We trust you first.

As an investor serving entrepreneurs for over 25 years, we have learned one thing: Trust is the key ingredient for long-term success.

We are looking for founders seizing the opportunities created by Europe's demographic shift.

Decades of reduced birth rates and increasing life expectancies have made the demographic change one of Europe’s key challenges. We are excited to work with founders who see opportunities where everyone else sees challenges.

Read more here.

Healthcare

Poor health costs Europe 15% of GDP, per year. Meanwhile, costs rise by 2% above GDP.

We invest in superior outcomes and efficiency.

Labor Market

A projected 15% reduction in the workforce by 2050 is equivalent to a decline of 38% in the working population per senior compared to today.

We invest in attracting and integrating global talent.

Senior Consumers

In Germany alone, 12.9 million people will reach retirement age in the next 15 years. With retirement comes changing consumer habits.

We invest in serving this fast-growing population.

Why work with us.

  • As an investor serving entrepreneurs for over 25 years, we have learned one thing: Trust is the crucial ingredient for long-term success.

  • We are here to help. But let’s make no mistake: we can’t do it better than you. So we are there whenever you need us. And if not, we’ll just let you do your job and won’t bother you with investor stuff.

  • We believe that fundraising is an incredible distraction from your core business and should be reduced as close to zero as possible. If you agree, you may want to look at our long-term financing approach.

  • We had more than 25 years to make all the mistakes in the field of company building. Even the really dumb ones. And some even twice. Bad news for us. But good news for you, as we are happy to share all our learnings so that you can opt for a more selective approach towards making your own errors.

  • Everyone agrees that open and transparent communication leads to superior co-operation. But why isn’t this industry standard then? We blame short term incentivisation for setting the wrong priorities in the collaboration of entrepreneurs and their investors. That’s why we look forward to discuss the bad news with you and use our joint forces to get them out of your way.

  • One of our most important principles is to treat our entrepreneurs in such a way that they would like to do their second venture with us, too. We are incredibly proud that several of our successful partners have done just that. Let’s keep going.

What our founders say.

Meet the team.

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Bernd Hardes

FOUNDER

Bernd started his investing career in 1997 by founding one of the first German-based VCs. Following an IPO in 2000, he founded the permanent capital holding ECONA AG, which he headed until 2019. At ECONA, he helped entrepreneurs build companies such as Smava, Foodspring, Finanzcheck, and Sparwelt while investing early in Xing and Facebook. Bernd is an avid follower of the teachings of Warren Buffet, especially when it comes to supporting great management teams by standing behind them, not in front of them. Beyond Deltavest, Bernd spends time with his family or enjoys a rock concert.

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Stefan Heilmann

PARTNER

Stefan is the co-founder and CEO of IEG Investment Banking Group, a pioneer in European Technology Banking with a deep understanding of health tech, marketplaces, and data monetization. His involvement in defining transactions such as Smava, Thermondo, and Sofatutor has helped shape the Berlin tech scene. Stefan is a serial entrepreneur and has founded several companies in his career. Most recently, he has been building Doctor Box and Ride.bln. At Deltavest, Stefan is passionate about continuing his involvement in the German Tech Scene by providing entrepreneurs with valuable exit insights. Beyond Deltavest, Stefan can be found with his family or friends in Portugal, where they are proud to present their new wine, Aliestre.

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Philipp Szep

PARTNER

Philipp started his career in strategy consulting, which allowed him to travel the world and work in countries such as Iran, India, and Sweden. Following his consulting career, he joined mobility startup Circ to develop and head the Austrian market. Later, he was requested to become the global head of operations to help scale the company to over ten countries in 2 years. Following a trade sale to BIRD and the subsequent COVID crisis, Philipp continued to help restructure and integrate the business, a formative experience. Philipp is passionate about helping founders build resilient businesses by offering solid operational advice and a calm listening ear. Beyond Deltavest, Philipp has an encyclopedic knowledge of wine and restaurants and travels the world looking for the next culinary experience.

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Frederik Hermans

PARTNER

Frederik started his career in investment banking in the Deutsche Bank Benelux M&A team, a role that cultivated his drive for data-driven decision-making and storytelling. Following banking, he joined the newly formed mobility startup, Dott, helping them set up their first market as a daytime operations manager and nighttime van driver. Following the successful build-up of the first market, he joined Circ, working closely with Philipp in a newly created problem-solving unit, initially focused on solving operational issues and later on restructuring the business. Driven by endless curiosity, Frederik is passionate about deep-diving into new ideas and serving as a valuable sparring partner to entrepreneurs. Beyond Deltavest, Frederik is an avid search fund advocate and can be found preparing himself for yet another physical challenge.

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Mihir Kapoor

INTERNATIONAL PARTNER

Mihir has over 20+ years of experience in Venture Capital Investing, Investment Banking, Corporate Strategy, and entrepreneurship across Europe, USA & Asia. Mihir is international partner at Deltavest and a co-shareholder at IEG Investment Banking Group, a leading European Technology boutique Investment Bank, where he heads the Indian operations. He has extensive fundraising experience of raising over $1Bn across sectors at Rabobank, BNP Paribas, and IEG Investment Banking Group, respectively. Mihir is a serial entrepreneur who has led investments in leading technology companies in India, helping them scale up. Most recently, he led the investment in Rozana, a social e-commerce company. At Deltavest, Mihir’s focus is international fundraising and exit management. Beyond Deltavest, Mihir enjoys fitness training and spending time with close family and friends.

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Investments past and present.

Snippets from our story.

We think and act in a value- and principle-driven way. Long-term partnerships at eye level. That is how we measure ourselves.