Startup Success: Fundraising Summit

Marie-Helene is General Partner at Speedinvest and oversees the Portfolio Success team. By actively connecting Speedinvest companies with world-class know-how, network, and capital, she and the team are able to make a lasting impact on the valuations and long-term success of portfolio companies.

Before Speedinvest, Marie-Helene was the CEO of a mobile telecom operator and was responsible for worldwide corporate sustainability and ESG activities of OMV, a leading oil and gas corporation. She is also currently on the board of RHIM, a FTSE250 Industrial company.

She has two children, loves skiing, and exploring the world.

Lina Chong joined Target Global in 2018 and is one of the leaders of our early stage investment strategy where she focuses on investments in the SaaS and Consumer. She works with companies including TravelPerk, Fresha, Versori, Healthforce and numerous others.‍

Prior to joining Target, Lina was an investor at Hasso Plattner Ventures where she led the investments in major software and consumer companies including ReBuy, GoEuro, iZettle, Hansoft and among others. She was also a founder of 2 startups, both exited, and was the first non technical product and growth hire at ResearchGate, backed by Benchmark, Peter Thiel and Bill Gates. 

Lina has a Masters in Law and Business from Bucerius Law School and WHU School of Management, and a BA in Philosophy Law and Society from the University of California, Riverside.‍

Christian is a Founding Partner at Cherry. After some years at The Boston Consulting Group, Christian joined Zalando as their first CMO. Christian was responsible for building up and managing the group’s marketing efforts (i.e. performance marketing, CRM, PR, TV and brand marketing). He then joined the Management Board of Peek&Cloppenburg and was responsible for the company’s online business. He holds a diploma in business administration from WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management. He has lived and worked in the U.S., Spain, Brazil and South Africa. Christian gets excited about founders that are as passionate about execution as they are about building a strong and sustainable brand. He has a particular focus on logistics and mobility as well food technology companies.

With 10+ years of domain expertise, Wladimir Nikoluk is an expert in ESG strategy, data and regulations. He is Founder and CEO at Atlas Metrics, a Berlin-headquartered technology company supporting 1,800+ companies and their suppliers from 18+ countries to measure and manage sustainability performance. Previously, he developed data-driven products at McKinsey and the United Nations, ranging from machine-learning applications for corporate finance to impact management of the Syria crisis response. He holds a BA in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics from Oxford University and a MA in Public Policy from Harvard University and is a TEDx Speaker.

Philippe is a Partner at Peak, a founder-backed early-stage VC fund with offices in Berlin, Amsterdam, and Stockholm. Driven by his passion for groundbreaking solutions, Philippe focuses on investing in data-driven business models, particularly within the SaaS sector and software that provides a quantifiable impact to customers. As a former founder himself, he brings firsthand experience and deep insights into the challenges and opportunities faced by entrepreneurs, allowing him to provide meaningful support to the founders he works with.

Corey Wright is a recognized “startup catalyst”, brings over 12 years of experience in launching, funding, scaling startups and entrepreneurial ventures. A renowned speaker on fundraising, internationalization and marketing. He’s also an expert mentor for tech and science startups in their early-stage development. As Director, Startup Programs Europe for Start2 Group, Corey oversees a diverse array of entrepreneurial initiatives across Germany/Europe and ensures the excellence of Start2 Group’s global offerings. These programs support over 300 startups annually, providing him with in-depth insight into emerging technologies and products shaping our future.

Dr. Kilian Schmidt developed a strong interest in legal processes early on. Following his legal studies, he began his career as Senior Legal Counsel and Data Protection Officer at the Home24 Group. After a tenure at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, he transitioned to TIER Mobility, where, as General Counsel, he played a pivotal role in expanding the legal and public policy departments—scaling the company’s operations from one to 65 cities and from 50 to 800 employees. Motivated by the limited technological advancements in the legal sector and inspired by his advisory work with Gorillas Technologies, he co-founded Kertos to develop the next generation of European data protection technology.

Antonia Remmerbach has been part of the Gründerszene editorial team since January 2024. Previously, Antonia worked in the investment team at Moonfare and NGP Capital, Nokia’s investment arm. She completed her bachelor's degree in International Business in Maastricht and Singapore. Antonia also holds a master's degree in finance from the Nova University in Lisbon.

Julian is the Co-Founder and CEO of deeploi, an IT-as-a-Service startup from Berlin that specializes in managing IT for "accidental IT owners"—often teams within the People & Culture department who unexpectedly find themselves responsible for IT. Before founding deeploi, Julian was the first employee and COO at McMakler, where he spent several years not only overseeing operations but also leading efforts in recruiting, as well as training and development.

Arnas is the Co-Founder of AddedVal.io, a platform connecting (pre-)seed startups and business angels in the DACH region. He has invested small tickets in 5 startups as a micro-angel.

Mo is the Founder & CEO of Twain. The writing co-pilot for outbound. Mo raised 8 rounds of funding over the last 12 years as a founder. Twain's list of investors include several unicorn founders and top tier VCs like Sequoia Capital.

Julius Göllner is the Co-Founder & MD of ARRtist, a network for B2B Software-as-a-Service companies and their decision makers in the German speaking markets. He draws on his extensive experience in the B2B sales and SaaS sector, gained primarily as a founder and investor of more than 35 companies since 2014. From 2011 to 2014, Göllner played a key role in the platform's success, first as Head of Operations & Logistics and later as Vice President of Zalando Lounge.

Fabian Hartmann is the Head of HubSpot for Startups DACH. He works closely with the top VCs in DACH and Benelux to help startups scale fast! Before joining HubSpot, he built a community to connect startups with the old economy, developed strategic business models as strategy consultant, and led the marketing & business development team at a Berlin tech startup.