| Capital: | € 15 million |
| Age: | 44 |
| Born: | 10/10/1975 |
| Country of origin: | Germany |
| Source of wealth: | Entrepreneur, author |
| Last updated: | 2022 |
Short introduction
Frank Thelen is a German entrepreneur, creator and challenge capitalist for younger groups. Thelen have become recognized to the overall public via his participation as an investor withinside the VOX program “Die Höhle der Löwen”.
Thelen has been an crucial a part of this considering 2014 and has invested in severa groups withinside the meals and generation sector.
In addition to his entrepreneurial activities, Thelen has additionally grow to be more and more more politically lively in current years. His primary subjects are digitization and that Germany has to grow to be extra aggressive and innovative.
Early life
Frank Thelen become born in Bonn in 1975 and additionally spent his formative years and youngsters withinside the former federal capital. He grew up in a middle-magnificence environment, however speedy felt referred to as upon to be bigger. So he ended his research in pc technological know-how to begin his personal corporation.
Career
Frank Thelen’s profession is, as is sort of the norm withinside the tech industry, a curler coaster journey complete of ups and downs.
Since founding his first corporation withinside the overdue 1990s, Thelen has long past via all emotional shades. However, it had constantly been clean to him that defeats might handiest be temporary. His first corporation twisd AG attempted to marketplace a kind of router that become to attach nearby networks to the then fantastically new Internet. The concept regarded great and at instances become additionally on the street to success. However, the bursting of the dotcom bubble destroyed the economic foundation and Thelen become all at once closely in debt. However, he did now no longer allow this discourage him and shortly advanced software program for a virtual picturegraph platform, which he may want to then promote to Fuji and likely obtained a double-digit million greenback quantity for it. The economic state of affairs had as a consequence settled once more and withinside the years that followed, Thelen based and took part in severa famous groups which include Smartlane, Wunderlist and MyTaxi.
Through his involvement in “Die Höhle der Löwen” on VOX, Frank Thelen additionally determined a brand new and seemingly very interesting enterprise subject outdoor of his regular environment: the meals industry.
Over the years, he subsequently invested in an entire variety of meals start-ups which include Ankerkraut (spices), Little Lunch (soups) or Lizza (low-carb pizza). Thelen extensively utilized his developing consciousness to post a few books and to grow to be concerned in politics.
At the stop of 2019, however, he introduced that he might retire from TV and focus on his enterprise activities.
Highlights of his profession
1994: Foundation of his first corporation
2012: Chancellor Angela Merkel provided the “Innovate four Society Award”
2014: First participation in “The Lion’s Den” on VOX
2015: Sale of “Wunderlist” to Microsoft
2018: Publication of his biography “Startup DNA – Fall, Get Up, Change the World”
Quotes from Frank Thelen
“If you need to get ahead, ache and falls are a part of it. You should learn how to stand up and hold going. ”
“As an entrepreneur, you need to undergo harsh grievance from traders and hold fighting.”
“As a founder, I must have the ability to mention what I’m doing in 3 to 4 sentences. That must be the case although I awaken under the influence of alcohol at night. ”
The rates impressively display the mind-set with which Frank Thelen works. In his view, there aren’t anyt any excuses or motives that would completely save you success. However, founders and marketers should be affected person and persistent. If an concept is rejected, it should now no longer accept up immediately. Rather, the tough paintings to enhance so you can persuade at the subsequent presentation. The absolute cognizance of the founders should be across the clock at the corporation. Because distractions immediately endanger long-time period success.
Amazing facts
Frank Thelen has now no longer handiest been a pc fan considering his early youngsters, however additionally a passionate skateboarder and snowboarder. To this day, he feels strongly related to this scene and consequently helps a few social tasks on this area.
As already mentioned, Thelen is likewise politically lively. He become a member of the CDU till 2017, however become referred to as as much as the Federal Assembly with the aid of using the FDP withinside the equal 12 months because the nominated consultant of the country parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia to decide on the Federal President.
Frank Thelen says he has by no means operated a vacuum cleaner. He found out this in a presentation at the display “The Lion’s Den”.
