Founder & Chief Executive Officer (Cybersecurity Venture)

What we do

The Merantix Venture Studio guides daring talents to build category-leading Artificial Intelligence ventures from ideation over incubation to scaling! We have crafted leading ventures across all industries, from BioTech, HealthTech, Business Intelligence, Sustainability, and more. Our team consists of over 150+ entrepreneurs, scientists, and engineers from a diverse set of backgrounds and the world s leading companies and universities, and we are backed by global investors such as Softbank, Trusted Insight, and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Central to our purpose is the belief that to transfer groundbreaking research to stand-out ventures we need to work collaboratively. Therefore, we have not only cultivated a global network of partners but also built a physical home for the AI community in Germany with our AI Campus Berlin where we work and exchange with other bold minds.

Why are we looking for a Founder in Cybersecurity?

Cybersecurity is fast becoming one of the most relevant industries as the Knowledge Economy moves online. The global cybersecurity market was valued at USD 150 billion in 2021, and it is expected to double within the next five years. The new work-from-home paradigm shift and the Internet of Things (IoT) era pose new security challenges as employees share their home-and-work network with a growing number of devices of unknown safety. AI advancements will play a crucial role in the growth of this industry as they will enable smarter monitoring and data theft prevention technologies. While some companies are having great success in this market, we believe that the full potential of AI is still far from being realized.

Having validated the need for protecting home networks from IoT devices' vulnerabilities, we are looking for the right entrepreneur to take on this project with the full support of our ecosystem.

Your role

We are looking for stand-out individuals that are driven to disrupt the Cybersecurity industry with AI and to found an outstanding Cybersecurity startup with the help of a strong technical team, state of the art machine learning technology, operational support, and secured seed funding. If that resonates with you, here is how your entrepreneurial path at Merantix looks like:

• Conceptualise, test, and validate a product to protect home networks from IoT devices vulnerabilities
• Acquire pilot customers and sell proof-of-concept projects to test the technical feasibility of the intended product;
• Develop, lead and grow an organisation that should cover all relevant profiles as well as a strong network of advisors;
• Form a founding team for close collaboration to define, iterate and execute the product development as well as company roadmap;
• Lead the spin-off process and a subsequent fundraising round;
• Shape and grow your venture to a leading organisation in its industry.

Your profile

We define ourselves by a culture of ownership and teamwork. We re looking for driven, capable, visionary, and thoughtful people with a proven track record of personal and professional achievement and that have:

• Strong interest and some previous exposure to Cybersecurity;
• Entrepreneurial drive and mindset, high ambition, and the ability to achieve goals collaboratively;
• A Bachelor s degree or more of a top university;
• Capability and desire to lead people through motivation and inspiration;
• Ideally a minimum of 2-3 years of professional work experience (Start-up, VC, or Consulting exposure is a plus);
• Strong business sense that is based on analytical thinking skills;
• Work or project experience where you have showed a growth mindset;

In addition to that, it's a plus if you have:

• A Master s or a higher degree of a top-tier university
• Start-up exposure
• Good understanding of machine learning technology (no coding skill required, but an understanding of ML models and how they can be applied in a business context)

What we offer

At Merantix, we believe in the value of ideation, which is why our approach gives you enough time to validate your ideas with our team of engineering experts. We combine this with mentorship, sparring with the other Founders at Merantix or with external partners, and an environment that focuses on knowledge exchange. You will get complete compensation for the ideation and incubation phase, as well as a majority equity stake for you and the founding team once you are ready to take off.__