christoph raethke

I'm the founder of Berlin's boutique accelerator program Berlin Startup Academy. I also help top management teams understand and profit from digital entrepreneurship, bringing in my network of 200+ leading startup CEOs and investors and the experience of having coached many hundreds of emerging founders.

Having joined my first startup team in 1999, I've been hosting tech events since 2008, leading accelerators since 2010, and presenting Germany's most successful talk show on entrepreneurship until 2016. In the past three years, I have been particularly active working with leadership teams of large German and European corporations and - in my role as a BMW Foundation "Responsible Leader" - social startups, helping both to make use of digitalization to re-organize, scale, and thrive.

In addition, I was responsible for the Startup Review section of German business/ lifestyle magazine Business Punk between 2013 and 2016. My first eBook, "Das Richtige gründen" (German only) is out since July 2016. And whenever I get the opportunity to contribute something meaningful, I love to be a speaker, host, or mentor at startup conferences around the globe.

Plus, I've been a guitarist since forever, and the (way too) many electric guitars in my apartment bear witness to my inability to withstand temptation to buy ever more of them. I've been a passionate supporter of the world's finest football club, VfL 1900 Borussia Mönchengladbach, since I was 12.

The only thing I've properly studied, however, has nothing to do with startups, music, or football. I have a degree in Ancient History (Greeks and Romans), so I'm always up for discussing the Lakedaimonion Politeia or the crisis of the Greek polis in the 4th century B.C.

For the full picture, you're welcome to check out my Linkedin; see AngelList for my startup investments.