Munich Startup: Please briefly introduce Mountain Alliance!
Daniel Wild, Mountain Alliance: We are a listed operating investment company that invests in German and European growth companies. As a Munich-based company, we also invest heavily in the Munich area.
This is partly because the company was founded here and some of the team studied here and built up corresponding networks, but also because we see that the valuations in Munich are not yet as exhausted as in Berlin.
Our goal is to help the scale-ups we invest in to offer more than just financingAs experienced investors and founders, we also want to offer you operational experience and insights. This significantly distinguishes us from pure financial investors.
Mountain Alliance invests more in healthtech and digital education
Munich Startup: What do you prefer to invest in?
Daniel Wild, Mountain Alliance: At Mountain Alliance, we invest exclusively in growth companies, not in startups. Our Investment focus Our focus is on the German and European digital economy. When we founded the Mountain Alliance ten years ago, our focus was solely on e-commerce. Over the years, we have invested in various tech trends, such as fintech and adtech. In the coming years, we will focus primarily on healthtech, the future of work, and digital education.
Munich Startup: Do personal preferences sometimes influence your investments?
Daniel Wild, Mountain Alliance: Investments, like any other business relationship, are always a matter of personal impressions. Therefore, personal preferences naturally influence our individual investment decisions. When you invest in a company and potentially support it for several years, you simply have to be on the same wavelength and be able to go out for a beer together from time to time.
No investment in part-time start-ups
Munich Startup: What kind of startup would you never invest in?
Daniel Wild, Mountain Alliance: I would never invest in a startup where the founders aren't full-time, meaning they're "part-time founders." However, that's relatively rare for our target group of growth companies. Furthermore, the founders need to be familiar with the market. I also wouldn't invest in a company with a poor founder-market fit, because otherwise, you'd simply pay too much for the "learning curve." Incidentally, it was a bit like that when I founded Getmobile AG: I knew absolutely nothing about the mobile phone market.
Munich Startup: Do startups have to be afraid that you will interfere too much?
Daniel Wild, Mountain Alliance: No, not that. But the premise is: the better things are going, the less we interfere. Because we are founders ourselves, we may be more operational investors than others, especially when it comes to majority stakes. In those cases, we also assume operational responsibility if necessary. Otherwise, we typically have a seat on the advisory board and participate in the discussion of strategic issues.
I believe that founders should pursue their own vision, and the Mountain Alliance can then contribute its expertise. We see ourselves as capable of providing more than just funding.
Munich Startup: How long does it take from the first contact to the conclusion of the contract?
Daniel Wild, Mountain Alliance: Between two and six months.
Tip: Have predictable growth channels
Munich Startup: To be successful, a startup must…
Daniel Wild, Mountain Alliance: ...be deeply rooted in its market. It should also learn faster than other market participants and develop more rapidly. If a startup changes or adapts less quickly than the market, it will fall behind. Additionally, a startup must be able to demonstrate clearly plannable growth channels. This means that key factors such as revenue growth are systematically managed and do not arise by chance.
Munich Startup: What place will European startups find in the tech world of tomorrow?
Daniel Wild, Mountain Alliance: The European Union is already stronger in the tech world than people realize. But it needs to be strengthened even further, and that's precisely where the Mountain Alliance is happy to be involved. There are already large European tech companies like Skype and Trivago that show us that it's possible. We believe there will be more European unicorns, and that's why we're here. Just consider certain economic sectors: Europe, for example, has one of the largest wine markets in the world!
Europe will have more unicorns in the future
We always say: "If you can make it in the EU, you can make it anywhere." There are two reasons for this: First, the gigantic, yet incredibly diverse European single market, and second, the strict European laws and regulations in place. However, I also see these challenges as an opportunity for European startups. Once they have overcome the challenge of the different languages and customs of the European markets and managed to comply with the applicable laws, they have practically won. Not only does the European single market open up to them, but the learnings from Europe equip them for global expansion.
Munich Startup: Tell us the knockout criteria for the pitch!
Daniel Wild, Mountain Alliance: The founders or team members are only fully committed once funding is secured. The team must be 100% behind the project for Mountain Alliance to invest.
Munich Startup: What have you ever miscalculated?
Daniel Wild, Mountain Alliance: With quite a few things, of course. My biggest disappointment was in online gaming. There's a lot of potential in this market, but a lot of things go wrong.
Munich Startup: The trend of the year is…!
Daniel Wild, Mountain Alliance: Due to the impact of COVID-19, this year's trend is—unfortunately—clearly remote working combined with B2B and B2C e-learning. This is naturally also reflected in Mountain Alliance's portfolio companies: Lingoda, Moving Image, and Tixxt have all received significant momentum in recent months.
Munich startups: need to catch up on marketing
Munich Startup: What is the Munich startup scene doing right from an investors' perspective? What could it do better?
Daniel Wild, Mountain Alliance: In Munich, I find the deep-tech startup scene and the many AI startups that are emerging due to the proximity to the university particularly exciting. The numerous partnerships with larger companies are also interesting.
However, the Munich startup scene clearly has some catching up to do in terms of marketing. Compared to their Berlin counterparts, Munich startups lack the "sexiness." This would, of course, also increase their valuations and attractiveness to investors...
Munich Startup: Last but not least: Who do startups approach when they want to talk to you?
Daniel Wild, Mountain Alliance: Contact me directly via Email.
