Interviews
Interviews
Podcast
19.10.2020
Felix Haas' time is short. He is invested in 140 companies with his partners, while also building IDNow, one of the largest video ID platforms in Europe, and organizing the start-up conference Bits & Pretzels. In 2019, Barack Obama was a guest; this year, everything was virtual due to the pandemic, but it was still a success. Haas should have been working in a management consultancy, but instead founded Amiando, sold the ticket start-up to Xing and has been an investor ever since - when he's not pedaling a home bike.
I finally bought this Peloton bike. It's a bike for the living room with a video coach who cheers you on.
I want to stay fit. I'll be 40 next year and I'm already noticing a few aches and pains, so I think fitness is a good thing. And apart from all the things we can afford, health is one of the most important or even the most important component of success in life. I'm also a bit of a lazy person. I'm very ambitious and can muster up a lot of energy when I'm enthusiastic about something, but not always when I'm exercising. That's why I need this video course, the coach, to motivate me.
Sure, I bought shares at the outbreak of the corona crisis. I mean, they make money from people buying a bike for 2,000 euros, pedaling it at home and paying another 30 euros a month for the videos. That's a great lock-in effect. I've been thinking the whole time about how this model can be transferred to other sectors.
I don't have any concrete plans, but I'm always thinking and keeping my ears and eyes open. We also invest a lot in start-ups; our investment company has 10x stakes in 140 companies. And if we had the chance to invest in something like Peloton early on, we would of course do so immediately.
That's a common question. Overall, it's very variable how close we are: We are very close to some companies, especially if they are also in Munich, where we live and work. With other companies in the USA, where we have co-invested and have attached ourselves to large institutional investors, we are happy if we receive a report once a year. Sometimes we only find out about investments in the USA via the media when the company goes public or goes bankrupt.
This happens very often and is also normal and expected for an early-stage investor. The return is nevertheless good, as the winning start-ups multiply the investment and, overall, a decent double-digit return has been realized every year so far.
Last year, we joined a very successful investor in an investment round for a start-up in the USA. Three months later, the company went bust. This happens, but it is a calculated risk within our investment strategy.
It's annoying and I think about it every day: 'If only you had here and if only you had there'. But the missed opportunities are more painful, when all you really had to do was sign but we turned it down. When you read two years later 'Company XY has made 100 million', you just think: 'Oh no'. Overall, however, it is crucial to learn from mistakes and adjust the criteria for future decisions.
I have a list, just a moment (looking for list).
Yes, terrible - and you remind me of it too. Here it is: Missed-Investment.excel is its name. The list includes WeFox, Scalable Capital, home2go, homeday, homelike, Arius, Taxfix and N26. We were really at the very beginning with the smartphone bank N26, they were still called Papaya and I thought to myself 'What nonsense'. Then things turned out differently. You suffer as an investor, but as an entrepreneur you are still happy for the success of the missed opportunities. Every successful start-up is good for the start-up ecosystem in Germany.
This is completely variable. We usually invest relatively early, i.e. in the preseed or seed phase. If we assume a standard market seed valuation of four to five million euros and we invest 100,000 to €200,000 , we get around five percent.
Exactly. We used to make the mistake of not reinvesting when things were going really well. Our investments were then diluted in the subsequent financing rounds. Colleagues from the USA then said: 'Hey, you all have insider information and can assess what the company really looks like, i.e. whether it's a real rocket or the figures have just been embellished'. Since then, we have fundamentally adapted our strategy.
Yes, but these are always the difficult cases where every investor ducks the question of new money. It's like in school when the teacher looks at the class and everyone looks at the floor and hopes they won't be called on. It's often the same with financing rounds for companies and start-ups that don't take off at that moment. We've learned that it helps to move forward and set an example: It creates momentum for the start-up and helps you too.
That's the best thing you can imagine. Every day we have the opportunity to work with the people and partners we want to work with and that is incredibly intellectually satisfying. I have been working with some of my partners at IDnow for well over a decade. Organizing the start-up trade fair "Bits and Pretzels" is also a dream. We had Barack Obama there last year. You can't buy that with money.
I was an entrepreneur early on, in the PC games industry. That was in the nineties. Then the Internet arrived around 1996 and we had a modem in the computer room at school. That gave me access to the big world - like a window that I could look into every afternoon. But then I studied electrical engineering and had an internship at BMW.
That was nothing out of the ordinary at the beginning. But I had a strong boss, a real turbo guy. Because he spurred me on so much, I really sat there until late in the evening and did all kinds of things. Then at some point I found out that BMW had a branch office in Palo Alto in Silicon Valley and I got on everyone's nerves - until they finally sent me over there. Back then, it was like a James Bond lab with 20 people, all with budgets without limits. I then developed something that I still hold two patents for today.
It was about the 'Send to Car' function, which allows you to search for a route on Google Maps on your computer and send it directly to your car. I helped develop it, presented it to the board members and then Google got involved. So I still earn money from every BMW.
After graduating, my parents naturally advised me to follow a traditional career path. After all, the Internet was just a 'temporary fad'. I will never forget that statement. So I applied to McKinsey and signed up. Before the start of the first project, however, I left and founded Amiando, a start-up for ticket sales.
It was a disaster for them, even if they are very proud today. I'm sure they would have wished for a different path in life for me at the beginning.
I grew up very sheltered in Munich. My father built up a lot from the poorest of backgrounds in Austria, which shaped and formed values. He became a family doctor 40 years ago to help people. That shaped me and that's what I have in me too: on the one hand a great ambition and on the other this attitude that money isn't everything. Who do I spend my time with? Am I doing something good for others? I pay very close attention to this. My father also taught me to never forget where I come from and to always take weaker groups with me.
We have discussions every year about how disastrous my decisions are. Cancel McKinsey? Disaster. Found a company? Disaster. Investing? Disaster. And founding again? Disaster! But all in all, perhaps he is proud after all, it has worked quite well so far.
He would probably like everything to be invested very conservatively, in a bank account or in blue-chip shares such as Allianz or Munich Re.
Financial independence is important and makes it possible to aim for non-financial goals. I'm already doing that today, for example with Bits & Pretzels. I get recognition or lots of thank-you emails. That doesn't help me financially - but money isn't everything. When my parents get to take a photo with Mr. Barack Obama and are all excited about it for days beforehand - that's the best reward for all my efforts.
Personal details: Felix Haas was born in Munich in August 1981. During his studies, he did an internship at BMW, from which he still holds patents, then founded Amiando and later sold the ticketing company to Xing. Since then, he has invested in more than 100 companies and built up the IDNow video ID platform with partners. He is co-founder of Bits & Pretzels, one of the largest start-up conferences in Europe.
Interviews
19.10.2020
Nils Wischmeyer
Felix Haas is one of Germany's most successful investors. In this interview, he talks about patents from bond labs, photos with Barack Obama and explains which companies he regrets missing out on.
Felix Haas' time is short. He is invested in 140 companies with his partners, while also building IDNow, one of the largest video ID platforms in Europe, and organizing the start-up conference Bits & Pretzels. In 2019, Barack Obama was a guest; this year, everything was virtual due to the pandemic, but it was still a success. Haas should have been working in a management consultancy, but instead founded Amiando, sold the ticket start-up to Xing and has been an investor ever since - when he's not pedaling a home bike.
I finally bought this Peloton bike. It's a bike for the living room with a video coach who cheers you on.
I want to stay fit. I'll be 40 next year and I'm already noticing a few aches and pains, so I think fitness is a good thing. And apart from all the things we can afford, health is one of the most important or even the most important component of success in life. I'm also a bit of a lazy person. I'm very ambitious and can muster up a lot of energy when I'm enthusiastic about something, but not always when I'm exercising. That's why I need this video course, the coach, to motivate me.
Sure, I bought shares at the outbreak of the corona crisis. I mean, they make money from people buying a bike for 2,000 euros, pedaling it at home and paying another 30 euros a month for the videos. That's a great lock-in effect. I've been thinking the whole time about how this model can be transferred to other sectors.
I don't have any concrete plans, but I'm always thinking and keeping my ears and eyes open. We also invest a lot in start-ups; our investment company has 10x stakes in 140 companies. And if we had the chance to invest in something like Peloton early on, we would of course do so immediately.
That's a common question. Overall, it's very variable how close we are: We are very close to some companies, especially if they are also in Munich, where we live and work. With other companies in the USA, where we have co-invested and have attached ourselves to large institutional investors, we are happy if we receive a report once a year. Sometimes we only find out about investments in the USA via the media when the company goes public or goes bankrupt.
This happens very often and is also normal and expected for an early-stage investor. The return is nevertheless good, as the winning start-ups multiply the investment and, overall, a decent double-digit return has been realized every year so far.
Last year, we joined a very successful investor in an investment round for a start-up in the USA. Three months later, the company went bust. This happens, but it is a calculated risk within our investment strategy.
It's annoying and I think about it every day: 'If only you had here and if only you had there'. But the missed opportunities are more painful, when all you really had to do was sign but we turned it down. When you read two years later 'Company XY has made 100 million', you just think: 'Oh no'. Overall, however, it is crucial to learn from mistakes and adjust the criteria for future decisions.
I have a list, just a moment (looking for list).
Yes, terrible - and you remind me of it too. Here it is: Missed-Investment.excel is its name. The list includes WeFox, Scalable Capital, home2go, homeday, homelike, Arius, Taxfix and N26. We were really at the very beginning with the smartphone bank N26, they were still called Papaya and I thought to myself 'What nonsense'. Then things turned out differently. You suffer as an investor, but as an entrepreneur you are still happy for the success of the missed opportunities. Every successful start-up is good for the start-up ecosystem in Germany.
This is completely variable. We usually invest relatively early, i.e. in the preseed or seed phase. If we assume a standard market seed valuation of four to five million euros and we invest 100,000 to €200,000 , we get around five percent.
Exactly. We used to make the mistake of not reinvesting when things were going really well. Our investments were then diluted in the subsequent financing rounds. Colleagues from the USA then said: 'Hey, you all have insider information and can assess what the company really looks like, i.e. whether it's a real rocket or the figures have just been embellished'. Since then, we have fundamentally adapted our strategy.
Yes, but these are always the difficult cases where every investor ducks the question of new money. It's like in school when the teacher looks at the class and everyone looks at the floor and hopes they won't be called on. It's often the same with financing rounds for companies and start-ups that don't take off at that moment. We've learned that it helps to move forward and set an example: It creates momentum for the start-up and helps you too.
That's the best thing you can imagine. Every day we have the opportunity to work with the people and partners we want to work with and that is incredibly intellectually satisfying. I have been working with some of my partners at IDnow for well over a decade. Organizing the start-up trade fair "Bits and Pretzels" is also a dream. We had Barack Obama there last year. You can't buy that with money.
I was an entrepreneur early on, in the PC games industry. That was in the nineties. Then the Internet arrived around 1996 and we had a modem in the computer room at school. That gave me access to the big world - like a window that I could look into every afternoon. But then I studied electrical engineering and had an internship at BMW.
That was nothing out of the ordinary at the beginning. But I had a strong boss, a real turbo guy. Because he spurred me on so much, I really sat there until late in the evening and did all kinds of things. Then at some point I found out that BMW had a branch office in Palo Alto in Silicon Valley and I got on everyone's nerves - until they finally sent me over there. Back then, it was like a James Bond lab with 20 people, all with budgets without limits. I then developed something that I still hold two patents for today.
It was about the 'Send to Car' function, which allows you to search for a route on Google Maps on your computer and send it directly to your car. I helped develop it, presented it to the board members and then Google got involved. So I still earn money from every BMW.
After graduating, my parents naturally advised me to follow a traditional career path. After all, the Internet was just a 'temporary fad'. I will never forget that statement. So I applied to McKinsey and signed up. Before the start of the first project, however, I left and founded Amiando, a start-up for ticket sales.
It was a disaster for them, even if they are very proud today. I'm sure they would have wished for a different path in life for me at the beginning.
I grew up very sheltered in Munich. My father built up a lot from the poorest of backgrounds in Austria, which shaped and formed values. He became a family doctor 40 years ago to help people. That shaped me and that's what I have in me too: on the one hand a great ambition and on the other this attitude that money isn't everything. Who do I spend my time with? Am I doing something good for others? I pay very close attention to this. My father also taught me to never forget where I come from and to always take weaker groups with me.
We have discussions every year about how disastrous my decisions are. Cancel McKinsey? Disaster. Found a company? Disaster. Investing? Disaster. And founding again? Disaster! But all in all, perhaps he is proud after all, it has worked quite well so far.
He would probably like everything to be invested very conservatively, in a bank account or in blue-chip shares such as Allianz or Munich Re.
Financial independence is important and makes it possible to aim for non-financial goals. I'm already doing that today, for example with Bits & Pretzels. I get recognition or lots of thank-you emails. That doesn't help me financially - but money isn't everything. When my parents get to take a photo with Mr. Barack Obama and are all excited about it for days beforehand - that's the best reward for all my efforts.
Personal details: Felix Haas was born in Munich in August 1981. During his studies, he did an internship at BMW, from which he still holds patents, then founded Amiando and later sold the ticketing company to Xing. Since then, he has invested in more than 100 companies and built up the IDNow video ID platform with partners. He is co-founder of Bits & Pretzels, one of the largest start-up conferences in Europe.
About the author
Nils Wischmeyer
Nils Wischmeyer writes about financial markets, investments, banks, banking regulation and white-collar crime.
