2020
Maurice invests in early stage tech companies with a focus on B2B and B2C software start-ups. He gained a wealth of operational experience as IT strategy and IT M&A consultant at an international consultancy before joining High-Tech Gruenderfonds (HTGF). Maurice started his career at SAP, developing software prototypes in the R&D division. Prior to obtaining his PhD in business information systems at EBS Business School with a research stay at Boston College, he studied Business Information Systems at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and at KTH in Stockholm.
Ben is part of the Startup Unit at KölnBusiness Wirtschaftsförderungs-GmbH. They are constantly improving Cologne’s startup ecosystem and aim to make Cologne one of the best places for startups in Europe.
Before he joined KölnBusiness Ben worked as the global Head of Startup SAFARI – a Day-of-Open Door Event happening in cities all over the world. During these activities he not only helped establish organisations to open up towards a startup mindset but also helped startups to connect with companies, win new customers and develop their business models.
Christian is an Investment Professional at coparion, a €275m VC investor that helps young technology companies achieve swift and sustained growth. Christian values teams that pursue a bold vision while working equally grounded and focused on the daily execution. At coparion, he brings his background in finance and strategy to the in-depth analyses and creative exchanges that continuously sharpen his view on reality and future potential.
Kiana works as an investment manager at Alstin, an early stage investor within the Maschmeyer Group offering unique sales support and growth capital to its startups. Prior to ALSTIN she has worked at Oerlikon, a Swiss high-tech conglomerate and at Aurelius, a Private Equity turnaround investor. In 2009 she joined Rocket Internet working for eDarling and being part of the early management team of Zalando. She has founded and exited Glamloop, an online marketplace in the fashion segment and has built Holidu, a meta search site for vacation rentals as part of the core management team.
