Since 1998, the Center for Digital Technology & Management (CDTM) has been training tomorrow’s entrepreneurs. Among the more than 1,100 CDTM alumni are the founders of well-known unicorns such as Personio, Trade Republic, and Egym. With the CDTM Venture Fund, 316 of them have now joined forces to make 8.2 million euros available for new ventures. The capital is to flow into approximately 60 early-stage startups over the next four years. To receive funding, at least one person in the founding team must have studied at the CDTM.
The operational management of the fund is headed by Franz Waltenberger, a long-time member of the CDTM management team. The investment committee consists of the following alumni:
- Sophie Ahrens-Gruber, principal at Acton Capital, formerly head of corporate development at Burda
- Christian Deger, founder and CEO at Payworks (exit to Visa)
- Leon Szeli, founder and CEO at Presize (exit to Meta)
The fund can quickly, flexibly, and unbureaucratically provide initial capital on founder-friendly terms. It serves as a first financing or as a co-investment together with established venture capital funds and business angels.
Fund manager Waltenberger explains:
“The CDTM selects 25 students every six months from up to 450 applications and has proven over 25 years that it is capable of identifying and training the outstanding entrepreneurial personalities of tomorrow. We are building on this foundation and providing these founders not only with early-stage capital but also with the full power of the CDTM network.”
Among the 316 alumni of the fund are unicorn founders, over 100 other founders, and executives from various corporations. They support portfolio companies through mentoring and help with their networks in recruiting, sales, and fundraising.
Andreas Franz, board member of the CDTM support association, comments:
“As a support association, it is important to us to support the CDTM not only financially. Through the special structure of our fund, in the form of an investment club, we enable every member to invest even with small tickets – this includes both alumni from older cohorts and current students. With this, we are now pioneers nationwide in the university landscape after years of planning and thanks to the work of many long-involved stakeholders.”
