planblue
Oceans cover over 70% of the earth’s surface, yet 95% of its seafloors are unknown. However, oceans hold an estimated value of $80tr planblue makes these values visible.
planblue has developed an underwater satellite to make the hidden values visible.
Customer: Fugro, NASA, Beneath the Waves, CEFAS, Blusink, etc.
planblue received a grant of €2.5m from Horizon Europe.
Our role
- Developing the strategy and business model.
- Pre-Seed round with Westtech Ventures and further angel investors.
- Seed I & II round of €3.5m with LocalGlobe, Buildersvision, Silverstrand Capital, Ponderosa, Bremer Aufbaubank, and Sustainable Ocean Alliance.
- Angel investor.
“We met Marc via the accelerator program Climate-KIC in Berlin. Since the first day we had a ‘click’, and continued working together ever since. Without Marc we would not be where we are now as PlanBlue. He has been a tremendous help getting investors (successfully) on board. Definitely a recommendation!”
Distribusion Technologies
- Global Distribution System for ground transportation (“Amadeus for ground transportation”).
- 2000+ operator in 70 markets integrated.
- 200+ retailers using the Distribusion platform, u.a. Google Maps, Expedia, Booking.com, Omio, etc.
- Series B of $31m, led by Lightrock.
- Series C of $80m, led by TQ Ventures.
Our role
- Pivot from a B2C platform to a Global Distribution System.
- €1.3m Seed round with BfB Frühphasenfonds and HR Ventures.
- €6m Series A round with Creandum and Northzone.
- Angel investor.
“Without the Buddies, it would have been difficult to raise the financing on our own. Eventually, we did end up raising far more than we had initially planned. The Buddies helped us tremendously with strategy development, contacting investors, preparing the pitch, the due diligence and finally the negotiation of the shareholder’s agreement. They have a lot of experience, were always available and demonstrated 150% commitment to us. Absolutely recommendable.”
Resourcify
- Resourcify is the digital platform for the circular economy and helps companies to optimise their waste management.
- Customers: McDonalds, Hornbach, Johnson&Johnson, Obi, RollsRoyce, Syntegon, Rewe, Frankfurter Flughafen uvm.
- Series A Round of €14m with Vorwerk Ventures, Revent, Ananda Impact Ventures, Speedinvest, BonVenture and WEPA Ventures.
Our role
- Development of the strategy and business model.
- €1.2m Seed Round with HTGF, IFB Hamburg, Dr. Ralf Struthoff (Sulo / Veolia / Blackstone), Gunnar Froh (Airbnb, Wunder) and Christian Springub (Jimdo).
- Angel investor
“Business Buddies was instrumental in preparing us for the harsh-reality of early stage venture funding. They helped us to prepare all of the important and crucial information in a clear and structured way which was both convincing and attract for the investors. They were also extremely helpful during the closing negotiations and ensuring we had a fairly structured deal. Best of all: Business Buddies re-invested some of the success fee into our company – a true partnership as a result of the work together.“
MIR Insight
- MIR Insight forecasts supply, demand, and price trends for the manufacturing industry with up to 97% accuracy based on billions of data & their proprietary MIR AI Engine.
- MIR grows with 86% CQGR and is profitable.
- The vision is to transform the manufacturing industry into a highly efficient, sustainable, & almost planned economy.
Our role
- €600k oversubscribed Seed round.
- Angel investor.
“Marc has a deep understanding of the VC funding process and provides invaluable coaching, advice, and fundraising process support. His network is vast and a great enabler for founders. I can wholeheartedly recommend Marc to anyone looking to professionalise their fundraising efforts – a crucial requirement in today’s VC market.”
MOTIONTAG
- MOTIONTAG discovers how people move.
- Customers (selection): Swiss Railway, Telefonica, Deutsche Bahn, Swisscom, BVG, ETH Zurich etc.
- Profitable
Our role
- Spinoff of InnoZ, foundation and strategy development.
- €1.5m financing round with ILB, Swiss Post, Dr Michael Frenzel, former CEO TUI & Member of the Supervisory Board Deutsche Bahn, Dr Ralph Körfgen, former CEO Deutsche Bahn Sales, Dr Thomas Doering, former Member of the Management Board Thomas Cook, Petra Euler und Holger Taubmann, two former top manager Amadeus, and Marcus Otto, founder Nfon.
- Series A financing with Wayra, Road Ventures, ILB and Swiss Post.
- Advisor for the turnaround and bridge financing.
- Angel investor.
“We have worked with Marc since the inception of MotionTag and his help has always been very fruitful. During our time at the Climate KIC he was our coach and supported us building our company. Now he is one of our Business Angels and we enjoy working hand in hand together. From business model development to fundraising, the range of services Marc can help with is of great value. ”
Nüwiel
NÜWIEL has the perfect solution for the last mile: an e-bicycle trailer that
- automatically accelerates and brakes (own patented technology),
- can be used as a handcart inside the buildings and pedestrian zones, and
- works with EUR1 exchangeable boxes and up to 200kg.
Current status
- The trailer is developed, and core sensor technology is patented.
- Customers: Belgium Post, IKEA, UPS, etc.
- Funding of €2.1m through the EU Horizion2020 program.
Our role
- Company building, financial planning, sparring partner.
- First and second financing round.
- Angel investor.
Zolar
ZOLAR has developed a software solution for the planning and installation of solar systems.
- Series B of €35m with Energy Impact Partners, Inven Capital and others.
- Series C of €100m again with Energy Impact Partners and the other existing investors.
- Financing of €100m from BNP Paribas.
Our role
- Support in building a scalable company, and in development of the strategy and business model.
- €4m Series A with Heartcore, Statkraft Ventures, Partech Ventures and Tim Schumacher.
“Marc has been a tremendous support in our financing rounds. From day one, he has always pushed us to believe in our story and helped us create a financially sound business model. Without Marc, we would not have been able to raise and close our €4m financing round.”
Youdera
- Youdera is a distributed solar utility and finance, owns and operate solar systems in the industrial and commercial sector (100 kWp up to several MWp).
- So far, Youdera is active in Switzerland, Spain, Portugal and Germany.
- In 2023, Youdera sold its activities in the Swiss residential market to the Swiss Solar Group.
Our role
- Support during the Seed-Round.
- Angel investor.
Watergenics
- Water is vital, but we hardly know the quality of our water. Why is that? Analysing it is time-consuming, takes place in a laboratory, requires a different method for each pollutant.
- Watergenics analyses the quality of the water in the water in real time for a range of pollutants.
- Customers: Veolia, AngloAmerican, SQM, LMBV, etc.
Our role
- Fractional CFO.
- €2m seed financing with family offices, angels and Invesdor.
- Angel investor.
“Only some people can change the investor, founder, or CFO hat so quickly and productively as Marc. Marc can understand your team’s unrevealed qualities and bring these to the forefront of your investment strategy. During our 18-month collaboration, Marc was pivotal in shaping our fundraising strategy, building the needed materials, and pulling together all the contacts he had access to for a successful campaign. Needless to say, he is a pleasant companion over a beer at the end of a difficult day.”
Family.cards
- Family.cards is digitising the 69m European senior citizens and opening the Internet to them.
- However, Family.cards not only make the phone buttons bigger but has developed an entirely new device with the greatest possible usability.
- Family.cards focuses directly on the behaviour of senior citizens, uses the TV as the largest screen and centre of the household, and creates a new world of devices—similar to the Android world.
Our role
- Seed round of €1,2m with ILB/Brandenburg Kapital, OHA, Antler, and Birdhouse.
- Angel investor.
“Marc played a crucial role in our fundraising success. His expert guidance in crafting our investor deck and navigating the negotiation process was instrumental in helping us secure the necessary funds. His insights and attention to detail ensured we were well-prepared and confident. We couldn’t have achieved such a positive outcome without his support.”
JUHI
- Juhi connects people in need of care with pupils and students for everyday care.
- Juhi is active throughout Germany, supports over 3’000 carers and is growing by over 10% per month.
Our role
- Advisor for the Pre-Seed Round.
- Angel Investor.
“Marc helped us bring structure to our funding round. By professionally setting up our data room, refining our pitch deck, and clearly outlining our growth strategy, we were able to approach investors more effectively.”
onyo
- Corona is over, but working from home stayed. 150 million employees in the EU and US work regularly from home. However, we won’t be able to work from the kitchen table or the sofa anymore because that makes us sick and costs money.
- Based on their software platform and an asset-light business model, onyo helps employers equip and maintain their employees’ home offices – a new market of €90bn.
Our role
- (Oversubscribed) Pre-Seed financing.
- Angel investor
“Marc helped us to get started to raise the first round with a substantial learning curve for us founders by avoiding several mistakes founders would do by being on their own. Marc is, apart from the direct collaboration, always available as a trustworthy sparring partner in case of questions and doubts and, by all parties, a highly appreciated investor at onyo.”
Leaftech
- Leaftech creates a digital twin of the building in its environment and combines it with geodata, such as weather data, solar radiation, etc.
- In just a few hours and without hardware, Leaftech generates the data to control buildings more efficiently and reduce energy consumption by over 20%.
Our role
- Seed financing with Munjizo Labs and IBB Ventures.
- Angel investor
“We have been working successfully with Marc for several years. He has played an immense role in helping us raise successful investments of more than half a million euros. Marc is also a great sparring partner for business models, offers excellent support in preparing pitch decks and helps to strike the right note for the right investor. He is also fun to work with and creates a lot of positive energy!”
Fred & Felia
Fred & Felia produces premium pet food and is fully vertically integrated, from food development to production, packaging, and distribution.
Our role
Two growth financing rounds of in total €2,7m with BayBG, Sven Rittau (co-founder Zooplus and K5), KaBu Family Office and some Angel investors.
“Marc provided us with competent support in both of our financing rounds. His expertise and strategic advice were crucial to successfully mastering the entire process. He helped us to sharpen our business model and convince investors of our vision.”
Haferkater
Haferkater is a German franchise for porridge and has 28 stores
Our role
Advisor on the seven-figure growth financing with Zentis Ventures, the system gastronomy expert Alexander Eberl and existing investor Katjesgreenfood Ventures.
“Thank you very much again at this point. It wouldn’t have worked out without your advice, and doing a financing in the current situation is quite something. Happy to do it again.”
Querfeld
Querfeld rescues fruit and vegetables that do not meet current quality standards and are therefore thrown away, even though they are still perfectly edible, and supplies them to commercial kitchens in particular.
Querfeld has already saved 2 million kg of fruit and vegetables since it was founded.
Our role
Exclusive advisor for the first Seed-Round.
“Marc successfully advised us in the seed round and was always a valuable sparring partner. He has always provided advice and support at short notice, challenged where necessary and ensured that we move forward at the appropriate pace. We are happy and excited to have Marc as our Angel now!”
Diametos
Diametos is developing the world’s first and only medical device for diagnosing the causes of snoring based on artificial intelligence.
Our role
Advisor on the high six-figure seed financing with a consortium of top-class angel investors.
“The Buddies did not only support us competently and pragmatically in structuring our business financing and finding investors, but they also invested in our business. In the end, we were significantly oversubscribed and were able to close the round much larger than we originally anticipated.”
bookingkit
Online booking solution and global distribution system for activity providers.
Our role
Exclusive financial advisor for the Series A financing round with Intermedia Ventures, High-Tech Gründerfonds and Robert Kabs.
Wunderflats
- Renting of furnished apartments from 1-12 months (“mid-term Airbnb”).
- Presence in 37 cities, e.g. Berlin, Munich, Dusseldorf, Stuttgart.
Our role
- Development of the pitch-deck.
- Preparation and coaching for the successful application to the Microsoft Accelerator and Hasso-Plattner-Institute.
“We gained very much from their experience. They have improved the quality of our presentation for the Microsoft Accelerator and Hasso-Plattner business plan competition very much and had a significant contribution to our success in both cases.”
Clevver
Clevver is a platform for digital internationalization of SMEs.
Our role
- Financing of €640,000 with Dr. Cornelius Börsch, Volker Rofalski, Andreas Perreiter and others.
- Angel investor.
“The support may come from the beach or from a mountain top, but the bottom line is, it comes. Without Marc, we would not have been able to raise our angel round or be where we are today.”
Climate-KIC Accelerator
“I work with Marc for almost a year now in our Climate-KIC Accelerator and really appreciate him as an expert for fundraising. He has already coached more than 30 of our start-up companies and has developed a fundraising strategy with them, discussed and explained term sheets and has fine-tuned their pitch decks. His clear and pragmatic way helps the start-ups to focus on the main tasks. In addition, he supports with his know-how and his network the further development of our accelerator program. All in all, it is a great pleasure working with him!”
Lumenaza
Digital marketplace for local producers and consumers of electricity (“utility-in-a-box solution for distributed energy”).
Specific algorithms ensure a secure and balanced supply.
Our role
- Development of the pitch-deck.
- Sparring partner during the €1.3m financing round with EnBW and IBB Venture Capital.
“We worked closely together with Marc during our last financing round. Marc has a strong view on the really important things and always pushed us to stay focused. Besides that he helped us quite a lot with developing a compelling pitch deck. We could close the financing successfully and still appreciate Marc’s opinion very much.”
Uniwhere (RIP)
Uniwhere offered students an app to access their personal university data.
Uniwhere had integrated over 70 universities, acquired 150,000 registered users with a zero marketing budget, and achieved top ratings in the app stores but could not find a sustainable business model.
Our role
- Support in building a scalable company and in the development of the strategy and business model.
- Early stage round with Westtech Ventures, Boost Heroes, Rancilio Cube and further angel investors.
- Angel investor
“I have met Marc during our acceleration program and I have really appreciated his willingness to support us; we moved from Italy to Berlin and Marc has been our gate to the German investors market. We’ve worked together to close our seed round: from strategy, planning, documents preparation to a fundamental training period, that made us perfectly prepared for meetings and negotiations. Marc is a great team player and a great value for the company!“
Hoard (R.I.P.)
- Hoard cracked the last mile by building up a network of pick-points and providing them with an easy to use mobile app.
- Sold to Norwegian competitor Sharebox in 2018.
Our role
- €300’000 financing round with MetroTechstars and Texas Atlantic Capital.
- Angel investor.
“I met Marc in early 2016. Since day one he has been an important advisor, investor and friend we can rely on: Always available and very dedicated. He has become an integral part of our team and his experience and calm manner help us a lot to navigate Hoard through the ups and downs of start-up life.”
Cashboard (R.I.P.)
Cashboard automatised the tradition financial advisory role for retail investors, streamlining the investment process.
Our role
- Provide support in €2.8m Pre-Series A with Earlybird, Redalpine, 500 Startups, Heilemann Ventures (now part of Earlybird) and Heiko Hubertz.
- Provide support in €3m Series A with Digital Space Ventures and the existing investors.
- Board member (representative of the founders in the board).
“We appreciate the experience and support we receive from the Buddies. Both have helped us considerably in our fundraising, and we therefore continue working with them. Highly recommendable.”
„After ages, I got to attend such an insightful & engaging session with no bs, and it was relevant to everyone irrespective of geographies. And the way you have integrated GIFs and formal info about the landscape was the highlight. Your session was full of insights and it will always remain one of my personal favorite of this program.“
“Marc and I worked together at Innotech. I particularly appreciated his judgement, his integrity, and his no-nonsense approach, even during difficult times. I look forward to receiving new investment proposals from him and can highly recommend him to every founder.”
“We came to Berlin to check out the start-up scene and see if the buzz was a myth or a reality! And the best person to call for intros was of course Marc, who knows everyone from start-up founders, to accelerators and investors.”
“I have known Marc for many years as a co-investor, fellow Board Member and friend. Over the years, I have learned and appreciated his high integrity, curiosity for new challenges and commitment to his investments, especially during difficult times. I can highly recommend Marc as a competent sparring partner and wish him and his Business Buddies all the best.”
“I’ve known Marc as an investor, founder and friend since 2007 and love to work with him. I appreciate his analytical skills, his reliability and high integrity. He is definitely a great, experienced, and highly recommendable partner for any founder.”
“I have had good experiences with the Buddies both professionally regarding investment funds and personally. They have been a valuable source of support for evaluating our business and financial plans, have extensive legal know-how and we also like to get their help for market and background research. And of course, we are always happy to receive new investment proposals from them.”
“Marc is always my valued sparring partner for fundraising. With his analytical, straightforward approach, he has always given us valuable input and his open-minded, positive character – he never minds his words – makes him stand out from the crowd.”
“Working with Marc/Business Buddies was a key decision we made for our business. Developing a detailed financial model was imperative for our raise and not only that, helped us better understand our own business.”
“Marc has helped us tremendously with the closing of our seed financing round. Furthermore, he is a sparring partner that adds significant value, is available 24×7 and has a broad network in the startup scene, both very unique.”
“The Buddies have the expertise that you, as a founder, highly appreciate. With a blend of entrepreneurial spirit and investor know-how, they give you detailed input and feedback. And when you go with them for lunch, you might find even a review about it afterwards on: http://mittagsinmitte.de“
“Marc has extensive experience as an investor as well as a founder. He is very result oriented and together with his team, delivers valuable strategic input and hands-on support when it comes to fundraising. Highly recommendable!”
“With his 10 years of experience in Venture Capital and Private Equity and 4 years of Startup experience, I have appreciate Marc’s counsel and insights very much. I value him as a good sparring partner, since he is always sincere and straightforward with his advice.”
„Hi Marc, it has been so great working with you through Climate KIC. You always knew how to improve what we already thought was good (but was definitely far from that :-). Learning from you, how to prepare, and receiving your feedback has been fabulous. It has been our honor!“
“We had received a lot of pressure from potential investors and hired Business Buddies on Friday night. By Sunday night, we had already received a correct state-of-the-art financial plan. The plan fulfills our requirements perfectly and the investor standards as well. Further, the plan enables us, to check sensitivities and run different scenarios. Great work! We would definitely hire them again.”