Frank Thelen

Germany's best-known start-up investorExceptional entrepreneur Frank Thelen in personal conversation with WirtschaftsWocheThis is how Germany's most successful investor thinks about society, family and himself - close, personal, openFamiliar from "Die Höhle der Löwen" (VOX)The book series "Mein Leben, meine Firma, meine Strategie" (My Life, My Company, My Strategy) portrays outstanding entrepreneurs who have made a significant contribution in their industries - from the patriarchs of established family businesses to up-and-coming minds in the start-up scene.WirtschaftsWoche's authors do not write about them; rather, they let the entrepreneurs themselves have their say. Each volume is dedicated to one personality, who answers the authors' questions in several long interviews. The conversations about successes, crises, responsibility, leadership and entrepreneurial courage paint an authentic picture of the entrepreneurs. They also show the person behind the company leader: his view of himself, his family and society.The third volume in the series is dedicated to Frank Thelen, Germany's most prominent start-up investor. The founder of the Bonn-based investment company Freigeist became known through the TV show "Die Höhle der Löwen" (The Lion's Den). In an interview with WirtschaftsWoche, Thelen explains why he was a bad student - and yet became a serial founder, how he crashed after an insolvency - and found courage again to found new companies and become a brand himself. He talks about the mistakes founders make, which future technologies he believes in and why he is committed to Germany as a tech location. In addition, Thelen's closest employees have their say, as do the founders of the Freigeist-funded start-up "Air Up" and the well-known company founder Christian Reber.