It's incredible how time flies!
It's been five years since we founded CK Venture and began our exciting journey as impact investors. Back then, we could never have imagined the adventures and profound changes this decision would bring us.
It all began when Katja accompanied her best man to a BayStartup event, "just to have a look". But that's exactly where the foundation stone was laid: Katja immersed herself in the startup world for the first time and was immediately fascinated. The very first pitch she heard that day was from Blackwave - a startup that would later become one of our investments!
Katja's enthusiasm was so great that shortly afterwards she started XO Life and Blackwave as potential investments at our advisory board meeting. And then everything happened very quickly: Conny joined us and together we founded CK Venture. We haven't regretted this decision for a second.
XO Life even became our first investment! It is all the more exciting to witness the impressive success of this start-up today: XO Life recently secured an investment of 7 million euros for its global expansion. We must have had the right instinct!
But that was just the beginning: Blackwave became our second investment, followed by Storybox. Even in the middle of the corona lockdown, we decided to invest in Traplinked to invest. "No risk, no return" is also our motto! Incidentally, Traplinked was the first pitch Conny ever heard - and it immediately sparked her interest. Who would have thought that we would ever get into the pest control business? 😊
With Mediaire we made another investment in the healthcare sector after XO Life. We later expanded our portfolio by investing in Uncap and Skyseed and explored new sectors such as financing and reforestation. Our subsequent investments - Carbonwave, Hellstern Medical, Whyzzer, Upstrive, HeyNanny, FC Victoria Berlin and HeyCircle - could not be more different. But they all have one thing in common: each of these start-ups is contributing to a better future in its own way.
Of course, there were also setbacks. As the saying goes, "You live and you learn." When we started out, we were still inexperienced, and we would certainly do some things differently today. But we are grateful for the valuable lessons we have learned.
Our entry into impact investing has opened up a whole new world for us - a world that has positively surprised and profoundly influenced us. At the same time, we have realized that as female investors we can make a difference in the startup and investment scene. Since founding CK Venture, we have learned, experienced and achieved so much together. This work has triggered a domino effect, and to top it all off, Katja was even named Business Angel of the Year of the year. A sign that we are on the right track!
Our activities as investors have long since extended beyond investments. It also brings us exciting new tasks, such as jury activities, advisory board positions, panels, master classes and speaker jobs. We have also made wonderful new acquaintances and networks such as Gateway Ventures and the FIN were able to establish.
We are particularly proud of the fact that we are making a difference in the male-dominated investment scene and encouraging women to follow our path. Our motto: "We invest to make the world a better place." This applies not only to our start-ups, but also to us as female investors. Our goal is to change the investment world - and so far we've been pretty successful. 😊
In addition to our investments, a lot has also happened in business terms: in 2022, we opened our first CK Workspace in Unterschleißheim, fulfilling our dream of the perfect co-working space. After the great success, we decided to open a second location in Munich-Moosach! On 23.09.2024, almost exactly two years after the opening of our first co-working space, the new CK Workspace opened its doors. There will be a small opening and anniversary celebration in November.
Celebrate our 5th anniversary and the opening of our second location with us! 🎉