“Free enterprises cannot be justified as being good for business. They can be justified only as being good for society.” Peter Drucker
We believe that starting a business is a means to an end, not an end in itself. The starting point should be an idea of how to make the world a better place – it’s called “Reason Why” or “Impact”. Only if founders bring this “Reason Why” with them, i.e. a deep intrinsic motivation, they will be able to muster the energy required to successfully build a company.
This motivation is necessary but not sufficient. Founders are experts in their field but often they lack some competencies that are also required to scale their business. This is where our expertise comes in. We provide you with a comprehensive range of end-to-end capabilities to accelerate your business.
How do we work?
We can help you build your company on solid ground right from the start. We can support you and teach you the craft of company building. But it’s your company…and you are the ultimate decision maker.
The situation is quite similar to professional sports. Every athlete always has a personal coach to push him to explore his full potential. In contrast, founders have to bear the pain on their own. Rarely do they have a long-term partner to bounce their ideas off and coach them through this challenging process.
At Business Buddies, we aim to change that. We act as a supporter, networker, “ass-kicker” and sparring partner – but we promise to stay in our coaching zone.
As a partner, we will be demanding, supportive, motivating and provide constructive criticism. We will help to cope with setbacks and fears. Frequently, we will also challenge you and play the devil’s advocate. We will encourage you to make mistakes and learn from them, recover and continue. As Marc Andreessen once said:
“Along the way all kinds of shit hit the fan over and over again.”
We will push you, encourage you and support you through the challenging times. Because one thing is damn sure: To build a company is like riding a rollercoaster, mentally and financially. One day, you feel like a hero, the next day like a loser, and that can continue for years.
However, there is no guarantee of success. In fact, the likelihood to fail is much higher. But that does not matter as life continues even after you have failed. And as you are already down on the ground, sooner or later you’ll bounce back.
Dr. Marc Mogalle
Business BuddiesMarc has studied economics in Hannover and St. Gallen. Afterwards he completed a doctorate about Sustainable Development at the University of Oldenbourg and the Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zurich and graduated with magna cum laude.
Just in time with the burst of the Internet Bubble, Marc started his career at innotech, a smaller VC where he learned the VC business from scratch, in particular all the things that can go wrong.
In 2004, he moved on to Finlab AG (before Altira Group) where he was involved in a number of investments, IPOs, mergers, trade sales and even fund investments, e.g. investments in RTT AG (acquired by Dassault Systèms) and blau.de (acquired by KPN) and fund-commitments in Creathor Ventures and Neuhaus Partners.
In 2007, Marc took the chance to participate in the set up of the AIG Sustainable Investment Group managing finally a €400m fund with focus on later stage cleantech investments.
Following the bail-out of AIG during the financial crisis, Marc switched sides and co-founded Zapitano, a social TV platform. He was responsible for the financing of Zapitano, legal, operations and HR.
Besides that, Marc acted as Venture Partner for Finlab AG and Heliad Equity Partners and was guest lecturer for Entrepreneurship and Strategy at the University of St. Gallen and TU Berlin.
Currently he is Coach at the Climate KIC Accelerator, Member of the Supervisory Board SleepZ AG (listed in the Prime Standard, German Stock Exchange), and runs also the Berlin Alumni chapter of the University of St. Gallen.
“A man must know what he wants and what he can do: For then he will show character and be able to create something of value.”
“Each has an inborn talent, but only in a few is that degree of toughness, endurance, and energy born and trained that he really becomes a talent, becomes what he is, that is, that he discharges it in works and actions.”