Our mission at Freigeist is to identify and
support the most technologically advanced startups in Europe.
Our biggest advantage is that we understand technology.
As a team we have been working together
for almost 20 years. During this extended period
of time, we have collected a lot of
experience in building complex software products,
as entrepreneurs and building up great teams.
Besides our experience in building up companies,
the educational path of our team is also
an important part of our journey.
The deep understanding of complex technologies is only
possible with enough knowledge in sciences like physics,
mathematics, mechanics, chemistry and in today's world,
also in computer sciences. As CTO,
I have to understand technologies very deeply and
be able to help make tough decisions based
on our technological knowledge. That's how we were
able to invest in Lilium back in 2016.
I have to dive deep into the technical
parts of the pitches and double check the
founders assumptions and calculations during the subsequent due diligence.
In this often complex process,
I use the knowledge which I started to
collect already at a young age by implementing
small electronic circuits as a hobby.
When I was 16, I built a computer
based on a guide in a journal for
electronic geeks. With this computer,
I started teaching myself software algorithms based on assembler,
which is a programming language sitting pretty close
to the hardware. At the same time,
I learned to understand the hardware itself.
A couple of years later,
I started my studies in mining technologies at university.
During those two years, I had a lot
of classes in physics, mathematics,
mechanics and material sciences. I also had the
chance to intensify my knowledge in electronics and
computer sciences during my studies in energy supply
and applied computer sciences. Being part of experienced
Software development teams helped me collect experience solving
difficult problems in IT and computer sciences.
Thinking in the best applicable data structures and
application of the right algorithms shaped how we
think about complex software architectures.
A broad view on the software,
hardware and in some cases extremely complex combinations
of the two helps me to understand the
technical challenges in all of the startups in
our portfolio. After getting a very deep understanding
of the product or technology,
we deliver support in all possible ways.
We are involved in technical and architectural decisions
and apply our experience in the development process.
We also participate in hiring processes and try
to bring on board the best talent.
We even help coding, building hardware or setting
up cloud infrastructures together with the teams.
Source code reviews, participating in agile development meetings,
coding, soldering electronic parts and even direct communication
to the customer are all part of our
daily business at Freigeist as support package for
the portfolio.