really suits me? When should I bootstrap? Which financing has which consequences in the end? My personal tip for founders: Do some real networking, exchange ideas with other founders, get tips and advice from everywhere, be brave, talk to experienced founders and ask really deep questions and learn always from the experiences of others. Please listen and feel free to write me feedback. https://lnkd.in/de_ZmdZq

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The best part of work is always at the terminals. Yesterday at the HHLA Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG Container Terminal Tollerort. Supporting the incredible works of founders Marcel Wiegand and Nico Marks and their exciting venture passify that secures and automates gate processes. The roll-out was a blast. Speaking with hundreds of truck drivers all day long and showing them the easiness of the gate process via smartphone App. This is another great example why founders who have years of terminal work experiences make the difference when it comes to gate integration, process knowledge and smooth software roll-outs. And this is just the start. passify simplifies and streamlines the access management process for both truck drivers and facility operators, while providing real-time information on pick-up and delivery availability. Definitely a startup to watch on an exciting growth path. #smartport #terminalaccess #startup #truck #gateprocess

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🌍 Excited to connect with fellow innovators and explore scalable business models. See you there! InnovaticGroup. Create the Future Now innovaticgroup.com #BornGlobalAcademy #GlobalExpansion #Innovation #Technology #Entrepreneurship #Investment #Networking #InnovaticGroup #BusinessGrowth #SustainableInnovation #BusinessAngels #VentureCapital #LPs #GPs #Innovation #DigitalRransformation #Digitalization #Startup #Scaleup

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Three biggest learnings from a fundraising journey. Shared by Rainer Märkle, General Partner at HV Capital at EUVC 1/ Have a time box with a deadline attached. Have a defined horizon & create a clear plan. Have some urgency to get things done at some point. Execute very transparently and reliably. 2/ Stick to your narrative. But don't do it blindly. Tweak it when necessary. Adapt it. Don't let yourself be surprised by major changes. Keep focusing on delivering according to your strategy & plan. 3/ Fundraising is a marathon with many sprints. There are moments when you'll ask yourself - Why do I do this? Is it gonna work out? But don't get too negative during the down phases. Adapting and pivoting is part of our job. As it is for the founder of a company. How about you? What fundraising lessons have you learned? Join the conversation. 🔽 #venturecapital #angelinvesting #startupfunding #europe

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A comprehensive report on the german speaking VC investors

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What a great week! We announced our investment in Cozero, a super exciting German climate tech company revolutionizing corporate emission management💫 Kvanted and energy investor EnBW New Ventures led the €6.5 million Series A financing round, with the support of French fintech specialist NewAlpha Asset Management (love our all-female syndicate Melanie Beyersdorf Aurélie NICOLAS 👊 ) and heavy hitter business angels and advisors from logistics, manufacturing and SaaS, including Henrik Larsen, former CPO of A.P. Moller - Maersk, Christian Richter Torben Schreiter at Extantia and co-founder of SAP Signavio, and André Christ, founder of LeanIX. What excites me is that Cozero goes beyond basic compliance reporting by combining financial responsibility with environmental impact. This ultimately transforms business practices towards sustainability. Cozero’s Climate ERP meets the demand from big companies for an effective corporate carbon management tool, helping navigate complex regulations like the CSRD and report on Scope 1-3 emissions. Existing customers include major players such as A.P. Moller - Maersk, DMG MORI and NIPPON EXPRESS GROUP. Thrilled to join Helen Tacke Fabian Schwarzer Tiago Taveira on this journey with a shared mission of advancing industrial decarbonization!🚀 Learn more about Cozero’s Climate ERP platform here: https://www.cozero.io/ #industrialtech #climatetech #digitaltransformation #industrialdecarbonization

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Guide to Marketing for VC Funds📝 If you are an emerging GP and wondering how to market your new Fund, then this is for you. 👇 My colleagues at AlphaQ Venture Capital have created a marketing guide in collaboration with expert lawyers HEUKING. To find new LPs you can create a profile on invite-only AlphaQ Venture Capital's Discovery platform, which will increase your visibility and facilitate your fundraising. DM me for a warm introduction.🤝 ✅ Looking to raise capital for your #VCfund and increase the international pool of your LPs?   🤝 Need warm #LP introductions?   📝 Selling #secondaries to increase liquidity?   🧐 Looking for co-investments (Series A/Series B)?   ▶ G+QUANT's link for inquiries and fund decks: https://lnkd.in/gjC_EuTE #VentureCapital #VentureFunding #VentureDebt #Fundraising #Innovation #Technology #Entrepreneurship #Investing #Network #Investors #LPs #GPs #EmergingManagers #FamilyOffice #Markets #Economy #Business #Founders #Startups #StartupFunding #ai #artificialintelligence #unicorn #secondaries #secondarydeals

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I have news to share: In the upcoming months, you will see more of me in Business Insider Gründerszene as I share some of my perspectives on the startup ecosystem as a founder turned investor. First up: Why do start-up companies with remote-only employees face significant disadvantages, and why am I reluctant to invest in them? A take that I’m aware everyone won’t agree with... but I rest my case here! Here are three key takeaways: The importance of a strong corporate culture: A strong corporate culture, built when actually working together, is essential for the success of all startups. It fosters engagement and builds loyalty - crucial for a company’s stability and growth, especially during uncertain times. The risks of remote work: Remote work increases the risk of communication errors, delays in information sharing, team-building challenges, and potential employee isolation, which can hinder team development. The importance of a balanced approach: Hybrid teams must invest in building and maintaining a strong corporate culture through regular in-person interactions, team-building sessions, and coaching to keep employees motivated. Thanks to the team at Gründerszene for a great collaboration – more to come! Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/dgD-KUBr

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Today our portfolio company, atmio, the operating system revolutionizing methane emission management, led by Matthias Schmittmann, Marius Krüger and Fabian Ihl announced their successful €5.1M Seed round led by Notion Capital, with participation from SquareOne Venture Capital, HCVC and Robin Capital 🚀 We could not be more proud of your achievements thus far and are eager to continue the joint journey of helping natural gas companies abate an additional 1 Billion tonnes of CO2 emissions 🌍 Methane, the primary component of natural gas, is responsible for a significant portion of global warming, with 60% of global methane emissions stemming from human activity and a third from the energy sector. Traditionally, methane leak detection has been manual, slow, and focused on immediate safety risks, often overlooking smaller but environmentally impactful leaks. atmio aims to change this with a comprehensive system for effortless detection, logging, and repair of methane leaks, ensuring precise and regular reporting 🌿 #venturecapital #sustainability #climatetech

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Today I visited the GREENTECH FESTIVAL in Berlin with my dear friend Andreas. 💚 To make it short: Good vibes, busy floors and a big startup space. But tbh I wondered if it's really worth it for startups. I remember from my active time as an exhibitor that we weren't honest about the hard costs per lead. We argued a lot: being there is everything, you have to be seen, brand building is important, it's where the industry meets, serendipity happens, if we just get one big order it will pay off... not to forget the parties! That's all true, but the opportunity cost of attending a trade show is very high, especially for startups. And while this isn't meant to be a trade show bashing at all, here are a few suggestions from my experience, on how to make the most of it... - Train your team to proactively approach people. - Initiate a challenge to see who can get the most leads. - Prepare in advance and market your attendance by actively inviting customers. - Consider a small side event, such as a VIP dinner. - Try to book a package with a speaking engagement at the conference, that has always paid off for us. - Use the exhibitor directory for your own prospecting. - Calculate cost vs. lead conversion after the show with real data and decide whether to repeat. - Push your presence on social in real time. Good luck to all exhibitors and happy selling 🚀 ____________________________ Sharing my experience as an entrepreneur and angel investor. Investing in early stage B2B SaaS startups. Happy to connect 👋

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In a recent @Brutkasten article, I shared my view on the @European Union's Nature Restoration Law, and I'm proud that inoqo and Triple Impact Ventures stand with 375 Austrian companies supporting this initiative! The law aims to restore 20% of the EU's land and marine areas by 2030 and address all ecosystems in need by 2050. It's a bold step to revitalize our planet. A big thank you to Leonore Gewessler for taking a bold step and making this important law a reality! @Blühendes Österreich - BILLA gemeinnützige Privatstiftung non-profit foundation has launched a business initiative to support the law's implementation in Austria. Here the link to the article: https://lnkd.in/dF6JkCa7   ✍️Show your support and sign here: https://lnkd.in/dTjSbVYt #Sustainability #EU #NatureRestorationLaw #EnvironmentalProtection #Austria #SustainableDevelopment #Ecosystems

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5 founders in Germany decide to start a company together. How many should be Managing Directors (Geschäftsführer) of the company and who should that be? (They each hold 20% of the equity and make a material contribution to the company) Whilst moderating the Founder Institute Startup Legal Panel last week in Munich I asked this to our highly experienced panel of investors and lawyers? Surprisingly there were different answers, each of which was backed up by an intelligent and well articulated reasoning. So what do you think and why? Especially interested in your answer if you have been in a similar situation and needed to make this decisions? I'll add the answers our expert panel gave and their reasons for doing so to the comments later. #founderjourney #startuplife #investors #legal #vc #earlystage

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I won't understand how so many early stage B2B startups can ignore the importance of their brand so much... They have no reputation yet, they often don't yet have a solid / stable product... For the buyer - which is a business (...) they are a risk, more specifically: for the person buying in the name of the 2nd B. Their brand is half of what they have... And of course we aren't talking (only) about a logo and a name, but about a condensation of their promise. Yes: still adaptable and agile, but also comprehensible and convincing. My guess is that too many startups still don't understand the importance of commercial and therefore de-priorititze brand. And when I say "importance", I don't mean only to sell the product, but to shape the product!

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🎉 Over 100 startups across 15 categories from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern alone! A few weeks ago, we unveiled the map of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern’s startup ecosystem. Today, we're thrilled to introduce the dedicated startup map! This map showcases the dynamic and diverse entrepreneurship thriving in our beautiful region. Despite the tough startup rates, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania has developed a great scene driving innovation and progress. As co-founder of Founders Bay, alongside Hannes and Toni, we started this accelerator with a clear mission: to unlock the entrepreneurial potential in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. It’s inspiring to see the growth and the incredible startups that have emerged. We are proud to support this vibrant ecosystem, fostering the innovative forces at work here. From tech to sustainable development, from medicine to education – the variety of startups shows off the huge range of talents and ideas that this region has to offer. Together, we are making Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania a landmark for innovation. 🌱 #Startup #Innovation #MecklenburgVorpommern #Entrepreneurship #FoundersBay

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It's the ecosystem, stupid. Building robust ecosystems is crucial for the success of startups. Max Meister’s article in Handelszeitung highlights the current exit challenges and the importance of strong financial health and market readiness. In the US, a well-established exit culture fuels continuous reinvestment, but in Europe and Switzerland, this is just emerging. As a serial entrepreneur and investor, I see it as both a privilege and responsibility to actively shape this ecosystem, fostering growth and innovation. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/er3Y3-84 #ecosystem #venturecapital #entrepreneurship #venturebuilding

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Day 4 of 10: 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗳𝘆 - Empowering E-Commerce Entrepreneurs The 𝗦𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗶𝘁𝗲 that became a 𝘙𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘭 𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. Shopify was a snowboarding site?! In 𝟮𝟬𝟬𝟲, Tobias Lütke, Daniel Weinand and Scott Lake, launched Shopify, a platform that began as an online snowboarding equipment store called Snowdevil. Dissatisfied with the e-commerce tools available, they built their own solution, which evolved into the Shopify we know today. Shopify’s journey is a classic startup success story, empowering over 𝟭.𝟳 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 businesses worldwide. Shopify faced its share of 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀: From integrating with ERP systems to streamlining repetitive tasks and driving traffic to stores. Yet, it emerged stronger, redefining the point of sale for e-commerce and enabling direct Amazon integration. Today, Shopify is a 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘂𝗿𝘀, offering a suite of services that includes payments, marketing, shipping, and customer engagement tools. It’s a story of innovation, resilience, and the democratization of retail. #Shopify #ECommerce #Entrepreneurship #StartupStories #Day4

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Top tips for angel investors for more international deals. From Eva Spannagl, Managing Director of Climatos. The easy part: 👉 Build connections with international investors. 👉 Reach out proactively to international teams. 👉 Use Linkedin The tough one: 👉 Define your unique value proposition for this type of founders 👉 Preach what you want to do a thousand times. Talk about what you want. And the actions will follow. What do you think? What other tips will you add to the list? Join the conversation. #venturecapital #startupinvesting #angelinvesting #europe

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Proud to be one of the first believers with Climate Founders in kolum.earth! Carbon pricing like the European Trading System (EU-ETS) and supply chain pressure are in my opinion the two most powerful approaches for decarbonization. Cross boarder adjustment mechanisms (CBAMs) are the link to combine those approaches. The limitations of the EU-ETS are the regional limitation, that just a few industries are involved and the prices are not high enough yet. CBAM solves the first limitation in my opinion entirely, as it includes all suppliers from Non-European countries into the system. This is a huge step und creates pressure in the supply chain. Last year I was looking for a startup working in this field, as I believe it sits in a very important position in the supply chains of carbon heavy industries and can enable many other impactful solutions. Very glad that Helge Wieggrefe and Marius Sprenger decided to join our Climate Founders program and start Kolum. With their speed and know-how they instantly convinced me to be the best team in this space. Let‘s rock this together! Also very happy to work with fantastic investors like Christian Guba, Nicolaus Norden, Anna Alex, Thomas Gottheil, Markus Linder, Andrei Podlesnyi, Christian Peters and many others. https://lnkd.in/gmihdUJ5

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