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Frank Thelen is a European serial founder, tech investor and TV personality based in Bonn, Germany. Since 1994, he has started and run technology- and design-driven businesses. In his role as the Founder and CEO of venture capitalist e42, he focuses on seed and early-stage investments like Wunderlist, myTaxi, kaufDA and Little Lunch. His track record of founding disruptive companies now spans two decades. His products have reached 200+ million consumers in 60+ countries, gathering prestigious awards along the way, including the Innovate4Society award, presented to him by Angela Merkel. In 2014, Frank joined Sony Pictures prime-time TV show “Shark Tank”, broadcasted in Germany on VOX as “Die Höhle der Löwen”.

Since 1994, Frank has founded six companies, reached 200+ million consumers in 60+ countries and received more than $10m of venture capital for his latest startup alone. His first major exit was ip.labs, the world leader in digital photo solutions, acquired by Fujifilm Group in 2008. His next major undertaking was “the document app” doo, which received many awards for its innovation but failed to achieve satisfying consumer traction. In 2014, the doo service was shut down and the leading document scanner “Scanbot” was born.

From 2010 onwards, Frank has invested in a growing number of startups that have become huge successes, like Wunderlist (acquired by Microsoft) and mytaxi (acquired by Daimler). As jury in the TV show “Die Höhle der Löwen”, he supports young entrepreneurs with the required funds and knowledge to build innovative and disrupting businesses. This passion has quickly become his main focus, already leading to more than fifteen investments.

In 2014, Frank joined Sony’s prime-time TV show “Dragons Den”, which is broadcasted in Germany on VOX as “Die Höhle der Löwen” and in the US as “Shark Tank” and has become the most successful family show. Based upon its strong TV ratings, the show won the “Deutsche Fernsehpreis 2016” for factual entertainment and was nominated for the “Grimme” award and the “Ernst-Schneider-Preis” for innovation and economy in a TV entertainment show.

Furthermore, Frank is also strongly committed to mentoring young entrepreneurs. He has been the face of several marketing campaigns for Microsoft, Deutsche Telekom, Telefonica, Chivas Regal and many more.