Mario Götze is a football player for Eintracht Frankfurt, German national player, World Champion - and business angel. He has been active in the business angel scene for a few years now and invests a portion of his wealth in innovative startups. Together with Nico Rosberg, he is considered one of the first professional German athletes to set on this form of investment.
Mario Götze has built his own venture company, Companion-M, which is home to all of his venture capital investments, both in start-ups and venture capital funds. Each year, his portfolio is expanded with additional investments. To mark the New Year, we present five of his exciting start-up investments from the year 2022.
Picture: IMAGO/Kessler-Sportfotografie
1. Return Protocol
At the end of the year, Mario Götze invests in the start-up Return Protocol. The young company, which was founded in the same year, combines two absolute trend topics: Web3 and Climate Technology. With the help of tools, they want to make blockchain transactions more sustainable and thus counteract a major criticism of blockchain technology. In addition to the German footballer, other venture capitalists such as Cherry Ventures have invested 2.5 million euros in the pre-seed round.
2. RIDE Capital
In 2018 the company RIDE Capital is founded. The startup has developed a digital platform that enables tax savings for private investments, whether it be stocks, real estate, or startup investments. The keyword in this context is asset-managing GmbH. In July 2022, both the athlete and business angels Verena Pausder and Lea-Sophie Cramer participate in a seed round of 3 million euros in the young company.
3. Knowunity
KnowUnity is a digital learning platform for students and one of the fastest growing EdTech startups in Europe. High-quality learning content and online content from students led to a Series A funding of 10 million euros last year. The Berlin-based startup is supported by well-known venture capitalists and Mario Götze.
4. Secjur
The company Secjur addresses the issue of data privacy. A digital platform automates all effort processes and saves time for customer companies. The complex and opaque topic is made user-friendly available. In its seed round in 2022, the startup raised 5.5 million euros. The investors include not only Mario Götze but also former motorsport driver Nico Rosberg.
5. Mietz
A startup that integrates the Tinder model into the real estate market. Mietz simplifies the rental of apartments using an app modeled after the popular dating app. Renters can simply sign up and swipe through the available apartments. If there is a match, the contact to the landlord is made. In September, the startup raises 1 million in fresh capital during its pre-seed round. Mario Götze also participated as an investor.
These are five examples of start-ups in which the German footballer invested his fortune in the past year. In reality, these 5 start-ups are just a small part of the start-up investments made by Mario Götze in 2022. This makes him one of the most active professional athletes in the Business Angel scene and a trailblazer for a growing trend that is increasingly visible in Europe and Germany. Professional athletes as investors seem to be more perceived and accepted in the startup industry in 2022 than ever before. This increases the potential and attractiveness of start-up investments for many more professional athletes.
References: Crunchbase, Return Protocol, RIDE Capital, Knowunity, Secjur, Mietz
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