Who we are

Amélie is a Community Builder at APX. She’s responsible for making sure that start-ups have the resources they need for success. A major people person, she manages a community of mentors, experts, and partners – and never forgets to add a human and environmentally friendly touch to everything she does. Thanks to Amélie, APX has transformed into an all-climate neutral office.

Amélie has lived and worked in more than ten countries! Before joining APX, Amélie worked as a social media manager and copywriter for tech conferences in Germany and honed her craft as a graphic designer in Canada. She left her Canuck life behind in 2014 to venture through the Far East for two years as a full-time travel blogger. Along the way, she launched her successful travel blog, Mostly Amélie, which helped her polish her creative skills.

Alongside traveling and blogging, Amélie is passionate about photography and design and likes to unwind through yoga and wellness routines.

Anastasia is an Investment Manager at APX. As part of the investment team, she discusses with start-ups, analyses their business models, and handles the financial and contractual dealings. Anastasia wishes to support start-ups in building a brighter future.

When joining APX, Anastasia brought her business background and creativity. Throughout her career, she has grown in the areas of entrepreneurship and sustainable innovation, promoting sustainability, diversity, and female entrepreneurship along the way. Her diverse background has instilled in her an interest in different peoples and cultures as well as strong empathy and communication skills. Anastasia worked at various start-ups around the globe as well as on the digital commerce team of the world’s largest spirits producer in Hamburg.

Perhaps uncoincidentally, Anastasia considers herself a whisky connoisseur. She’s also interested in modern art and photography – sometimes even creating it herself. A polyglot and third-culture kid, it makes complete sense that Anastasia has lived all over the world.

Anne is the Executive Assistant and Campus Operations Manager at APX. Aside from being the right-hand woman of the managing directors, she ensures that operations on the APX campus run smoothly. Solutions-oriented, she is the go-to for employee questions from payroll inquiries to event FAQs. On top of that, Anne and the office dog Perla team up as APX’s unofficial co-CHOs (Chief Happiness Officers).

Before joining APX, Anne worked at Axel Springer Plug and Play and at a Berlin-based crowd-investing platform. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Social Science from the University of Cologne and has completed practical training as a shipping agent.

Stretching her muscles and imagination, Anne loves doing yoga and reading novels. The recipient of a bohemian upbringing, her parents didn’t allow tech in the house, so her first gadget was the Nintendo Switch. That means Anne has a lot of screen time to catch up on!

Daniela is the Head of Legal at APX. Aside from drawing up and reviewing contracts, she makes sure that the entire investment process runs smoothly. Her goal is to simplify and speed up the overall deal infrastructure while being a go-to teammate to discuss the mechanics of a transaction. In the workplace, she champions diversity, sustainability, and women leaders.

Before APX, Daniela worked at SMP, a German law firm specializing in venture capital and private equity, and Uria Menendez, a full-service Spanish law firm, where she focused on capital markets transactions. These experiences enabled her to gain a depth of understanding to facilitate that deals run efficiently across various jurisdictions. Daniela studied law in Spain and Brazil, where she was born and raised, with a few stops around the world.

Daniela has around twenty years of classical ballet experience under her belt but surrendered her life en pointe to surround herself with legal paperwork. Like sailors navigating by the stars, this foodie uses cafes and restaurants to get around. Daniela is also a semi-professional walker, often seen strolling with her dog, Cora.

Diego is an Investment Manager at APX. In addition to screening, selecting, and closing investment opportunities, he manages and expands start-ups by connecting them with relevant stakeholders in the European ecosystem and beyond. Combining his experience in venture capital and hands-on approach in scaling companies, Diego wants to help founders realize their dreams and vision.

Before APX, Diego worked as a venture capital analyst at Continental. He moved to Berlin for the start-up and venture capital scene and to get his M.S. in Management from ESMT Berlin. With a background in business and finance, he also worked as a business analyst for a Chilean family office firm managing deal flow and restructuring portfolio companies.

A born Chilean, Diego has a fire for Latin dance. When he’s not grooving to Reggaeton, he has his soccer cleats on. Having played his whole life, Diego attended the University of Charleston in the US on a soccer scholarship, where he studied Business Administration.

Henric is a founding managing director of APX. Being surrounded by ambitious people his whole life, he has a soft spot for hungry founders. At APX, he fosters their growth in the early stages of their development.

A jack of all trades, Henric has professional experience in several fields. Before joining APX, he served as Chief of Staff for the CEO at Axel Springer for three years. Henric is also a lawyer and earned a Ph.D. in criminal law from Bucerius Law School. A true scholar, he has studied on three continents – in Hamburg, Cape Town, and New York City.

Henric also loves music. He founded The Venue Berlin, an audio and music hub featuring a stage, studio, and coworking space for entrepreneurs and creatives. On top of that, he is a guitarist, songwriter, and singer. Henric and his international Americana and folk band regularly tour across Europe. He also runs the independent music label Blue Whale Records.

Jakob is an Investment Manager at APX. He works closely with initial investments, from outreach to deal closure, to integrate them into APX’s portfolio. As a native Berliner, he shares insider tips for the local start-up scene.

The unwavering commitment to changing the world is what drew Jakob to the start-up world. Before joining APX, Jakob worked at the international talent investor Entrepreneur First, the operational VC Project A, and various start-ups throughout northern Europe. He studied Corporate Management and Economics at Zeppelin University and holds an MBA from Copenhagen Business School.

Away from his desk, Jakob likes to stay active. In addition to his love for skiing, he played field hockey for a long time, even coaching the next generation in the sport. Also enjoying working with his hands, Jakob crafts his own, albeit admittedly uncomfortable, furniture.

James is an Investment Associate at APX. Working across all stages of the investment funnel, he tests start-up founders and analyses their business models and chosen markets. James is also responsible for supporting portfolio companies. He’s thrilled to be working at the forefront of innovation and engaging with ambitious founders.

Before joining APX, James was an analyst for Amplifier,  a supply chain-focused VC, and a business designer at Fjord, an international design studio. He also supported startups at the Founders Factory in London before moving to Berlin. During his bachelor’s at UCL, he built an e-commerce platform for emerging artists. Though born in the UK, James celebrates his Chinese heritage proudly; he is a co-founder of HOTPOT NETWORK, a community for overseas and European-born Chinese innovators.

Outside of work, James is an artist and stand-up comedian, sharing his talents across Berlin. Having always been passionate about entrepreneurship and creativity, he used to draw and print comic books at school and sell them to his classmates for 20 pence each. James is also a huge advocate for mental health.

Jörg is a founding managing director of APX. Passionate about tech and people, he has worked with numerous digital companies, helping them grow sustainably. Jörg has mentored and invested in more than a hundred start-ups and has forever shaped Germany’s digital economy.

Before APX, Jörg led Springer Plug and Play as CEO for five years. After co-founding Alando.de AG in 1999, which eBay acquired half a year later, he served as eBay Germany’s managing director, turning it into one of Germany’s most successful e-commerce companies. Jörg founded his first company, denkwerk, in 1994 while still a Business Administration student in Cologne.

Jörg serves as a board member of Bahlsen and several other companies, co-authored a book on online business models, Simply Seven, and helped bring TEDx to Germany. During his time off, Jörg enjoys spending time with his family, traveling, and being outdoors – preferably all three at once. In addition to collecting knowledge and gadgets, he is also an avid drummer.

Marces operates as an Investment Analyst at APX. Even though he’s not involved in the actual development of venture capital, Marces is responsible for developing and programming the internal platform for connectivity. As a working student, he wants to keep the learning curve high – never standing still and always learning from others. Marces is currently doing his master’s in Digital Entrepreneurship. 

Before bouncing around every department at APX for the last 2½ years, Marces worked in UX development at Ogilvy & Mather and various luxury brands, like Burmester and Porsche Digital. Aside from holding a bachelor’s degree in Interface Design, he is also trained in Design Thinking as a graduate of the Hasso Plattner Institute.

On top of his interests in graphic art and design, Marces is also a classic car fan and a huge audiophile. His love for vintage speakers and turntables, and the restoration thereof, was passed down from his dad.

Maximilian is a Venture Developer at APX. He builds up the APX network by supporting and challenging our founders’ thought processes and strategies, and spotting opportunities for our start-ups to grow. Along with his analytical work, Maximilian is also the point of contact for start-ups when they run into roadblocks or seek to get challenged on their way ahead. 

Before joining APX, Maximilian worked as a Venture Development Manager at Autohero, the retail division of AUTO1, with a focus on building up the company’s supply chain. Maximilian holds an M.Sc. in International Management from Bocconi University in Milan and a B.Sc. in Business Administration from the University of Mannheim.

Maximilian doesn’t take himself too seriously. A nomad by nature, he has also lived in Paris, where he studied at the IEP Sciences Po, and the US, and – in addition to German and English – speaks French and Italian. A huge Italy fan, Maximilian has imported his love for Espresso to the German capital. He has a knack for creative ideas which have the potential to shape our future.

Melanie is the Director of Finance and Portfolio at APX. Maintaining an overview of the big picture, she holds all the pieces of the portfolio puzzle together. With our portfolio managers, she supports companies to close great financing rounds and makes sure that APX is a trusted shareholder to our portfolio.

Before joining APX, Melanie built and grew the portfolio of Axel Springer Plug and Play and still serves as Managing Director of the company. Melanie has more than 10 years of experience in Finance and Investing in the tech and startup industry and enjoys helping young founders to succeed by navigating their way through this jungle. She is especially passionate about promoting diversity and mentoring young women. Just recently, she started to dig more into sustainable investing and is always eager to learn more and exchange ideas about it.

In her spare time, Melanie loves to completely disconnect from the excitement of her industry. She enjoys Sunday mornings on her couch with a good flat white and a silly fantasy novel or an extensive Netflix binge, especially Friends. Could it BE more relaxing?

Mor is a Strategic Partnerships and Growth Manager at APX. A natural matchmaker, she manages APX’s strategic partnerships in the ecosystem and supports APX B2B portfolio companies with their sales and marketing strategy. Mor connects innovation-seeking companies with one of APX’s market-leading portfolio companies. As a founder of one of the biggest VCs for female founders in DACH, Mor supports diversity at APX and beyond. She also organizes workshops and events to increase diversity in venture capital.

With former dreams of becoming an ambassador, Mor studied International Relations and the Middle East and Islamic Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. However, her career led her down a different path: She helped German start-ups scale up at the EU project GERMANTECH, played a role in the mobility and start-up boom in Israel at the smart mobility community hub EcoMotion, and scouted German start-ups to Israel at the Israeli operation of hub:raum by Deutsche Telekom.

Before fostering a community for Germany-based Israelis in tech, Mor served as a captain in the Israeli Defense Forces, managing the HR affairs for more than 800 soldiers and commanders.

Niklas is an Investment Associate at APX. Aside from managing several portfolio companies, conducts evaluations, and participates in generating deal flow as well as selecting the best investment opportunities. As the youngest employee, he has a particularly strong desire to drive APX forward, mentoring more start-ups, generating more applications, questioning everything while taking the initiative to make things better.

Before joining APX first as an intern and working student, Niklas completed various summer internships in Berlin and studied International Business Administration at WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management. He developed his passion for start-ups at a young age: At 16, Niklas and his friend won first place in a Germany-wide start-up competition for teenagers.

A self-proclaimed Apple fanboy, Niklas loves toying with new gadgets and is notably tech-savvy. He really likes programming, binge-watching documentaries, and listening to American rap. The former treasurer of his local Thuringian chapter of the Young Liberals, Niklas also enjoys engaging in political discussion.

Noelle is the Campus Host at APX. From watering office plants and collecting the mail to managing IT workspaces, she ensures that every day on campus runs smoothly. The office Ms. Klaus, Noelle enjoys organizing birthday presents and holiday surprises as well as hosting team events.

Noelle also works as Volunteer Community Manager for Girl Gone International – a global community connecting womxn living abroad in more than 200 cities. Following her master’s in Russia, she moved to Las Vegas to work in the solar industry. Noelle was also stationed in Maryland and Japan when she was a Russian interpreter for the US Navy.

Noelle is a vegan baker and can whip up a list of vegan ingredient alternatives with ease. She went to Burning Man with her mom and doesn’t regret it. Noelle also just picked up roller skating, so wait a few weeks before asking what tricks she can do.

Onur is a Senior Investment Manager at APX. Together with the investment team, he is responsible for sourcing new opportunities, investing in the best teams, and defining and executing the investment and portfolio strategy of APX. A huge advocate of teamwork, Onur wants to help founders and his team members alike change the world.

Before joining APX, Onur was already working in the early-stage venture capital world as an Investment Manager. He first got into the start-up scene while working at an evergreen venture capital firm during his gap year in 2013. Besides his VC Analyst role, Onur gained experience in tax advisory at a law firm in Frankfurt, in auditing at a consulting firm in Istanbul, and in controlling at a family-owned management holding in Hamburg.  During his gap year, Onur also lived in Cape Town, working at Amazon while continuing to hone his VC expertise. Before re-entering the venture capital world in 2016 as an early-stage investor in a single-LP fund, Onur spent two years at Zalando in Berlin.

A grandchild of immigrants himself and a strong believer in the power of cultural diversity, Onur is a Founding Member of 2hearts, supporting young talents with immigration backgrounds by enabling them to shape the tech society in Europe. Before work, you can catch Onur running along the Spree.

Saskia is an Investment Associate at APX. She is responsible for making connections, working with start-ups that APX has invested in to put them in contact with the right people who can push them even further. On top of getting more into the investment selection process, Saskia oversees investor data and maintains relationships with other investors.

Before joining APX as a venture development intern (and later being promoted), Saskia was working at a start-up in Berlin, yearning to see the investor side. Born and raised in the Netherlands, she did both her master’s and bachelor’s in Maastricht – in Finance Marketing and Chinese Business Management, respectively.

An exceptionally sporty person, Saskia also lived in Qufu to study kung fu with Shaolin monks for several months. After her kung fu studies, Saskia moved to Beijing to study Mandarin Chinese for two years, before starting with her bachelor’s in the Netherlands.

Søren is the Head of Communications and Brand at APX. Responsible for building APX’s brand, he leads the team working on PR, press, social media, brand design, website, content, events, media partnerships, and more. He employs storytelling to amplify the voices of APX and supports the founders from APX’s portfolio in telling their stories. He also leads APX’s work with strategic goals, mission and vision, and OKR setting across the organization.

Before APX, Søren worked as a PR Manager at WeTransfer in Amsterdam, responsible for communications strategies for specific content and product updates. With multiple journalism degrees framed, he previously worked with print, web, and radio journalism for Danish and international media outlets.

Søren is passionate about the future of journalism. He once co-wrote and sold 100 copies of a children’s book about death and admits to having too much useless knowledge about Spanish football and the Eurovision Song Contest.

Teddy is Head of Venture Development and Investor at APX. He aims to help change the world by magnifying our founders’ potential. In his day-to-day life, Teddy identifies ways in which he and his colleagues can best support our founders – with the help of a little engineered serendipity.

Before joining APX, Teddy lived different lives. He worked in strategic finance at Wayfair, invested in early-stage companies at Mustard Seed Impact, worked in finance at BlackRock, conducted clinical research, played the violin, and went to college a couple of times (after dropping out to work on a social enterprise). Most recently, Teddy had a fortuitous conversation with Henric, including a chat about music, and ended up returning to early-stage investing with APX.

Throughout his meandering experiences, Teddy continues to love learning and reading. And although he says he’s a ‘natural introvert’, he’s been on the radio and played the violin on stage with Jack Black. Surprisingly talkative and a self-styled philosopher, Teddy welcomes weird, deep conversations.

Yannick is Brand & Communications Manager at APX. A social media enthusiast, he runs all social accounts for APX in addition to the blog, newsletter, and website. He joined the communications team after honing his skills in the marketing department. Yannick wishes to diversify the start-up ecosystem by attracting different backgrounds, spirits, and vibes.

Before joining APX full-time, Yannick completed his apprenticeship at Axel Springer in digital and print media. Both in and out of the office, he’s a master of photography: Not only does he handle photoshoots for APX start-ups, but he’s also a freelance photographer. In 2019, he founded a mental health startup with his former boss.

Having lived in Berlin for only five years, Yannick knows the subway map like the back of his hand. A sneakerhead, he also designs the APX merchandise. Yannick listens to a lot of UK grime, dance, and rap and likes the social culture surrounding it.

Bente is Innovation Catalyst at Axel Springer. She drives corporate innovation and is always on the lookout for new ideas from the start-up scene to apply to existing structures. A bridge between APX and Axel Springer, she wants to plant innovation where it will thrive.

Before battling it out on corporate innovation panels and carving out her current role at Axel Springer, Bente worked as a Cybersecurity Analyst and did an integrated mixed degree program in business and computer science with the group. During her studies, she spent some time in Tel Aviv, immersing herself in the local cybersecurity scene and after graduating returned to Berlin to work as a chef at a fine dining restaurant only to find out her destiny lies in the startup ecosystem after all. 

Outside of tech, Bente loves food and would still like to learn more about it. She’s considering starting traditional culinary training but has yet to figure out how she could avoid standing in the kitchen for too long. If you need a restaurant tip though, she’s your gal.

Robert is an Investment Manager at Porsche Ventures (Project Manager for APX), building bridges between Porsche and APX. Robert is responsible for the Porsche Secondment Program, in which Prospective Porsche managers complete a two-week executive internship at APX. He also organizes the Corporate Champion program, in which Porsche leaders mentor and exchange with portfolio companies.

Before working on the APX project at Porsche from its very conception, Robert worked at the communication design agency Different for more than ten years. He worked his way up from an intern to management level before switching to the client-side and joining Porsche Ventures. He went to graduate school for Business Communication at HTW Berlin.

Robert loves driving vintage and modern-era classic cars, especially –surprise! – Porsches. Because he’s a huge fan of gadgets, headphones, and backpacks, it’s common to catch him watching hundreds of YouTube reviews. If he weren’t at Porsche, Robert would be a DJ, playing hip hop, funk, and soul.