Venture Co-Founder (m/f/d)
in Berlin

About us:

At the Lufthansa Innovation Hub (LIH) we explore and design the future of travel.

The LIH discovers, evaluates and implements new technologies in the context of Travel & Mobility Tech with and for industry-leading airlines such as Lufthansa, Eurowings, SWISS and Austrian Airlines, the frequent flyer program Miles & More as well as other renowned Lufthansa Group entities .

Our growing team of tech, design, market intelligence, venture capital and digital transformation experts engages in ongoing trend and market research, incubates digital ventures, fosters strategic partnerships and supports Lufthansa Group in its digital and cultural transformation.

Job summary:

Our 6 month Entrepreneurship Program is a chance for talented individuals to lead a digital venture in an entrepreneurial way – from idea via initial validation to market entry and scaling. The purpose of the Entrepreneurship Program is to incubate new ideas while aspiring founders get the chance to co-found a new startup with LIH. 

While the majority of entrepreneurs join us with an existing idea in mind, you can join with or without a pre-formed business idea. 

The milestones of the program are:

• Idea validation: Remove early red flags by conducting strong customer discovery and validation hypotheses
• MVP building: Achieve first traction with a rough initial product through limited-scale launch
• Commercialization and scaling: Reach product-market-fit, show scalability and refine the product based on the MVP learnings
• Exit preparation: Based on the results, there are various exit options available  

For every entrepreneur, we offer:

• Entrepreneurial Risk: A base salary for 6 months to build a venture in the Travel & Mobility Tech field, incubated in our office in central Berlin, with a small pre-founding budget to develop your case
• Support and expertise: Support from our large Venture Development, Design and Engineering teams; led by a dedicated Venture Developer, who will help you make the best use of the time, as well as a small budget to test hypotheses
• Spinning your venture off after the program: To ensure that you can develop the case to its full potential, we support you with the spin-off process and pre-seed funding round
• Full participation opportunity: A remarkable share in the capital stock (Stammkapital) of the venture
• Leverage Lufthansa’s strong and well-known brand and utilize group’s network (unfair advantage)

Responsibilities:

• Drive venture projects in Travel & Mobility Tech from a rough initial idea to a successful exit. Take responsibility for their success and ensure a goal-based implementation during the 6 months program
• Build, implement and manage digital products (product management)
• Lead small, interdisciplinary teams with a high degree of personal responsibility
• Coordinate remote teams (e.g. engineering, design)
• Monitor and attain project-specific KPIs and milestones
• Acquire relevant partners (e.g. product development, distribution, media etc.)
• Business development with internal (Lufthansa Group) and external stakeholders

Profile:

• Exceptional degree in Business Administration, IT, or equivalent
• Experienced in building and growing a new product or service from scratch into a successful business – as a startup leader, entrepreneur, general manager or product leader
• Interested and passionate about growth startups and changing the travel and mobility industry together with an experienced team
• Credible understanding of major digital business models, technologies and the tech ecosystems’ stakeholders
• Strong business acumen, innovation mindset and hands-on attitude
• Distinct attention to detail with strong project management skills
• Excellent communication (verbal and written) as well as strong presentation skills
• Fluency in English, spoken and written

Valuable additions:

• Experience as startup (co-)founder
• Direct or indirect (e.g. management consultancy) work experience in corporate innovation
• Experience in travel or mobility 
• MBA
• Fluency in German

What we offer:

• Be an essential member of a smart, hard-working and growing team developing solutions for the traveler of tomorrow together with one of the most iconic brands in aviation
• Gain deep insights into the corporate world as well as the international Travel & Mobility Tech ecosystem
• Work independently and entrepreneurially holistically owning budgets, work streams and operational decision making
• Utilize seasoned Lufthansa and experienced tech talent
• Experience a truly unique setting in the heart of the Berlin tech ecosystem
• Competitive compensation with benefits

At LIH, we are super committed to fostering an environment that promotes diversity and inclusivity. We do not discriminate in employment on the basis of factors irrelevant to merit, qualifications or business need such as age, race, colour, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, disability, medical status, or any other status covered by the relevant law in the areas where we operate