Philipp Herkelmann - Operator · Advisor · BuilderAbout Me
I’m a Berlin-based operator and advisor living with my wife and two daughters. I’m a builder at heart and thrive on collaborating with founders across industries. I am more a system-first builder than a strategist with a strong bias to action.My career has spanned various sectors and continents - from technical government consultancy in Nepal, to being a VC-backed founder in Europe, product management at ventures to global sales leadership as Account Executive at Google and as Program Lead (on rotation) for the Alphabet Spin-Off Chorus at X - The Moonshot Factory in Silicon Valley. I’ve backed 40+ startups in software, AI and deep tech, both as a sponsored investor (as Partner for Entrepreneur First) and as an angel - companies like Sensmore, Noah Labs, Orbital Matters, Crane Bioscience, Deep Spin and LevelNine Bio. I also bootstrapped several products and founded VC backed myself.In 2024, I co-founded EU Inc alongside Andreas Klinger, Vojtech Horna, and Simon Schaefer.
Our founder-led policy movement secured endorsement from OpenAI, Stripe, the World Economic Forum, and 16,000+ supporters—and put a pan-European startup entity on the European Commission’s agendaI like to bridge disciplines from tech, policy, finance, talent and design to build compounding systems and solutions.Most nights you’ll find me prototyping, writing, or trying to wrangle clarity out of reality.lets talk!
Investments
| Startup | Vertical | Investment | Current Stage | First Check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blocktorch | Web3 Infra | Pre-Seed | Acquired | Yes |
| FridayFinance | Fintech | Pre-Seed / Series A | Acquired | Yes |
| Playback | Social Commerce | Pre-Seed | Acquired | Yes |
| Kreatize | Manufacturing / Platform | Seed + MBO | Series B | No |
| Cirplus | Circular Economy / Platform | Seed | Series A | No |
| Byways | Logistics | Seed | Seed | No |
| DeepSpin | Healthtech | Seed | Seed | No |
| Epsilico | Biotech | Pre-Seed | Seed | Yes |
| Freshflow | Food tech AI | Pre-Seed / Seed | Seed | Yes |
| Itexia | SaaS Circularity | Seed | Seed | Yes |
| Level Nine Bio | Biotech | Pre-Seed | Seed | Yes |
| Modelme.tech | GenAI Image | Pre-Seed / Seed | Seed | Yes |
| Noah Lab | Healthtech / AI | Pre-Seed | Seed | Yes |
| Nostos Genomics | Healthtech | Seed | Seed | No |
| Rouvia | Logistic / SaaS | Pre-Seed | Seed | Yes |
| Sensmore | Robotics / AI | Pre-Seed | Seed | Yes |
| Thermosphr | Climate Tech AI / HVAC | Pre-Seed | Seed | Yes |
| Uify | Frontline AI / SaaS | Seed | Seed | Yes |
| Avayl | Pharma Intelligence / AI | Pre-Seed | Pre-Seed + | Yes |
| Bryo.io | Procurement AI | Pre-Seed | Pre-Seed + | Yes |
| Crane BioScience | Biotech | Pre-Seed | Pre-Seed + | Yes |
| Mirantus | Healthcare | Pre-Seed | Pre-Seed + | Yes |
| Orbital Matter | Space | Pre-Seed | Pre-Seed + | Yes |
| TextCortex | GenAI / SaaS | Pre-Seed + | Pre-Seed + | Yes |
| Velsa | Legaltech / SaaS | Pre-Seed | Pre-Seed + | Yes |
| Zebracat | GenAI Video | Pre-Seed | Pre-Seed + | Yes |
| Amayu Health | Healthcare | Pre-Seed | Pre-Seed | Yes |
| ConnectReal | Real Estate AI | Pre-Seed | Pre-Seed | Yes |
| Character | Social | Pre-Seed | - | Yes |
| Deep Balancer | Cryptofinance | Pre-Seed | - | Yes |
| FemXX Health | Social FemTech | Pre-Seed | - | Yes |
| Heytheo.com | Hardware | Pre-Seed | - | Yes |
| Meta Wealth | Cryptofinance | Pre-Seed | - | Yes |
| Moonpass | Cryptofinance | Pre-Seed | - | Yes |
| Narrative | Finance/Wealth Management | Pre-Seed | - | Yes |
| Tacit | Web3 | Pre-Seed | - | Yes |
Work
2025 | Advisory for global leading Financial Technology Player, Molecule.xyz & Bio.xyz, Environmental moonshot capacity.eco, Entrepreneur First and Fund of Funds.
2024/2025 | Venture Building: Developed and sold AI software in procurement & next-gen ERP, vibe-coding 75 prototypes.
2024 | www.EU-INC.org: Co-initiated the policy initiative with Andreas Klinger, Simon Schaefer & Vojtech Hojna. Successfully lobbied the creation of a pan-european entity into EU Commission Working program by building Europes largest Tech movement.
2023-2024 | Parental Break: Focused on family and the birth of our second child. Engaged in research, skill development, and product building. Provided consulting to selected organizations, non-profits, and accelerators.
2020-2023 | Entrepreneur First: Partner & General Manager. Promoted after 12 months. Enabled the creation of 30 tech companies. Specialized in talent-driven investments in early-stage frontier tech and SaaS.
2019-2020 | Google: Transitioned back to Germany. Part-time role preparing for exit. Managed relationships and strategies for major clients.
2018-2019 | X-The Moonshot Factory US: Operated a US-wide commercial pilot of an IoT device with predictive analytics with the largest global logistics provider. Gained deep insights into moving deeptech from TRL3 to TRL6 and operating industrial pilots.
2015-2018 | Google DE: Industry Manager. Managed brand and e-commerce strategies for major sports brands. Developed global sales strategies and market intelligence tools. Engaged with C-level executives.
2013-2015 | Google Ireland: Sales Team member. Managed performance marketing for major clients in Travel & Retail.
2012-2013 | Rocket Internet Venture: Product Manager. Learned e-commerce product development.
2010-2012 | Own VC-backed Venture: Founded "GiftMe". Participated in StartUpBootCamp. Raised a pre-seed round.
2008-2011 | Internships & Studying: Completed a bachelor’s in Public Management and Governance at Zeppelin University. Interned at G.I.Z. in Nepal. Co-authored a book on grassroots lobbying. Developed marketing concepts for the introduction of the first I-Phone and sold to Deutsche Telekom.
Projects & Tinkering
chiq.ai (2024): Contract Software & AI Development with top-tier engineers from Google, 8200 & Twiggle
ProcurementNext (2024): AI enabled Inventory & Procurement Intelligence [5-digit revenue after 2 months]
Doyen.one (2024): Custom algorithms, mathematical models for processes and decisions with Dr. Paul Boes
smrtspace.xyz (2023): Index & Abstract of public scientific lectures [ca. 2000 MAU]
Applicant.Space (2024): Next Level Job Offer Pages with Benjamin Libor [No Sales]
Room720 (2023): Community for Next-Generation top technical founders [ca. 300 active members]
Short-Form Writing (2024): 30 short-form essays in 30 days to build a muscle in Digital Writing
Long-Form Writing (2023): Deep-Dive essays on Entrepreneurship
Funfacts
I assisted in 14 C-Sections
Nepalese heritage goods are partially running on a depreciation schedule, designed by me
I have an education in Drama Improv Acting from Gaiety School in Dublin
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