Backing founders that drive positive
change for people and planet.

Backing founders that drive positive change for people and planet.

About

We are an independent €150m Venture Capital Fund with €400m under management. We define ourselves through a strong commitment towards founders that drive positive change for the people and the planet. Our unique experience in addition to an outstanding track record provides added value for forward-thinking tech entrepreneurs.

Headquartered in Berlin Germany, we are constantly on the look-out for promising opportunities starting with (Pre-) Seed/Series A investments of €1m to €5m and ensuring continuous support by reserving up to €15m for upcoming financing rounds.

An outstanding founding team, a unique product or service addressing a substantial market framed by a strong business model are key requirements to us when it comes to making an investment decision.

2007

Originally established

2019

Independent Launch

(Pre-) Seed/Series A

Stages

€1-5m

Ticket Size

Team

Dirk Meurer
Managing Partner
Norbert Muschong
Managing Partner
Sascha Günther
Partner
Katharina Man
Principal
Peter Schmetz
Principal
Marie-Sophie Ando
Senior Investment Manager
Hanna Villa
Investment Manager
Marius Evers
Investment Manager
Lena Marie Müller
Analyst
Paul Meyhoefer
Chief of Staff
Emanuel Wollersheim
Head of Finance
Julia Hall
Executive Assistant

Portfolio

sqior

Automated workflows through digital assistants for hospitals
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Spot my Energy

Smart energy solutions for installers and their customers
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DEScycle

Revolutionizing critical metal recycling
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sorella

The next generation clinics for women
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Dude Chem

Building a European Green Chemistry Manufacturer
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CarbonPool

In-kind insurance for carbon removals
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Farmless

Decoupling food production from agriculture
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Sourcerie

Community powererd data and AI to power personalised beauty service
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Resourcify

Building the operating system for waste management & recycling
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Rex

Germany´s most modern pet care practices
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nilo health

The space for mental health at work
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Plantura

The sustainable gardening platform
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Better Dairy

Precision fermentation-based dairy
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Tickitto

Global API for tickets
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everdrop

Sustainable D2C household products
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Zapp

On-demand groceries & essentials delivery
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planted foods

Plant-based meat made of natural ingredients only
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Formel Skin

The e-health dermatology provider
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Avi Medical

Germany´s most modern primary care practices
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CoCoach

Online coaching partnership company that empowers fitness & health experts
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Sharpist

Digital education elevating your employees to the next level
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Rebike

Fueling the next generation of e-mobility
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Habyt

Co-living service provider
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Circonomit

Control system for better decision-making
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Aiomics

AI co-pilot for healthcare documentation
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Thermondo

All in one residential heating solutions
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Ottonova

Purely digital health insurance
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Dinner for dogs

High quality pet food delivered to your doorstep
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Lillydoo

Subscription-based baby care products
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Smartfrog

IoT solution for home video surveillance
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Previous Investments

HelloFresh

Leading meal kit delivery service
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Flaschenpost

On demand platform for beverage delivery
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Meinauto

Leading online portal for new vehicle purchase
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Gestigon

Human centric software & natural user interfaces
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Tennispoint

Leading multichannel shop outlet for tennis equipment
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Stylefruits

Leading European style advice platform

Stowa

Iconmic mechanical watches made in Germany
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Dawanda

Leading European marketplace for DIY and vintage products
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Ringana

D2C organic cosmetic & nutritional supplements brand
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Neato Robotics

Leading smart consumer robotics company
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PippaJean

D2C costume jewelery
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Horizn Studios

D2C smart luggage brand
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JUNIQE

Affordable inspiring wall art
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Lesara

Fast fashion e-commerce

Vaniday

Beauty salon booking platform & software

Pauldirect

Shopping club for men
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HelloFreshGo

The innovative micro-market for your office
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Ruuky

Empowering the GenZ to become financially independent
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alpakas

Organic zero-waste grocery delivery
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Aitme

Automated cooking and meal preparation process support
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Mädchen-flohmarkt

The secondhand marketplace for women’s fashion
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CrossEngage

Elevating your CRM to the next level
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MedKitDoc

Hardware-enabled remote medical care platform
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sunhero

Custom-built solar panel solutions
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* The investments marked with an asterisk were made by Vorwerk Direct Selling Ventures GmbH. Vorwerk Direct Selling Ventures GmbH is a limited partner (Kommanditistin) of Vorwerk Ventures III GmbH & Co KG. The managing directors of Vorwerk Direct Selling Ventures GmbH are also the managing directors of MM Venture Management GmbH, which acts as managing limited partner (geschäftsführende Kommanditistin) of Vorwerk Ventures III GmbH & Co KG.

Marius Evers

Investment Manager

Marius joined Vorwerk Ventures in early 2025. Prior, he was part of the investment team at Kiko Ventures, a pan-European early-stage industrial tech and climate/energy-focused investment firm. During his time in the CEO office at Trade Republic, he gained hands-on operational exposure to growing a business at speed. Before that, he worked in crossover early stage and growth equity investing at Global Founders Capital, as well as in consulting at the Boston Consulting Group. He grew up in a family construction business near Vechta and developed a deep familiarity with the German SMB landscape. Marius holds a Master’s degree in Management and a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering Science, both from theTechnical University of Munich, spending one semester studying finance and Chinese economic development at Peking University.

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Lena Marie Müller

Analyst

Lena joined Vorwerk Ventures in spring 2025. Before transitioning into venture capital, she supported early-stage startups in the Food, Agri, and Biotech space as part of the Program Management team at TUM Venture Labs, a startup accelerator initiated by the Technical University of Munich. Prior to that, she gained hands-on experience across various areas of the pharmaceutical and life sciences industry – including R&D at Roche with a focus on Gene Therapy and Medical Affairs at GSK in the vaccines division. She holds a Master’s degree in Molecular Biotechnology and a Bachelor’s degree in Nutritional Sciences from the Technical University of Munich.

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Peter Schmetz

Principal

Peter joined Vorwerk Ventures in 2018 and experienced the company´s development during its CVC stage, helping to relaunch Vorwerk Ventures as an independent fund entity in late 2019. Before joining Vorwerk Ventures, Peter worked in the Treasury Department of the Vorwerk Group in Wuppertal, where he was mainly responsible for foreign currency management and liquidity management besides assisting in managing Vorwerk´s investment fund. Peter holds a BA in Global Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a MA from Bergische Universität Wuppertal in European Studies. He has always enjoyed playing (semi) professional football in his spare time, thus you will most likely find him on a football pitch if not hunting for the next unicorn out there.

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Paul Meyhoefer

Chieff of Staff

Paul has been Chief of Staff at Vorwerk Ventures since November 2024. Previously, he was Venture Architect at Fressnapf, where he drove innovative projects. After completing his Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration at Münster University, Paul began his professional career with internships in marketing and sales at different start-ups. He then gained experience as a management consultant at Horváth in the areas of finance, strategy and innovation. After that, Paul completed his Master’s in Management with a focus on Entrepreneurship and Innovation at NOVA SBE in Lisbon. From July 2021, Paul brought his knowledge to High-Tech Gründerfonds as an Executive Assistant and supported their team in the fundraising project for the latest fund, reaching a final volume of 493.8 million euros.

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Katharina Man

Principal

Before joining Vorwerk Ventures early 2020, Katharina gained experiences in the consulting and start-up world in London. To follow her passion for the entrepreneurial space, she joined the fashion-tech start-up Lyst as a Country Manager being responsible for the company’s largest international region. Prior to Lyst, she was a Vice President at AlixPartners, where she advised Private Equity clients and helped them to optimize their portfolio companies to maximize their exit value. Projects have allowed her to work in over 10 countries and thereby experience the beauty of working with a diverse team. She studied Business Administration at WHU Otto Beisheim School of Management and Bocconi University and holds a MSc in Economics & Strategy from Imperial College London. Besides hunting exciting ventures, Katharina is an avid runner and modern art lover. She passionately scuba dives and explores untraveled countries – amongst her favourite trips is a three weeks hike in the Himalayas by herself.

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Dirk Meurer

Managing Partner

Dirk is a Managing Partner of Vorwerk Ventures which he joined in early 2007 as the second team member. He has more than 25 years of international investment management experience in venture capital and private equity. He has been instrumental for the firm´s investments in Meinauto, HelloFresh, Gestigon and Neato Robotics. Currently he is in charge of the fund´s investments in habyt, Smartfrog, Rebike, Thermondo, Ottonova and many others. Prior to his assignment at Vorwerk Ventures he managed an extensive emerging markets investment portfolio mainly in Sub-Saharan Africa at Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft, one of the largest development finance institutes in the world. His career originated in Deutsche Bank´s venture capital arm DVC Deutsche Venture Capital, where he was a Partner with responsibility for investments in digital technology companies. Dirk holds an MBA from ebs European Business School, graduating with distinction.

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Norbert Muschong

Managing Partner

Norbert is a Managing Partner of Vorwerk Ventures since its inception in 2007. He is the initiator and driver of the Corporate Venture Capital activities from the very beginning which culminated in the independent setup of the most recent Fund. He was responsible for the firm´s investments in Flaschenpost, Ringana, Enjo and Tennispoint from identifying the investment opportunity until its exit. Today he is, among other things, responsible for the fund´s investments in Lillydoo, CrossEngage and Dinner for Dogs. Prior to Vorwerk Ventures, Norbert led Project Management at Vorwerk Group and was involved in numerous strategy and M&A-projects. He started out his career at Vorwerk as a trainee in sales followed by growing responsibilities in various field management and sales support management roles. Norbert studied Business Administration in Mannheim and Tübingen, graduating top of his class.

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Dr. Dominik Steinkühler

Partner

Dominik joined Vorwerk Ventures in 2022 as a Partner. He has an extensive background as an operator from small to large scale companies, having founded, scaled and sold Lendico, a Fintech, or working as divisional board member for Commerzbank, a large bank, in charge of its digital transformation and all central functions of the corporate client’s segment such as sales management, financial steering or strategy. Most recently he helped to build FRIDAY, an insurtech, as CFO. In the early years of his career, Dominik worked as an investment banker for Rothschild and as a consultant for BCG. Given this background, Dominik is particularly interested in all things financial services, software to help companies transform the way they do business, and sustainable technologies. He holds a PhD in Economics from RWTH Aachen and a Diploma in Economics from WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management.

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Emanuel Wollersheim

Head of Finance

Emanuel joined Vorwerk Ventures in 2023 as Head of Finance, in order to support the growing investment team and to keep the company in checks with the increased regulatory and administrative requirements. Before joining Vorwerk Ventures, he was working in a similar position at a large German Venture Fund, equipping him with the necessary skillset and knowledge to build and lead the finance function at Vorwerk Ventures. Prior to working on the backend of Venture Funds, he made his first career steps as an audit professional with EY in Zurich. He studied International Business at Maastricht University and holds a Double Master Degree in International Business and International Management from Maastricht University and Queen’s University (today: Smith School of Business) in Kingston, Canada. Moreover, Emanuel is a certified auditor (eidg. diplomierter Wirtschaftsprüfer) in Switzerland. When not at work, he frees his thoughts at a vast range of sports activities, including football or tennis, as well as outdoor activities such as hiking, snowboarding and sailing.

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Marie-Sophie Ando

Senior Investment Manager

Marie-Sophie (Marie to her friends and everyone else) joined Vorwerk Ventures in 2023. Prior she was one of the first team members at Foundamental, a global early-stage construction-tech fund. Marie has worked on investments and built a network across Asia, Europe, and the US. Besides focusing on investments, she built up the internal processes of the fund. Before joining the venture ecosystem, she gained hands on experience and deep industry insights, be it working in business development at Trumpf in Singapore or consultancy roles at the Fraunhofer Institute for production technology. Marie holds a master’s degree in mechanical engineering and business from RWTH Aachen University. Born in Japan and raised in Germany, food has always been her medium to stay connected to her heritage, which turned into a passion for cooking and exploring foods & culture from across the world.

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Hanna Villa

Investment Manager

Hanna joined Vorwerk Ventures in early 2023. Previously, she was at the Auxxo Female Catalyst Fund, investing in female (co)founders building early-stage B2B ventures in Europe. Hanna has worked in the tech ecosystem in Germany and the U.S., be it an accelerator in Berlin and startups in New York and California. Before entering VC and transitioning her passion for the sciences into technology and startups, Hanna did medicine and neuroscience at Harvard Medical School and University of Southern California. Hanna holds a Masters degree in Strategy and Digital Business at ESCP Business School and a Bachelors in Psychology at University of Long Beach in California. Outside of VC, Hanna is an avid tennis player and film and arts enthusiast.

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Julia Hall

Executive Assistant

Before joining Vorwerk Ventures as an Executive Assistant early 2020, Julia has held several positions within the Vorwerk Group. After starting off as an Executive Assistant in 2016, she transitioned to the Sustainability Department in order to push the company towards an even greener future. In 2018 Julia supported an internal restructuring program by assisting in drafting new structures and processes as well as a new IT infrastructure. In her last role, she was part of the Vorwerk IT Department as an Executive Assistant. Julia holds a BSc in Psychology from FOM University in Düsseldorf. Besides being the “good soul” in our office, Julia enjoys pampering her two dogs and taking them on runs and hikes.

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Sascha Günther

Partner

Before joining Vorwerk Ventures in 2020 Sascha was co-founder and COO of the B2B travel tech startup Yilu which was funded by Lufthansa Group. Being responsible for Operations, Finance and HR, Sascha established the strategy and processes to scale the venture to 65+ employees. Prior to Yilu, Sascha headed the investment activities of Lufthansa Innovation Hub structuring two direct investments of Lufthansa Group into cargo.one and Fleet. Before joining Lufthansa Group, he built-up the investment team and processes at Project A ventures, scouted potential investments and conducted due diligences. In addition, Sascha has some years of experience in management consulting where he started his career. Sascha holds a double Master’s degree in International Management from UCD Dublin and ESADE Business School. In his free time, he enjoys all kind of sports as well as exploring culinary delights as foodist.
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