Munich Startup: What does your startup do? What problem do you solve?
Theresa Hauck: Econos is a digital investment platform that offers private investors access to green investment opportunities on the private capital market. These are investments that are traditionally found primarily in the portfolios of professional investors with large amounts of capital, such as venture capital (VC). This solves the problem that private investors have previously had little access to the private capital market. At the same time, Econos offers private investors truly sustainable investment opportunities and thus a real alternative to ESG funds with sometimes questionable sustainability criteria. With and through Econos, private investors can optimally position their portfolios and make a significant contribution to a sustainable future.
Focus on forests, renewable energies and venture capital
Currently, private investors at Econos can choose between three different asset classes: forests, renewable energies, and venture capital. What's unique about Econos is that all of these asset classes represent nature- or technology-based solutions for climate protection. This allows us to combine financial and ecological interests and meet the high expectations of investors. This could, for example, be a venture capital fund with a focus on climate technology. Econos also offers forest investments or the development of renewable energy projects, such as solar or battery storage systems.
Munich Startup: But that's been around for a long time!
Theresa Hauck: Econos differs significantly from existing investment platforms in two aspects. First, Econos is not 'just' a platform; as an asset manager, we also ensure that the quality of the investments offered meets the highest standards. To this end, we primarily charge performance-based fees, thus ensuring that we pursue the same interests as our investors. Second, Econos uses the latest blockchain technology and offers tokenized investment opportunities. This is new, and we are the first to offer it, especially in the forest asset class. Furthermore, Econos' broad network provides access to particularly attractive investment opportunities. For example, we are the only platform to offer an indirect investment in the World Fund, the largest Climate Tech VC fund in Europe. Our investors value precisely this exclusivity and uniqueness.
“Investments are an enormous lever for sustainable impact”
Munich Startup: What is your founding story?
Theresa Hauck: I knew early on that I wanted to become an entrepreneur. Last year, I met my co-founder, and together we decided to establish Econos. By founding Econos, I was able to combine my passion for investing with my sustainability background. However, for me, the big picture is particularly important: investments are an enormous lever for sustainable impact. The world's major investors have already recognized the financial opportunities offered by the energy transition. It was time to use the latest technologies to open up these opportunities to private investors and channel even more capital in the right direction.
Munich Startup: What have been your biggest challenges so far?
Theresa Hauck: Managing (private) capital comes with enormous responsibility. Our focus is on achieving our investors' financial goals while finding the best investments that are financially attractive and always meet our sustainability standards. Gaining the trust of our first investors was a major challenge. At the same time, this required us to work extremely professionally from the very beginning and quickly built a very strong partner network (including Pelion Green Future, Pacifico Energy Partners, and the World Fund) to cover the necessary expertise and infrastructure.
Broader access to alternative green investment products
Munich Startup: Where would you like to be in one year, where in five years?
Theresa Hauck: With Econos, we want to exploit the possibilities offered by new technologies and create additional functions and new features in the foreseeable future. This includes, for example, the ability to trade purchased shares digitally and flexibly on a secondary market in the future, thus creating liquidity for traditionally illiquid investments. We also want to give more and more people and customer groups access to alternative green investment products, maximize our contribution to climate protection, and continue to sustainably transform the financial and investment industry.
Munich Startup: How have you experienced Munich as a startup location so far?
Theresa Hauck: Munich has proven itself to be an excellent location for us. As one of Germany's largest cities with first-class infrastructure and its international character, it offers an attractive location for the best talent and most creative minds. We also see the constantly evolving and growing startup scene, especially in the fintech and sustainability sectors, as a decisive advantage.
Munich Startup: Long breath or quick exit?
Theresa Hauck: For us, staying power is clearly paramount! Econos aims to become the central point of contact for sustainable investments in the capital market of the future, for both private and professional investors. We are already noticing that investors' expectations extend far beyond financial factors. We want to use investments through Econos as a lever for sustainable change and make a significant contribution to a sustainable future. Due to a lack of innovative strength, traditional financial institutions will find it difficult to adapt to the paradigm shifts of our time regarding digitalization and sustainability to keep pace with the necessary speed and credibility. We will fill this gap with Econos – a business model that, in our view, has enormous justification for its existence, not only today but also in the long term.
