How your project is staffed
Two roles run your project together: one for the technology, one for the numbers. The partners are involved in the background.
Tech Consultant
Counterpart to CTOs and tech leads
Including PhDs and founders. They run the technical interview with your team, get to grips with your technology and prepare it so that we can write funding applications and project reports for you quickly.
Consultant
Counterpart to finance, HR and your tax adviser
Runs your project on the commercial side and drives it forward. Pulls together all finance and HR data for the project with you, as the basis for calculations and cost statements, and keeps everyone in the loop.
Partners
Sparring in the background
The partners support projects in the background, as sparring partners for the consultants, and are there for highly complex questions. Project leadership sits with the consultant and the tech consultant.
The partners
Pierre, Philipp, Matthias and Stefan founded Zebra Embassy in 2021. All four worked in startups and built some of their own before that.
Our story
Dr. Philipp Nägelein
Managing Partner
Philipp earned his doctorate at LMU Munich and was a visiting researcher at UC Berkeley, among other roles. He was part of the CDTM management team and went on to found a pharma-tech company. As an investor, he holds stakes in more than 30 funds and deep-tech startups. At Zebra Embassy, he leads finance and sales, bringing his network and fundraising experience to make it easier for deep-tech companies to access financing of all kinds.
Matthias Hecht
Managing Partner
A physicist by training with a Master's from KIT, Matthias is the technology expert among Zebra Embassy's co-founders. He founded otego GmbH straight out of university and later served as Co-CTO at Carly Connected Car. His deep-tech and software engineering background enables him to understand and support clients from diverse technology industries.
Stefan Höhn
Co-Founder
Lawyer at the partner law firm ZE Tax & Legal GmbH Berufsausübungsgesellschaft
Stefan is an attorney-at-law who combines legal expertise with hands-on business experience. Before co-founding Zebra Embassy, he worked at Wolters Kluwer and founded the e-commerce company Obloco GmbH, which he sold to Metamorph GmbH, where he then held a commercial leadership role. Today he leads our partner law firm ZE Tax & Legal GmbH Berufsausübungsgesellschaft as managing director and lawyer.
The team
Consulting
Cornelia Marx
Manager & Team Lead Consulting
Conny studied industrial engineering in Munich and built a career in strategic partner management before founding her own startup in 2017. A serial founder and active business angel with a passion for MedTech and impact-driven innovation, she also co-founded The Healthy Startup. At Zebra Embassy, she leads the consulting team and channels her entrepreneurial experience and founder network into helping clients obtain funding.
Ina Barner
Senior Consultant
Ina studied Business Administration at Duale Hochschule Baden-Württemberg and holds a Master's in Management from Nova School of Business and Economics in Lisbon. She knows both the corporate and the startup side first-hand: product management at Daimler, then business development at Emma Sleep. As Senior Consultant, she guides clients through complex R&D funding projects.
Alexandra Werner
Senior Consultant
With a background in Public Policy & Governance (Universität Passau) and a Master's in Management from the University of St Andrews, Alexandra brings strong structured problem-solving skills. Before joining Zebra Embassy, she worked as Project Manager at CrossLend in sustainable finance. She manages complex R&D funding projects from start to finish.
Lena Wessling-Teicke
Senior Consultant
Lena holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from WHU and was responsible for customer acquisition as Director Marketing at the startup Lesara. She later co-founded VIA AG as COO. At Zebra Embassy, she brings this commercial experience to guiding clients through complex R&D funding projects.
Maria-Victoria Teicke
Consultant
Mavi holds a Bachelor of Laws in business law and is an entrepreneur with deep roots in proptech. She co-founded the serviced apartment company charly and later the AI-powered property management startup dao. She brings hands-on startup experience across operations and technology. At Zebra Embassy, she leverages her founder perspective to support companies in navigating public funding.
Rosalie Schmid
Consultant
With a background in media studies and media informatics from the University of Regensburg, Rosalie brings entrepreneurial drive and marketing expertise to Zebra Embassy. She previously co-founded the sustainable beauty brand Less Waste Club as CMO and worked in business development at scale up. At Zebra Embassy, she guides innovative companies through public funding.
Tech Consulting
Dr. Nicolas Winterfeldt
Manager & Team Lead Tech
A computational biologist with a research background in synthetic microbiology, Nicolas completed his doctorate and postdoctoral research at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf. Before joining Zebra Embassy, he co-founded Krauts & Sprouts and served as Scientific Consultant at Leyton. He applies his deep understanding of R&D processes to help companies unlock their innovation funding potential. At Zebra Embassy, he leads the tech team.
Lukas Kriete
Senior Technology Consultant
Lukas studied mechanical engineering at KIT and founded his AI startup Kimoknow right after his bachelor's thesis, building a platform for automated AI-based object detection. At Zebra Embassy, he brings his experience as a founder, especially in AI, and translates technical developments into fundable R&D projects.
Dr. Andres Rösch
Technology Consultant
A deep tech researcher turned entrepreneur, Andres holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering from KIT, where he pioneered printed thermoelectric generators for energy harvesting. He co-founded the KIT spin-off Prio Optics (now Rheoo) and brings years of experience at the intersection of scientific R&D and startup building. At Zebra Embassy, he helps innovative tech companies translate complex technologies into fundable R&D projects.
Dr. Johannes Jehn
Technology Consultant
With a PhD in Printed Electronics and deep expertise in sensor technology, Johannes brings a genuine deep-tech mindset to Zebra Embassy. He previously worked as an Engineer for Sensor Technology at tacterion, a Munich-based startup specializing in bendable touch and force sensors. He supports tech-driven companies in translating complex technologies into fundable R&D projects.
Max Burkhardt
Technology Consultant
With a Master's in Business Information Systems from the University of Innsbruck, Max brings a strong product and technology background to Zebra Embassy. Before joining, he worked as Product Owner at robodocxs and co-founded The Mental Friend, a MedTech startup that helps people with mental illness find a therapy place faster. He drives technology and innovation management for client projects.
Dr. Sebastian Bramberger
Associate Partner
A theoretical physicist turned tech leader, Sebastian holds a doctorate from the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics and a degree in Mathematics and Physics from McGill University. After a postdoc in cosmology and years as a quantitative researcher at BIT Capital, he joined Zebra Embassy to lead software and AI initiatives, bridging deep-tech expertise with R&D funding strategy.
Operations
Daniel Schneider
General Manager
Daniel brings over 10 years of experience leading Sales and Customer Success in high-growth SaaS environments, including as a sales leader at startups such as BuildingRadar, Userlane, LegalOS, PowerUs and Kertos. A graduate of LMU München, he has a track record of building commercial structures and RevOps teams. As General Manager, Daniel is responsible for operations and revenue management at Zebra Embassy.
Want to work at Zebra Embassy?
Take a look at our open positions or send us an unsolicited application.
