Munich Startup: Please introduce yourselves briefly.
Christoph Baumeister: We are Possible Ventures. We help ambitious founders make the impossible possible. With capital, our network, and our own entrepreneurial experience.
Munich Startup: What do you prefer to invest in?
Christoph Baumeister: We invest in companies that are working on the biggest problems of our time and using cutting-edge technologies. These can be roughly divided into three categories: deeptech (which includes everything from climate tech, energy transition, new sensors & compute to space tech), healthtech (including techbio, psychedelics, etc.), and software platforms. We invest as early as possible, i.e., pre-seed or seed. The teams we invest in often come from the best universities, such as TUM or LMU. However, we invest throughout Europe, the USA, and Australia.
Possible Ventures invests “in companies that are working on the biggest problems of our time”
Munich Startup: What kind of startup would you never invest in?
Christoph Baumeister: We don't invest in startups that don't advance humanity. We are an SFDR Article 8 fund because we value investing in "good." (Editor’s note: SFDR stands for Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation, and “Article 8” funds consider environmental and/or social aspects when selecting their investments).
Munich Startup: Do startups have to be afraid that you will interfere too much?
Christoph Baumeister: Absolutely not. Through our own entrepreneurial experience, we know exactly what a startup needs: someone you can call or WhatsApp whenever you have problems. Someone who's well-connected. And, above all, someone who doesn't think they know everything better, but listens and asks the right questions. We don't join the boards of our startups, but rather informally support the founding team on all important topics—including communication with other investors.
Munich Startup: How long does it take from the first contact to the conclusion of the contract?
Christoph Baumeister: We're a very small team and have very flexible processes. When necessary, we can respond very quickly.
Munich Startup: To be successful, a startup must…
Christoph Baumeister: … find a balance between ambition and realism in order to pursue big goals and set achievable milestones along the way.
Munich Startup: Tell us the knockout criteria for the pitch!
Christoph Baumeister: Not mentioning his co-founders at all in an initial conversation with us – startups can only be built in functioning teams.
A bet on the team
Munich Startup: What have you ever miscalculated?
Christoph Baumeister: In our view, investments at a very early stage are, above all, a bet on the team. In this case, we were very enthusiastic about the team and their vision, so we decided to invest. However, just two months later, it became clear that the team could not agree on a common vision. The founders then decided to return the almost untouched investment to the investors. The damage was thus minimal, but it also served as a reminder to us that we generally invest in very young and therefore often fragile structures. This also places a special responsibility on us.
Munich Startup: The trend of the year is…!
Christoph Baumeister: … AI (how many good investment opportunities this will result in remains to be seen).
Munich Startup: What is the Munich startup scene doing right from an investor perspective? What could it do better?
Christoph Baumeister: There are numerous excellent (technical) universities and university-related institutions with a strong entrepreneurial focus such as the CDTM, Manage & More, the LMU Entrepreneurship Center or the UnternehmerTUM.
These have been around for some time, but we feel that they are slowly becoming known throughout Germany and even Europe and are beginning to realize their full impact. We would naturally like to see these programs serve as a stronger role model for other universities.
Munich Startup: Last but not least: Who do startups approach when they want to talk to you?
Christoph Baumeister: Ideally via a common contact, but also a personalized LinkedIn message or a meaningful submission on our website works very well.
