10x Founders

What an incredible few days we had at #Bits24, immersed in the energy, innovation, and passion of our network 🥨 In addition to the content-packed sessions we hosted on stage, we welcomed top entrepreneurs, VCs, and investors to our VIP lounge, offered a pitch training session with Broadway actor Chris Roe, and provided the most fun shuttle to the Speaker Dinner and Afterparty. Thank you to everyone who joined us, stopped by to say hello, and made this year's Bits & Pretzels so special. We're beyond grateful to have such a thriving venture network. See you next year! 🙌

It’s about time - we are finally out of stealth with Jam! We build an AI-first operating system for sales enablement, starting with the very core: closing the training gap in sales organizations by integrating highly individualized AI-powered role-plays with a performance management toolkit for managers into one platform that is loved by sales reps and brings an unfair advantage to any sales team. 💥 🚀 More than excited to have started this journey together with incredible co-founders, both brilliant in their domain and beyond: Tobias Hoelzer & Clemens Lechner. Together with our rockstar triple-A team around Slobodan Utvić, Nikolaos Souris and Nils Lepper we have already achieved great things since we founded the company early this year: ✅ Closing an oversubscribed pre-seed round in March with some of the best seed investors you can imagine: Picus Capital, 10x Founders and First Momentum Ventures ✅ Launching in September with our first customers who strongly believe in the impact of effective sales training, only 6 months after the first line of code ✅ Expanding our product in lightspeed and delivering what sales reps and managers truly want, based on the invaluable feedback from our users We are just getting started - stay tuned and reach out if you want us to supercharge your sales team 🚀🚀 Thanks to all our investors, backers and believers for your early support and trust: Robin Godenrath, Lorenz Kammer, Rupert Schaefer, Nico Schoenenberger, David Meiborg, Felix Jahn, Philipp Kreibohm, Stefan Zuschke, Milos Rusic, Dr. Alexander Stage, Björn Goß, Sven Gasper, Adrian Frenzel, Matthias Heinz, Robin Steps, Sebastian Schuon, Jens Quadbeck, Ralf Neeb

We’re excited to welcome Stella Xu, CFA to 10x Founders as our Transaction and Fund Manager 🎉 Stella’s career journey has taken her from the Deal Advisory Financial Services team at KPMG to FINN, where she played a key role during their hyper-growth phase as the first strategic finance hire. With a strong foundation in business planning and strategic finance, as well as being a CFA program graduate, Stella now brings her expertise to our Finance team. In her new role, she’ll be instrumental in shaping our investment infrastructure, working closely with the CFO, partners, and investment team. Her contributions will directly impact how we source, evaluate, and execute investments while managing our portfolio. Outside of work, Stella enjoys exploring new cultures and cuisines and staying active in nature—having lived in Silicon Valley, Hong Kong, and the UK before returning to Munich. Welcome to the team, Stella! We’re thrilled to have you on board and can’t wait to see the impact you’ll make at 10x Founders.

📣 We’re excited to announce fynk’s €3.1M financing round, led by 3VC, with participation from Hans(wo)men Group, CoastCap, and us! 📝 Fynk is transforming Contract Lifecycle Management with its AI-powered platform, making contract management more accessible. By streamlining the drafting, reviewing, and management of contracts, fynk addresses a key pain point for teams without dedicated legal resources. 📈 Since their founding in 2022, fynk has shown remarkable growth, securing a strong customer base and significant revenue traction. Their success is highlighted by recognition on platforms like G2, where they’ve earned the titles of Best Support and Easiest Setup in G2’s Fall 2024 report. 💪 Backed by a seasoned founding team with a proven track record, we believe fynk is set to lead in the expanding CLM market, projected to reach between €1.3B and €3B. As Felix Haas puts it, “With its software, fynk is transforming a market that has seen little innovation in recent years. Fynk’s solution not only saves time but also empowers non-lawyers to significantly increase their productivity, aligning perfectly with our investment philosophy. The founders have already demonstrated their ability to scale a software company successfully.” We’re thrilled to support Constantin Wintoniak, Dominik Hackl, Markus Presle, and their talented team as they continue to harness AI to redefine contract management in today’s fast-moving business landscape!

One of our favorite weeks of the year is finally here – we can’t wait to experience the Magic of Many at #Bits24 ✨ Here are some highlights of what our team is up to, sorted by day. Bits & Pretzels Day 1: Nico Schoenenberger is one of the Money Pit stage hosts and will lead a session on Shaping the Future: Gen Z Visionaries in Venture Capital (11:30 AM - 12:05 PM). Jan Reichelt shares key trends and insights on the same stage hosting the session Navigating Today’s Market: Trends, Insights, and Future Outlooks (1:00 PM - 1:30 PM). And of course, you will see Felix Haas on stage plenty of times during Bits & Pretzels, for example on the Main Stage in conversation with Verena Pausder, President of the German Startup Association (10:45 AM - 11:05 AM). Pauline Maria Brenninkmeyer will be back to co-host the ever-popular pitch competition on both days. Day 2 is all about the Investor Summit: Join Omar Hedeya's insightful talk on building a VC co-pilot there (10:15 - 10:25 AM). Felix Haas co-hosts the Investor Summit, then returns to the Main Stage with Philipp Freise to discuss Europe’s Competitiveness (3:55 PM - 4:20 PM). And if you’re an Arab founder, Arab investor, or Arab operational staff, reach out to Omar to join his #Habibits side event on Day 2. On Day 3, join Rupert Schaefer at his table, guiding meaningful discussions on the state of investing. As always, our full team will be ready to greet you at our VIP lounge right by the entrance. Stop by, say hello, and let’s make this year’s Bits & Pretzels truly unforgettable! 🥨

Our paths have crossed many times before and now we welcome Rupert Schaefer as a General Partner 🎉! His journey with 10x Founders began as a Limited Partner, later evolving into a role as Venture Partner. Rupert's entrepreneurial background, including the successful exit of the Nunatak Group, and his deep expertise in angel investing further strengthen our promise to founders to share our own hard-earned insights and provide access to an amazing network. As an angel investor for over a decade, Rupert co-founded the angel syndicate buildery.vc in Munich and has invested in multiple companies. In addition, he is the co-founder of the European Entrepreneurs Forum (EEF), a non-profit, which brings together 100 of Europe's most successful entrepreneurs and business leaders who are using their entrepreneurial power to drive social progress. We would also like to express our gratitude to Claudius Jablonka, who has played a pivotal role in the building of 10x Founders. Whilst he has transitioned out of his General Partner role, Claudius will remain close to 10x Founders as a Senior Advisor, and we look forward to collaborating in this new capacity.

Relive the magic of our 10x Founders Summit with us 🎬 About a month ago, 150 of our incredible portfolio founders, LPs, and co-investors gathered in sunny Stockholm. We can't wait to bring this vibrant network together again next month for Bits & Pretzels. See you there!

𝟭𝟬𝘅 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰 𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗺: Celebrating the Magic of Many ✨ We just wrapped up an amazing three days in the beautiful Swedish countryside with our unique venture network. We had so many insightful, joyful, and inspiring conversations that we’re bringing back home with us. Our agenda highlights: 🤝 We focused on creating genuine relationships and discussed vital topics like community-driven investors. 🎤 Each attending portfolio founder had three minutes on stage, impressively showcasing our diverse and strong portfolio performance. Thank you so much again to our portfolio champions! 🇸🇪 Fredrik Hjelm and John Elvesjö shared hands on insights from the Swedish startup ecosystem. 🧘 We prioritized mental well-being with breathwork sessions, ice bathing, and discussions on mental health as a cornerstone of longevity, providing space for reflection and relaxation during these busy days. Thank you all so much for coming. You made the Magic of Many come to life!

This investment round is the largest ever raised by a European battery recycling company: cylib's €55 million Series A 🔋♻️. Cylib was founded in 2022 after nearly a decade of research at Germany's RWTH Aachen University. Within just 11 months of launching, the startup opened a pilot plant in Aachen with a daily recycling volume of 300-500kg, and completed projects with major automotive OEMs and battery manufacturers. We're so proud to have been part of cylib's journey since their seed round and have been more than impressed by Lilian and Gideon's incredible execution speed. Lilian said: “The funding round we announced today will empower us to embark on our next phase of expansion and deepen existing collaborations, as we grow our next-generation battery recycling at an industrial scale. The past year-and-a-half has been a truly remarkable journey of growth, and we are immensely grateful for the trust of our partners and the successful projects we have conducted together. We look forward to offering our superior technology to even more customers and partners.” Read more about their next steps on Sifted: https://lnkd.in/eXpA3g3Z Here's to a truly circular economy!  World Fund, Porsche Ventures, Bosch Ventures, DTCF | DeepTech & Climate Fonds, Vsquared Ventures, Speedinvest

We are delighted to announce that Christian Dengler, CFA has been promoted to CFO & Operating Partner! 🎉 This is a great milestone for us as we celebrate Christian's mix of exceptional performance and wonderful personality at 10x Founders. He has been instrumental in building our robust financial and legal framework over the past years. Not only that, he plays a key role in our investor communications and acts as a sparring partner to our founders on all financial matters. In his new role, he is setting us up for continued growth. Christian's journey began at the Technical University of Munich, where he honed his expertise in entrepreneurial finance. He then joined Allianz Capital Partners, where he delved into the world of M&A and completed the highly coveted CFA program.