Cake Break with Moritz Steinbrecher

Moritz joined the team as an Associate in the Seed fund in December 2021. 

1. You’ve worked in companies across the world. What’s one thing you’ve learned that you’re applying to your work here at Partech?  

It’s surely not my French, which has stagnated since grade 10! Jokes aside, I’ve always enjoyed working in diverse environments, and it comes with many benefits. Obviously, the challenge with that is that cultural differences quickly become apparent in the way we communicate and work. That’s where having experience can help awareness and avoiding one or the other pitfall. 

2. Can you give us a brief overview of what your method for finding great investments is? 

It’s no secret that in the venture industry the key to a great investment is partnering with the best founders out there. Identifying those entrepreneurs and to-be entrepreneurs early on, building a close relationship and ideating with them from day 0 is one of the best ways to partner.  

Of course, it doesn’t stop there and the mingling with fellow VCs, angels and operators is a core part of finding interesting opportunities. Staying ahead of what’s happening in our space and ecosystem for us at Partech also means using tech-driven approaches, for which we are building tools in house. 

3. You spent some time at Stanford University where you were part of the Silicon Valley Innovation Academy. What trends do you see emerging from Silicon Valley or elsewhere and taking the world by storm? 

The most prevalent one since last year, which was hard to have missed, is everything around what’s been coined as Web3. Behind all the media attention, crypto funds were raised, and noise was made around these topics. Silicon Valley has also demonstrated an impressive influx of top tech talent into crypto companies. Again, the talent is a good proxy of what’s to expect in an area. And Europe is following suit.  

To go a little beyond the obvious, a Silicon Valley-born trend now emerging across the globe shows the rise of the creator economy. Being a creator in various media verticals already means that you can make a living from the content you create, the audiences you build and it’s still early days with many emerging industries around that to come. 

4. What’s your favorite snack to grab from the Partech kitchen? 

Among the many temptations keeping Partechies energized – dark chocolate. Boring, but dairy- as well as gluten-free and helps the mood on a rainy Paris day. As the stereotypes go, our Berlin-kitchen’s assortment is almost vegan, and I would opt for some German “Studentenfutter” made of nuts and raisins. 

Thank you Moritz!