Dr. Claudius Jablonka

When I joined CDTM as a student, it was a tiny, but sparkling dot in the Munich ecosystem. Today, CDTM is the most successful entrepreneurial program in Europe. For 15 years, since I was a student, then part of the CDTM management and a PhD, and for many years in the alumni club, I have been fortunate to contribute to the CDTMs journey and I guess it's fair to say that no organization had contributed more to my own journey: I met one of my closest friends during the CDTM Kickoff on a snowy ropes course. I co-founded my first startup with CDTM alumni, backed by former CDTM CAs. I made my first own investments into my former CDTM students, the founders of recogni and presize.ai (acquired by Meta). Fast forward to today, I co-founded the VC firm 10x Founders with the partners I met during my time at CDTM. Now, we run a €160m early stage fund, backed also by CDTM alumni and investing into brilliant founders. Last but not least, I met my wife at the birthday party of a CDTM alumnus, after attending a CDTM alumni event. A small but sparkling dot like CDTM can make quite a difference.