VC Voices: Startups, don’t just focus on the product, says HR tech angel Stefan Menden

Stefan Menden is a serial entrepreneur turned investor.

He founded his first HR tech company 25 years ago, in 1999, while studying in Cologne.

That first company was a graduate recruitment platform called SQUEAKER, and he went to found numerous other startups – both in the HR tech space, and outside.

Stefan Menden, Founder, Menden Ventures.

After a stint into management consultancy and venture capital (VC) in London, Menden chose to return to Germany and to the world of HR tech.

Now Menden is an early-stage investor in the future of work startups – he also advises companies during challenging turnaround situations.

Not only does he invest through his own holding company Menden Ventures, he also co-founded the HR Angels Club and works with other angel investors and funds like Acadian Ventures, Endeit Capital and Emerge Education on investment activities.

Given his wealth of experience on both the founder and VC sides of the HR tech sector, UNLEASH is delighted to welcome Menden as our July VC Voice.

This marks the 12^th in our exclusive interview series with leading HR tech investors, and Menden follows in the footsteps of Acadian’s Thomas Otter, Katelin Holloway from 776 and Margaret Wu of Georgian VC.

In this exclusive interview, Menden shares why founders need to focus on the end customer on the “rollercoaster” ride of running a startup – HR needs access to great tools to solve the big workplace problems.

Allie Nawrat: You’re an entrepreneur turned investor and adviser. Why did you decide to make the move? What is the one piece of advice you would give to your younger self?

Stefan Menden: My transition from being a founder to an investor and advisor was driven by a desire to leverage my experience to help other entrepreneurs succeed.

Moving into investing allowed me to stay connected to the startup ecosystem while having a broader impact across multiple ventures.

The one piece of advice I would give to my younger self is to embrace failure as a learning opportunity.

Early in my career, I was often discouraged by setbacks. Over time, I realized that each failure taught me valuable lessons that contributed to my later successes.

Understanding that failure is a natural part of the entrepreneurial journey would have helped me maintain a more resilient and positive mindset.

AN: In your experience, what makes a great founder? What are the common mistakes you see startups making when building their teams?

SM: A great founder possesses a combination of vision, resilience, and adaptability.

They are passionate about their mission, can pivot when necessary, and inspire others to join them on their journey.

They are absolutely driven by solving a problem that nobody has solved so far. They make solving that problem their dedication and stay super focused on that journey.

They think big and are always two steps ahead.

Common mistakes when building teams include hiring for skills alone, being blinded by shiny university names and solely focusing on product without a strong customer, sales and pricing understanding.

AN: What gets you up in the morning, and what keeps you up at night?

SM: What gets me up in the morning is the excitement of supporting the founders who are working on projects that have the potential to make a significant impact.

I am driven by applying my unique personal experience and help them navigate the crazy roller-coaster ride that running a startup is.

AN: Who inspires you, and why?

SM: To be honest, I don’t have one single inspirational person in mind.

I am truly humbled and inspired by many of the young entrepreneurs that I have the privilege to work with.

The tenacity, creativity, resourcefulness that many young founders today exhibit when they tackle difficult and big problems are sometimes nothing short of amazing.

If politicians and CEOs of bigger companies would act the same way, we would be solving many of the world’s problems in a short period of time.

AN: What are the biggest challenges on the horizon that HR tech can solve?

SM: Over the past 24 months, I’ve focused all my efforts and investments on future of work supporting over 20 startups in this area.

I’m often asked about my investment hypotheses and the challenges entrepreneurs should address, particularly as the workforce ages, AI and robotics advance, and talent becomes scarcer.

My broad investments, and corresponding portfolio I’ve supported are:

1. Addressing aging populations and talent shortages

With developed economies facing talent shortages due to ageing populations AI, robotics, flexible work models, top-talent recruiting, and skilled worker migration can help bridge this gap. Examples are Wandel, Crafthunt, Lillian Care, HYRE, Huzzle, the Career OS, consultingheads and PrepLounge.

My first company, SQUEAKER, which was acquired by German newspaper Frakfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in 2023, also fits in here.

2. Enhancing workforce management through technology

Effective workforce management is crucial today. HR analytics, AI-driven recruitment, frontline worker tools, and applications that enhance desk worker efficiency to improve workforce management, boost efficiency, and increase employee satisfaction.

Examples I’ve supported are Penzilla, Bonrepublic (which was sold to HRWorx in 2024), peopleIX, Bounti, Jamie, Kombo and Stryza.

3. Building a resilient workforce: upskilling, wellbeing and diversity

A resilient workforce is essential for future success. Continuous learning, technology’s role in supporting mental health and occupational safety, and the benefits of promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace. Examples are: Franklin-institute.de, TAM-Akademie.de, bayswater.ac

Some examples are the Franklin Institute, Bayswater and TAM Akademie.

These are topics that are on emerging end of future of work – they address a specific need that companies and HR departments face today, aka managing deskless frontline workers where incumbent systems usually focus only desk-based worked, leveraging AI to make repetitive work efficiency and connecting existing HR systems to drive meaningful insights and analytics.

Like other departments, HR needs to be enabled with access to such tools.

UNLEASH | VC Voices is a monthly Editorial interview series where we profile leading investors in the HR tech and future of work space. You can catch up on June’s VC Voice here, and stay tuned to see who next month’s interviewee will be!