Together we build purpose-driven companies.
We are a venture studio with the mission to accelerate positive social and environmental change. We team up with entrepreneurs and companies to build and launch digital ventures that have a positive impact.
About Us
Scan. Build. Grow.
How to go from plain idea to a full-blown company? At Interlink Ventures we launch new initiatives as independent startup or corporate venture. Hands-on & all-in. Our approach guides a company through the different phases.
Meet Our Team
Guido Grotz
Managing Partner
Guido Grotz is a passionate entrepreneur, investor, and forward thinker. As a venture partner in the Interlink Organization, he actively supports internal, external, and corporate startups that are interested in achieving specific improvements for our economy, society, and the environment.
After completing a degree in computer science, Guido spent over 25 years putting his entrepreneurial skills to great use in a variety of areas within the software industry (Finance, Sales, Service, HR, and Product). In 1999, he co-founded the ERP vendor Step Ahead AG, building it up to a workforce of more than 200 employees. He sold his shares in 2019 and left the company at the start of 2020.
Since April 2020, Guido has been busy developing promising startups, where his focus is on projects, talent, and teams. His efforts have led to several companies being formed across Bavaria, Germany, and Europe, which are able to harness their innovative potential to create multilayered added value and exploit opportunities on international markets.
Guido was born in 1967 and has five children. He likes to spend his free time outdoors, whether running or on his bike, although other hobbies include reading a good book or taking an exciting trip away. He is a passionate advocate for sensible and sustainable business even in his downtime. Fairness, openness, and personal responsibility are important to him in both his professional and his private life.
Thomas Geiger
Managing Partner
Thomas Geiger is an entrepreneur, investor, and champion of innovation with an enormous amount of technological expertise. As a venture partner, he creates an environment where innovative individuals can turn their ideas into reality and make the most of their particular strengths.
While studying for his degree in computer science, he was able to gain valuable international experience in the USA; the time he spent there also forged his technology-focused and value-oriented mindset.
Thomas has spent the past 15 years building up Anywhere.24, a successful IT company with over 70 employees. Over this same period, he gained extensive knowledge in the fields of strategy, technology, and innovation. He was then able to harness this expertise for the benefit of his company by implementing digital business models based on cloud or SaaS IT platforms.
After selling his shares, Thomas left the company in 2019 so he could focus instead on developing promising startups. He enjoys working as part of a team, using his entrepreneurial experience to ensure good ideas are given solid foundations.
Thomas was born in 1978 and is happily married with three children. Outside work, when he is not spending time with his family, he is involved in non-profit projects dedicated to ensuring schools are able to provide education that is fit for the future. His special focus here is on digital learning and equality of opportunity for all young people.
Treating others with fairness and respect is extremely important to him both professionally and personally. It is the basis for reaching goals together – goals that everyone can identify with and success that everyone has a hand in achieving.
Benedict Padberg
Venture Partner
As an investor and co-founder of Interlink Ventures, Benedict Padberg focuses on young companies that embody social ideals, helping them on their way to achieving sustainable success.
Benedict is a brand strategist, entrepreneur, and investor with a great feel for sustainable projects. He has amassed a wealth of brand development experience, coming up with distinctive designs and smart communication strategies for major corporations and impactful startups.
At the age of 14, he created a social network that focused on data privacy and control. This project first brought him to the attention of businesspeople, who started bringing him on board as part of their entrepreneurial communication campaigns. Finding he got a real thrill out of this work, he decided to turn his passion into a profession and established branding agency Interlink Branding in 2012.
In the interests of shaping social and economic change from all angles, he and his venture capital company, Interlink Ventures, have been supporting committed and pioneering businesses since 2016.
Alongside his management duties, Benedict is active on a number of committees and in initiatives such as Young Leaders and the Bavarian Value Alliance; he is also involved in various environmental projects.
The results that his projects have helped bring about have been recognized by prizes like the Next Economy Award, the German Design Award, and the Energy Award.
Benedict is a passionate proponent, both professionally and privately, of individual freedom, mutual acceptance, and a forward-looking culture of communication.
Dr. Michael Berger
Venture Partner
Dr. Michael Berger discovered his passion at an early age. His ability to consider all aspects of any given issue, from both a technological and a business perspective, makes him stand out from the crowd.
At the tender age of 13, he was already heavily involved in working with computers and software. After his undergraduate degree at TU Dresden, he stayed on in academia and obtained a Ph.D. in computer science, with a special focus on software architecture and intelligent systems. He owns several German and US patents in this particular field.
Michael has held numerous prestigious posts throughout his career, for example spending 15 years at Siemens AG’s central research department, where he developed business software solutions and rolled them out successfully worldwide.
He is currently President of DocuWare GmbH, headquartered in Germering, Germany. This is an organization with 400 employees and 500 partner companies, offering innovative digitalization solutions for automating business processes in all four corners of the world.
Michael has also made a name for himself on Europe’s research scene as an expert, a lecturer, and a member of numerous research bodies. On top of that, he has managed national and EU-funded research projects, including as part of the “KMU-innovativ” research initiative set up by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research to support the incredible research being done by the country’s small and medium-sized enterprises.
In his capacity as a partner to Interlink Ventures, Michael has made it his mission to not only encourage innovative minds, but also to harness his own expertise and international network to provide a breeding ground for projects and business ideas that will be on the road to success right from the start. He is reliable and tenacious when it comes to implementing decisions – both qualities that guarantee predictable results and that customers and business partners alike really value.
Michael was born in 1970 and is married with one son. Family life at home in Germering is his priority whenever he gets any downtime. He relaxes by travelling and reading interesting books; his particular preference is anything to do with the history of communication.
Bastian Aigner
Engineering Partner
Bastian Aigner is an entrepreneur and forward thinker. As an Engineering Partner in the Interlink Organization, he actively supports promising tech startups.
His incredibly inquiring mind first became apparent in elementary school when he began trying his hand at coding outside the classroom environment. At 15, his remarkable IT talents were recognized outside of school too; after that, he started to receive invitations to the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco.
Bastian is currently studying computer science at the Technical University of Munich. He has a real passion for AI and neural networks, especially in the field of autonomous mobility.
Bastian gets a thrill out of harnessing his expertise to pave the way for businesses, particularly young ones. He designs smart business processes, whether they are logistics workflows, ERP systems or other associated process chains. His inquiring mind stops him from simply accepting the status quo – he instead scrutinizes technical standards in detail so they can be continually optimized to benefit the company. His quick mind and ability to combine technology, business expertise, and a sense for the big picture mean he is an asset to any team.
Bastian spends his free time immersed in the wondrous world of astronomy – he loves to take photos of the night sky and is a regular visitor to his local observatory.
Dr. Oliver Wulff
Legal Counsel
Success in business always depends on the legal framework too. Dr. Oliver Wulff is an experienced business lawyer and an expert in corporate and banking law.
It is absolutely crucial for companies, especially young ones, to know what they are doing in these areas, which is why Interlink Ventures provides them with access to this experienced legal professional, who will support them on all matters relating to business law.
After studying law at the University of Regensburg and Tulane University in New Orleans, Oliver joined the prestigious law firm Weiss Walther Fischer-Zernin as an attorney in 1996; now as a partner, he plays a significant role in the firm’s success. He remained active on the academic scene after obtaining his Ph.D. in 1998 and made a name for himself by publishing numerous articles on corporate law. Oliver advises an international client base on all matters relating to business law. Company sales, mergers, and acquisitions are his particular forte, alongside the strategic structuring of corporate groups. He is also an expert in legal issues pertaining to executive boards, supervisory boards, and managing directors, especially in terms of their liabilities, obligations, and rights.
Several bodies where Oliver sits in an advisory capacity benefit from his expertise and business-minded approach, for example he is chairman of the supervisory board at A-HEAT Allied Heat Exchange Technology AG and Securetec Detektions-Systeme AG, a member of the advisory board at Tyczka GmbH, and a member of the supervisory board at Therme Group RHTG AG and blu Gruppe AG.
Oliver will harness his profound knowledge of business law to support young, up-and-coming organizations so their creative ideas can flow along channels that are legally sound and economically viable.
Our accomplished corporate lawyer was born in 1965 and is married with three children. Alongside his family life, he has a range of interests and a particular penchant for music – a dream that he lives out as the keyboard player in a band. He also likes to relax with regular rounds of golf.
What We Do
Startups
We boost ideas.
We help entrepreneurs design products with impact, forge strategic partnerships, develop their business, and bring their idea to market.
Startups
We boost ideas.
We help entrepreneurs design products with impact, forge strategic partnerships, develop their business, and bring their idea to market.
Any questions?
Contact us
Explore our activities
Let's Build
We help define and design your business idea. We'll work together with your team on product specs and then assemble an efficient team to tackle on the challenge.
We know what building is about and have the experience of building startups on rapid changing environments.
We work on entrepreneurs' best interests and we guide through the execution in order to ship a product resourcefully in the shortest time.
Go-to-Market
We’re passionate about launching startups, just as you are, so if we get in love with your first product prototype and you’re open to accept a partner to walk the walk, then you’re probably interested in bringing your product into the world with us.
We invest up to 70% of total marketing cost to reach the right target group for your first prototype or product.
Our investment goes in exchange of equity shares, and we like to join early stage ventures.
Our Approach
We validate exciting ideas and turn them into products and ventures with an impact. Our approach guides a company through the different phases.
Scan
No matter how good your idea sounds, it might actually be sh*t. Or at least, in the form you’re thinking of now. We can help to critically review, criticize and debate over the idea you want to build a company from. To find what it should be. And maybe more importantly, what it should not be.
Build
The first dedicated team comes to life by putting your best and our best people together. Their first mission is to determine Problem-Solution fit in an efficient workflow. It means translating the solution worth solving into a product worth using. Stop and read that again, very important sentence.
Grow
With a working product in place, full steam ahead! The holy grail in growth is Product-Market fit. It’s offering your product to the group of people who need it and this group is big enough for sustainable growth.
Get in Touch
Let’s build stuff that matters.
Enterprises
We drive innovation.
We support businesses and organizations through our venture builder as a service. We help launch new ventures and scale collaboration.
Enterprises
We drive innovation.
We support businesses and organizations through our venture builder as a service. We help launch new ventures and scale collaboration.
Any questions?
Contact us
Explore our activities
We are a
Venture Builder
Venture builders are companies dedicated to launch products and new ventures. These are multidisciplinary teams who can analyze and tackle different opportunities in order to propose tests and prototyping strategies in order to test traction and then evolve products from there.
Venture builders create startups from the ground up. These are neither incubators nor accelerators, but rather a special figure that looks after the new company as they reach towards an important milestone, and then, making sure that the company gets the right team to continue scaling their business.
Venture Building
as a Service
We partner with enterprises and organizations to discover and scale the best social business models for the future, from idea generation and validation to founding sustainable corporate ventures that will become the leaders of tomorrow.
Interlink Ventures can assemble ad-hoc teams to work with your company in order to pursue the creation of new products or digital businesses.
From a fully fledged innovation concept to scaling a venture - Our execution-driven team unlocks value by combining a diversified toolset with in-depth analysis. From research, ideation, definition, testing, creation and incubation to growth.
Startup Due Dilligence
We provide unique insights to investors and organizations that are acquiring or investing in startups. Over the years and after making investments in various companies, we designed a sophisticated process to evaluate startups. This helps you to make more informed decisions concerning the economic and social potential of your investment.
It covers the entire life of the startup, beginning with its establishment and spanning into the potential future as far as can reasonably be predicted.
Our approach enables you to obtain an in-depth understanding of the company, its technology, business model, management team, culture, processes and ultimately, its investability.
Our Approach
We validate exciting ideas and turn them into products and ventures with an impact. Our approach guides a company through the different phases.
Scan
No matter how good your idea sounds, it might actually be sh*t. Or at least, in the form you’re thinking of now. We can help to critically review, criticize and debate over the idea you want to build a company from. To find what it should be. And maybe more importantly, what it should not be.
Build
The first dedicated team comes to life by putting your best and our best people together. Their first mission is to determine Problem-Solution fit in an efficient workflow. It means translating the solution worth solving into a product worth using. Stop and read that again, very important sentence.
Grow
With a working product in place, full steam ahead! The holy grail in growth is Product-Market fit. It’s offering your product to the group of people who need it and this group is big enough for sustainable growth.
Get in Touch
Let’s build stuff that matters.
Labs
We launch products.
We are constantly researching and creating new products from our Lab. Meet some of our projects and the culture of makers we have behind.
Labs
We launch products.
We are constantly researching and creating new products from our Lab. Meet some of our projects and the culture of makers we have behind.
Any questions?
Contact us
Explore our activities
Our Everyday Life
We're fully committed to finding new ideas and opportunities that together with a great product, technology and team can make the world a better place.
It all starts with a deep market analysis where we aim to identify potential solutions for social and economic problems.
Our potential ideas are defined and exposed to more analysis and critical thinking processes in order to come up with a short list, that will then be tested and validated with our world-class advisors.
Once our mind is clear and we know the strategies for product development, technology and go-to-market, we move on to create the prototype.
Then we do a MVP process to test the market fit and only the ones that get validated will move on to the next stage: growth.
Our Makers Culture
We've got a culture of makers, and our formula is about mixing it with our passion for entrepreneurship.
Great ideas make impact. Impact triggers momentum. Momentum triggers motivation. That's the lesson we live by.
We learn through making, and we're committed to explore, understand and integrate new tools, technologies and methods into our processes. Then put all our knowledge on creating game-changing products and services that solve real problems.
Explore our projects
Discover some of the products and services we're building in our Lab.
Our Approach
We validate exciting ideas and turn them into products and ventures with an impact. Our approach guides a company through the different phases.
Scan
No matter how good your idea sounds, it might actually be sh*t. Or at least, in the form you’re thinking of now. We can help to critically review, criticize and debate over the idea you want to build a company from. To find what it should be. And maybe more importantly, what it should not be.
Build
The first dedicated team comes to life by putting your best and our best people together. Their first mission is to determine Problem-Solution fit in an efficient workflow. It means translating the solution worth solving into a product worth using. Stop and read that again, very important sentence.
Grow
With a working product in place, full steam ahead! The holy grail in growth is Product-Market fit. It’s offering your product to the group of people who need it and this group is big enough for sustainable growth.
Get in Touch
Let’s build stuff that matters.
Featured Companies
Meet some of the companies we’ve invested in
Planstack
Let’s digitize construction.
The future is digital, and that includes property management. Planstack is a cloud application for professional construction and purchase management. The intuitive platform solution simplifies a variety of processes and workflows in the construction industry and makes them more effective by providing a common basis for all project participants. With Planstack, property developers, project developers and general contractors keep track of their construction project.
DcubeD
Let’s explore the universe.
DcubeD develops innovative actuators and deployable structures for the rapidly growing space market. DCUBED has won numerous international customers, such as the US company Astrobotic, for applications in low-Earth orbit but also for missions to the moon. Astrobotic is also slated to put VIPER, NASA’s water-hunting rover, on the moon via their Griffin lander. The Griffin Mission One plays a critical role in the lead up to NASA’s Artemis mission, which aims to put humans on the lunar surface again after more than 50 years.
Material24
Let’s reduce waste and save resources.
At the end of a construction project, most property builders are stuck with unused building materials and products, some of which can’t be carried over to the next job. Selling excess materials to those who need them is undoubtedly a better solution than storing them indefinitely or dumping them and contributing to the growing waste stream. Material24 is a trading platform for construction material that helps builders and contractors buy, trade, or sell extra building materials, appliances, vehicles, and tools.
Blue Freedom
Let’s produce power for the world.
The vision behind the creation of Blue Freedom is to give people who have no access to the power grid the freedom to produce energy themselves. Millions of people around the world urgently need energy to escape the cycle of poverty. Blue Freedom makes it possible for anyone to generate electricity independently. Electricity offers many opportunities. Blue Freedom takes them everywhere.
Clickmake
Let’s make the web an opportunity for all.
Clickmake puts the creative power of technology into everyone’s hands. Clickmake creates a fully managed environment for the creation, design and administration of websites. It is a platform dedicated to help anyone to create a high-quality website online that works brilliantly on any device. A visual point and click editor offers a full range of customization, right at your fingertips. The result? Beautiful websites, unique to you.
Goalflow
Let’s collaborate effectively.
Bringing CRM, project management and emails together with an intuitive software solution, Goalflow enables your team to collaborate, organize and build your business. Goalflow helps companies to get their operations out of spreadsheets. Track all of your clients, projects, tasks and resources in the way that works best for you.
Liveslide
Let’s put people in control of their data.
Liveslide is the social network that puts you in control of your information. You decide what you would like to share, and with whom. You retain full ownership of all your information, including friend lists, messages, upload, media, and profile details. Liveslide does not expose your information to advertisers or to other websites you visit. It is inherently private – you tell Liveslide who gets to see your information, and only those people will see them. Period.
4STREATZ
Let’s make people happy & healthy.
4STREATZ changed the way we look at dance-fitness workouts. It’s fun, effective and best of all? Made for everyone! With various locations worldwide, 4STREATZ is available to everybody and every body. The underlying spirit of 4STREATZ is one driven by support and inclusion of all, which is reflected in their continued efforts to include and support those with disabilities.
Jobs
We Make Impact.
