Interview
WUNDERKIND INVEST
In this interview, Armin Pohl, Managing Director of WUNDERKIND INVEST GmbH from Neckartailfingen in Baden-Württemberg, points out the philosophy of his consulting and investment company. What are the obvious special features and what is necessary to have lasting success as a company founder and innovation driver will be considered here.
Foto: © Markus Bolsinger
We are very pleased to have won you, Armin, as an interview partner. As a discoverer and promoter of so-called “prodigies”, you have a special role to play. Because investing in a project or an idea is not the only focus for you and your team Let’s take a look at your basic principals for decision-making: Purpose — Fun — Success. Can you describe this trinity with a popular example?
I would say that’s not hard for me to describe, especially since I was personally more deeply involved in a very exciting matter.
You’re talking about the flagship project called e‑Lorean?
Exactly. I’ll have to take a moment to explain this, because the history of the original DeLorean — the one we know from the blockbuster “Back to the Future” — is characterized by an unmistakably appealing design. But unfortunately, the engine performance of the original model was more than underwhelming. So it happened that we looked around for a modern alternative and decided on the electric drive. Together with eWorks, a company belonging to the “Wunderkind Group”, we were able to install an electric motor that was simply convincing in its performance. This meant that we were basically going back to the future.
What was the response to the project and the finished development?
One highlight was that Fabrizio Giugiaro, son of automotive design icon Giorgio Giugiaro and also a highly decorated designer, joined me on a test drive at the IAA 2021 in Munich. Believe me when I say that he was thoroughly excited by the new performance of the e‑motor, which has breathed new life into this legendary vehicle. And I think that has to be seen as a success, too.
In a way, you are a celebrity yourself, if one looks around the broad field of the venture capital and investment sector, and I’m sure you’ve already answered the question about your recipe for success many times. May we nevertheless ask what makes you tick and what specific ideas you have about an entrepreneurial future?
Of course. As founder and active managing director of Wunderkind Invest, I am looking for the optimal match. Although the basic intention of young entrepreneurs is important, the personality, the charisma and the sympathy of the acting persons have at least as much influence on a possible cooperation. Dogmas disgust me and I see myself as a pragmatist. Perhaps even as a green pragmatist, since I appreciate nature, which is also expressed in the fact that quite a few of my investments have an ecologically meaningful, but also economically lucrative basis. And where, if not in the green industry, is more progress being made these days? I also see this at Solarnative, whose products are highly interesting for the photovoltaic industry and thus also for end customers. For such ventures to succeed, a business partner is needed who understands that speed ensures the superiority of the new. The market launch of a technology or service must therefore take place as quickly as possible.
Foto: © Markus Bolsinger