Stefan Glänzer is a German entrepreneur and investor, specialising in technology based companies and internet start-ups. His newest venture is as Partner of Passion Capital early-stage VC fund and co-founder of White Bear Yard [1] in London's east end, a new style incubator for the European internet scene. He holds a PhD in foreign exchange risk management and describes himself as a firm believer in entrepreneurship, on which he taught a course at the WHU business school.
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Companies Glänzer has founded or co-founded include companions.de, Ricardo.de,[2] myblog.de and Mendeley.com.[3] His investments include Last.fm, Wahanda.com, Reality Jockey, Smarkets, Timetric,[4] Tradeshift.[5] and ERepublik. Many of the companies Glänzer has invested in have offices in a 7,000-square-foot (650 m2) "incubator" space called White Bear Yard near Old Street in London.
Last.fm is an Internet radio site for streaming music, founded in 2002. Using a recommend system called Audioscrobbler, Last.fm records user’s different musical taste and makes recommendations. The site also offers different social networking features, allowing users to share their tastes.
A professional DJ for 15 years, Glänzer first encountered the digital radio site through his German music blog. In 2004 he invested in the site and became chairman. In 2007, the media profile of the site increased and the number of users rose to 20 million. Glänzer received £22 million for his stake when the business was taken over by CBS Radio later that year.
Wahanda is a health, beauty and wellness site set up by Lopo Champalimaud and Salim Mitha in 2008. Wahanda connects consumers, wellness businesses and professionals through content (such as listings of spas, clinics and yoga centres), professional and user generated ratings and reviews, and through transactions, bookings and commerce.
Glänzer invested in Wahanda in February 2008, shortly before the site launched, and has been an active member of their board ever since.