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 tackling the biggest problems of our time while leveraging cutting-edge technologies. These can be broadly divided into three categories: deeptech (which includes everything from climate tech, energy transition, new sensors & compute, and space tech for us), healthtech (including techbio, psychedelics, etc.), and software platforms. We invest as early as possible, meaning pre-seed or seed. Often, the teams we invest in come from the best universities, such as TUM or LMU. But we invest across all of Europe, the USA, and Australia as well.
Possible Ventures invests “in companies tackling 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 us as 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 worry that you’ll get too involved?
Christoph Baumeister: Not at all. Through our own entrepreneurial experience, we know very well what a startup needs: someone you can call anytime when problems arise or send a WhatsApp to. Someone who is well-connected. And above all, someone who doesn’t think they know everything better, but listens and asks the right questions. We don’t sit on the boards of our startups; instead, we support the founding team informally on all important matters – for example, also in communication with other investors.
Munich Startup: How long does it take from initial contact to contract signing?
Christoph Baumeister: We’re a very small team with very flexible processes. When necessary, we move 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 while also setting achievable milestones along the way.
Munich Startup: Tell us the knockout criterion in the pitch!
Christoph Baumeister: Not mentioning their co-founders at all in a first conversation with us – startups can only be built by functioning teams.
A bet on the team
Munich Startup: When have you really miscalculated?
Christoph Baumeister: Investments in very early stages are, from our perspective, primarily a bet on the team. In one such case, we were very enthusiastic about the team and their vision and decided to invest. However, just two months later, it became clear that the team couldn’t agree on a shared vision. The founders then decided to return the barely touched investment to the investors. The damage was thus limited, but it was also a reminder to us that we typically invest in very young and therefore often still fragile structures. This also gives us a special responsibility.
Munich Startup: The trend of the year is…!
Christoph Baumeister: … AI (how many good investment opportunities emerge from it is debatable though).
Munich Startup: What is Munich’s startup scene doing right from an investor’s perspective? What could it do better?
Christoph Baumeister: There are numerous excellent (technical) universities and university-affiliated institutions with a strong entrepreneurial focus like CDTM, Manage & More, LMU Entrepreneurship Center or UnternehmerTUM.
While these have existed for some time, we have the feeling that they are slowly becoming known across Germany and even Europe and can unfold their full impact. Of course, we would hope that these programs would have a stronger role model effect for other universities.
Munich Startup: Last but not least: Who do startups reach out to if they want to get in touch with you?
Christoph Baumeister: Best through a mutual contact, but a personalized LinkedIn message or a meaningful submission on our website also works very well.
