Maximilian Eichler
As a kid, I spent 1000s of hours playing strategy/FPS computer games (Counter Strike, Battlefield, Minecraft, Arma), which inadvertently also put me on a path into the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
It exposed me to coding/CS very early and I started building my first gaming PCs and writing the first plugins for my own Minecraft Server when I was 13.
This was initially a means to an end to improve my own gaming experience, which turned into a deep fascination, particularly for robotics, industrial automation, and space exploration. I was also lucky to figure out early on, that even the most experienced people will let you work with them - no matter your age (if you are persistent enough and give them a good reason). Solving real world problems with them and asking as many good questions as you can is the best way to learn.
I ended up completing countless internships from the age of 15 in robotics, finance, marketing, consulting, fintech and others, through which I first heard about VC when I was still in high-school. I fell in love with the concept and started my first attempts to break into the industry.
I joined the VC firm Ventech in the same week I started my bachelors degree at TUM in Munich. Ventech has 25-years track record of investing as a generalist at Seed/Series A across Europe and Asia. I covered the DACH region for 2.5 years, during which I worked on and/or sourced our investments in Prewave, Passion.io, and Mobius Labs.
Shortly after joining Ventech, I also embarked on my own entrepreneurial journey - founding Innovis VC - which is a student-led VC / service provider for VCs, which we increasingly productised to scale our offering. This includes our lead-engine with enriched startup data, a data-driven talent pool based on sourcing/DD performance, and lots of internal tooling to provide a scalable education and services offering. Within 1.5 years, we scaled Innovis VC from zero to 150+ people across nine European hubs (Munich, London, Paris, Milan, …). Today, Innovis VC is the largest student VC organisation in Europe with 300+ active members and 500+ alumni.
After completing my thesis, I joined Berlin-based fintech Upvest to work closely with the CEO and CoS as a full-time generalist, which is also where I first saw the Notion platform model in action, as our operating partner Andy Leaver joined Upvest for 3 months to support us in go-to-market and internationalisation.
In early 2023, I decided it was time to return to VC and Notion was the perfect fit, with the best combination of performance, culture, and independence. I now work with exceptional B2B founders in the DACH region across Pre-seed to Series C.
Everyday, I bring to my role at Notion, the same principles I have lived by throughout my whole career: A deep curiosity for technology & innovation, a hunger to learn more and improve, combined with a mindset of constantly looking for ways to be helpful through previous learnings and connections.
I pick the teams I work with based on their culture and the individuals based on their integrity.
Outside of work, I have a passion for long-distance endurance sports, tennis, gaming, skiing, martial arts, travelling to extraordinary places, cooking, good wine, karting, and am obsessed with trying out new, unique activities or hobbies.
I’d love to learn about your passion - professional or personal :)
Contact Max on meichler@notion.vc to discuss startups in Germany & DACH.
