10 Investor Insights from Lead Investor — Thomas Marschall
A Funderbeam exclusive interview with Danish Business Angel and disruption-focused speaker and advisor.
Since Funderbeam’s inception, we have had a number of champions who discovered us early and propelled us to new heights. This showcase is intended to highlight one of our ambassadors and bring their experiences and insights to you.
In this piece, we will feature the Business Angel, disruption-focused speaker/advisor, and lead investor of Citylogistik, Thomas Marschall. To help you get to know Thomas a bit more before we jump into the interview, here is a personal statement from him:
I meet and learn from a lot of different startups. Some I invest in directly, help to raise capital, and or connect with established businesses in my network. If I see potential, I invest early, step-in as an Advisor or Chairman, and help to raise the next round of capital. I welcome you to contact me if you have an exciting case which needs capital, international networks, and or require senior management experience to succeed. — Thomas Marschall
As you can probably gather, Thomas is an intelligent, inquisitive, open, and accessible individual so we are very pleased to present you with the following interview — enjoy!
Thanks for your time Thomas. To start us off, could you briefly share with us how you originally discovered Funderbeam?
Exactly one year ago, I was introduced to Funderbeam during a business networking trip to Tallinn. Now, I am very happy to be part of their first campaign in Denmark. I believe there is a huge requirement and need for a platform which helps support exciting growth companies via syndicated investment. Fundraising using Funderbeam’s platform is a compelling alternative to the many one-to-one negotiations required with private investors.
As an early stage investor, what questions do you always ask when evaluating a business and its management team?
- Will the founder or team be able to execute their plans?
- Will we be able to pass an important milestone in lieu of the next capital raise with the funds that I provide?
- Is this an attractive niche or mainstream market? I personally prefer niche.
You have been investing in early-stage companies over the past five years. What is the biggest lesson you have learned in that time?
That good things take time and always much more time than initially expected. In this light, I’ve started to use my so-called “Pi factor” — multiply any time schedule with Pi and you will have a much more realistic idea of how long something will take.
Are you sector agnostic when it comes to making investments?
Yes, so long as I “seem” to understand the required business success criteria of the particular venture.
Can you tell us about some of your favourite portfolio companies?
They all start out as favourites, then reality sinks in. However, I remain very fond of a handful of companies. For example, NanoCore, who are working hard on enabling the production of the world’s strongest materials. Amalipo, which is a combined Paypal, Amazon, and FedEx for Africans. Of course, Citylogistik, which will revolutionize urban logistics. Then there is Sports Innovation, which will set new standards for dynamic, data-driven, sports journalism. Finally, Waturu, which can make it cheaper to warm and properly treat water.
What areas do you think will present the most opportunity for early-stage investors over the next 18–24 months?
Business cases which are not only able to make money but are also environmentally sustainable. There is going to be an enormous interest in such companies in the next few years.
From a global perspective, where are the most exciting early-stage opportunities? Who are the ‘ones to watch’ or most underrated?
I generally think that Europe has a lot to offer. Although, we have always been the underdog compared to the US. In my opinion, we are further ahead in our Green/Sustainability thinking than the Americans, which I hope we can make the most of in the near and long-term future.
One of Funderbeam’s key strengths is our ability to bring together investors from all over the world into one syndicate. What are your favourite cities and why?
After only one week, we have had investors from three different countries join our Citylogistik campaign. I hope that when we complete this campaign, we will have added another 1–3 countries to this list. For Citylogistik’s campaign, I look forward to meeting investors in Olso on December 11th, since Norway is one of our most exciting markets — given the huge public and private interest in electric transportation.
What book or podcast do you most frequently recommend to friends and family and why?
I spend quite a lot of time in the US and enjoy the weekly comedy quiz show podcast, “Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me” on NPR. It encompasses great humor about everything going on in the US.
Tell us something people are surprised to learn about you.
I created the first Copenhagen International Comedy Festival a few years back where I brought some of the best comedians that I had seen from around the world to Copenhagen for a week. It was an amazing and incredibly fun experience, which I look forward to every year.
If you enjoyed this, read our previous Investor Insights articles:
Ratko Knežević — 9 Investor Insights
Mihovil Barančić — 8 Investor Insights
Jaan Tallinn — Why Funderbeam?
Michael Wellesley-Wesley — 10 Investor Insights
Alex Gibb — establishing resilience within your portfolio companies
Investing in early-stage and growth companies puts your capital at risk. Please read our Risk Disclosure Statement.
The information appearing in this blog post is approved as a financial promotion by Funderbeam Markets Limited (authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under FRN 794918). Complete and comprehensive information about an investment opportunity is only available to the investors who have been approved by a Funderbeam group entity. Funderbeam does not provide investment advice or any recommendation to invest. The investment opportunity should not be considered as an offer to the public and is not directed at or offered to anyone located in a jurisdiction where it is unlawful to do so.
