Is there perhaps an entrepreneurial gene after all? In any case, our graduate Christian Miele has the same entrepreneurial spirit and ambition that his great-grandfather showed in building up his company for household and commercial appliance manufacturers. After completing his bachelor’s degree at CBS and a master’s degree at INSEAD, he worked for Bertelsmann and Rocket Internet among others before founding his first start-up Todaytickets in 2012. Since 2015, he has been a partner responsible for the management of the Berlin-based venture capitalist e.ventures. Last year, he was elected President of the Bundesverband Deutsche Startups e.V., representing around 1,000 German start-ups as the voice of the next generation of German entrepreneurs.
CBS: Why did you apply for the bachelor’s course "East Asian Management" at our campus?
Christian Miele: I wanted to study in English and get to know Chinese business practices better.
CBS: What did you like best about your studies at the CBS?
Christian Miele: The particularly practice-oriented training!
CBS: What does a typical working day look like for you today?
Christian Miele: In my position as a partner at e.ventures I talk to talented founders about their innovative business ideas every day and then decide together with my team whether we want to invest in a start-up. In addition, I look after our investments as a board member, so I am available to the founding teams as a sparring partner in day-to-day discussions. A final part of my work involves networking and cultivating contacts in business, politics and the start-up scene so that we are always up to date.
CBS: What do you like about your work?
Christian Miele: My work is very varied; I get to look into the future and work with very talented and ambitious people. I have the feeling that my work makes a meaningful contribution to our future.
CBS: What typical cliché about your current position does not apply?
Christian Miele: There is the cliché that we VCs are not good entrepreneurs ourselves. However, I do notice a trend for former entrepreneurs to become investors.
CBS: What are your professional plans for the next few years?
Christian Miele: I will stay where I am and want to make e. ventures one of the most successful VCs on the planet.
CBS: How did studying at the CBS prepare you for your current position?
Christian Miele: Especially the rhetoric training helped me a lot to present my own ideas.
CBS: What would you give prospective students as advice?
Christian Miele: Work hard, work a lot, try everything.
CBS: Thank you very much for the interview!
