Let’s be honest: When you read “HeidelbergCement”, your first thoughts might be “dusty, slow, uninspiring”.
And you might think: another stupid corporate VC fund.
Nothing could be further from the truth. We pride ourselves in being among the fastest companies in the world with the best business sense. You might not believe this right away – we usually don’t talk a lot about us. Just google us for 5 minutes, and you will stumble across other people who talk about our speed, consequence and business acumen.
What’s true: we don’t build autonomous cars. We don’t build landing rockets. We don’t build blockchains and ICO them.
But what we do is we really disrupt one of the last undisrupted industries: Construction. Construction is one of 3 industries responsible for 88% of all inflation since the year 2000. It is one of the most inefficient industries in the world. It is just beginning its digital journey.
That means: it is one of the last El Dorados to build exponential new businesses.
The problem is: Construction is ultra intransparent, fragmented and opaque for startups. That does not mean they will not succeed – we believe they will – but it means customer acquisition cost can be crazy, and the time and cost to pivot are high.
The point is: investing in B2C startups was straightforward. Been there, done that. We believe that investing in B2B disruptions is the next big frontier – but it is a different ballgame for VC investors. We believe startups in the construction space will scale better, faster and cheaper with the support of a truly entrepreneurial corporate.
Our unique entrepreneurial culture and governance put us in the best position to fuel the complete disruption of construction. Our ambition is to fundamentally change how construction works. We are serious about this – no PR nonsense, no pseudo-disruption, no digital lab in Berlin that pretends to do innovation. We disrupt construction with force and a pure financial motivation.
For that reason we operate against a precise and aggressive investment thesis. We invest in 12+ companies per year, typically entering at either Series A or B. We have the governance and incentives to act highly autonomous and fast. And we have the mindset to add value to our portfolio companies – not the other way around. We just closed our fund. It gives the rare opportunity to join a fund before the actual start, and shape the portfolio from beginning to end.
The point is: we are a unique VC with an unfair advantage set-up you typically do not see in any other VC.
On our team we give you a mission. Your mission is …
- Finding 12+ rockstar startups a year within the construction space. Leading the investments and closing the deals. Developing our ecosystem of peer VCs, tech universities and startup programs.
- Conducting due diligence with a focus on hidden insights. Carving out the fundamentals in startups’ business models. Plain vanilla DD is easy – we go for the fundamentals. Using the insights and fundamentals to further and further refine our investment thesis over time.
- Giving our portfolio companies unique insight into construction. Learning unique insights into construction and infusing into our portfolio companies.
- Coordinate value-adding services to your portfolio companies, such as talent sourcing, data science, coding and deep market expertise.
- Taking the less experienced members of the VC team under your wing and spreading your experience within the team. We are not looking for a formal hierarchy guy – we operate flat. We want you to coach and lead by insight.
You fit to us when you are …
- a brilliant mind who preaches ‘first principles’ thinking and logical reasoning. You have a summa cum laude Bachelors degree or better from a top tier school to back this up.
- an execution machine who always aspires towards ‘world-class’, rolls up the sleeves and gets it done. You have 5-6 years of previous experience as a venture capital investor.
- an energizer who finds it easy to excite other people. An empathizer who is hearing the intent and has excellent observation skills. We like people with a rare combination of ambition, humor and low vanity.
- a precise, no-nonsense communicator who expresses clear opinions that are based on data, facts (!)
We strongly believe in aligned incentives with financial upside. That’s why we give you carry in our portfolio. In return, we expect you to have intellectual excellence, an entrepreneurial work ethic, and integrity.
If interested, please apply here.
