The German-American investment firm Tiburon — which means "shark" in German — was founded in 2001 by Daniel Wild and Tim Schwenke in the city of Tiburon, California. Sharks often swim in the bay, hence the name. And even though in Spanish, sharks tend to have a grasshopper image in the corporate world, the Munich investor sees himself as entrepreneur-friendly and friendly.
Exits such as Lokalisten, StudiVZ and Xing appear in Tiburon's track record. Currently, names such as Shore or Testbirds in the portfolio. We asked Managing Director Felix Artmann what Tiburon values as an investor.
Please introduce yourselves briefly.
We are a private German-American seed investment boutique led by Daniel Wild and myself, Felix Artmann. With approximately 150 investments in over 15 years and a portfolio of more than 40 companies, we are internationally active and see ourselves as the interface between business angels and venture capital.
Focus on meta-platforms, SaaS and FinTech
What do you prefer to invest in?
We primarily invest in people and, very opportunity-driven, exclusively in complementary, full-time management teams. Our current focus areas are meta-platforms, SaaS, and FinTech.
What kind of startup would you never invest in?
In companies that don't have a significant digital value creation component, as otherwise our experience and expertise wouldn't really come into play. Nor would we invest in a team that is part-time, without any track record, and without 'skin in the game,' i.e., without its own venture capital, chasing the hype.
Do startups have to be afraid that you will interfere too much?
We generally stay back. However, if support is requested, we're happy to pull out all the stops. It all depends on the individual founders.
Tiburon brings his strategic experience
At what stage do startups ideally approach you?
In the seed phase. This means that we provide initial funding after the company has been founded. For us, this means that we support a full-time team with initial traction—a first euro in revenue, app downloads, or a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) should be available.
More rarely, we are also involved directly at the start-up stage if we have an experienced or well-known team in front of us, or even in a Series A financing round if, for example, we can apply strategic leverage through our experience in the field.
“We can be very fast”
How long does it take from the first contact to the conclusion of the contract?
Since we invest only our own money, we can be very quick, but usually within four to six weeks.
Tell us the knockout criteria for the pitch!
Lack of integrity is paramount. Otherwise: no founder-market fit or genuine intrinsic interest in the product.
What have you ever miscalculated?
Mistakes in the early stages of financing are less numerical in nature, but rather concern interpersonal issues, such as misjudging founding teams.
What is the Munich startup scene doing right from an investors' perspective? What could it do better?
Munich's startup scene is significantly less interconnected and even less visible than Berlin or London. The infrastructure for startups, however, is excellent. The universities, in particular, make a very significant and positive contribution. Munich's large DAX-listed companies still have some catching up to do.
Last but not least: Who do startups approach when they want to talk to you?
Directly on Felix: pitch@tiburon.de. Or via the 'Apply Startup' mask on our Website.
