Detlev Hoch

After 32 yrs. of Top Management Consulting of IT Users and Providers, Detlev re-discovered his passion for innovation and growth best represented in an “own” startup eco system.

Together with his daughter Sabrina he started in 2015 to moderately co-invest in topical startups often with a big data analytics/AI a/o Health-/Med-Tech spike and also joined btov.

This turns out to be a great complement to his continued executive mentoring and coaching works and keeps Detlev on his toes, both intellectually and managerially

Startup Investments are the “salt in the soup” of daily work.

  • Expertise in / interest in the following areas: Software & Services Management, Health-, MedTech often with AI

  • Previous experience:

    – Former Principal and Director @ McKinsey & Company, Inc. (s.att.)
    – Currently MD/GF @ thehighground GmbH, Business Angel & Mentor

  • Favourite quote:

    – “The bar needs to be set so high, that one can easily walk beneath it.”
    – “There is no problem so urgent that waiting longer would not make it more urgent”
    – “There are no problems, only challenges.”

Q -What has been the most important "learning" of your career?
DH -Always stay humble and portray humility.
Q -What makes a really good founder?
DH -Passion, People quality/integrity and Partnering (thus avoiding to reinvent the wheel).
Q -What attracts you to venture capital/angel investment?
DH -Rapid learning opportunities in tech and human improvement potentials.
Q -How do you combine your start-up investments with your daily work?
DH -Startup Investments are the “salt in the soup” of daily work. They can be exhilarating fun and sources for deep learning in various fields especially about human (im)perfections.
Q -What should an angel do and what should they avoid doing?
DH -Business Angels should avoid to claim better/deeper insights into an ever more VUCA future world, yet, rather help navigate the rapids and be a source of encouragement and stimulation.
Q -What are your three favorite podcasts/books?
DH -1. That Will Never Work by Marc Randolph, Co-Founder and 1st CEO of Netflix, about the Birth of Netflix and the Amazing Life of an Idea
2. Artificial Intelligence – A Guide for Thinking Humans by Melanie Mitchell, Prof. of Comp. Science, fan of GEB author Douglas Hofstadter
3. Merchants of Truth by Jill Abramson, former executive editor of New York Times, about the Fight for Survival and Future of the News Business
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