{{Short description|German serial entrepreneur and business}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}} {{Infobox person | name = Christopher Muhr | image = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = | birth_place = Bonn, North Rhine Westphalia | death_date = | death_place = | networth = | alma_mater = Cologne Business School, HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management | spouse = | known_for = Founder of Groupon (CityDeal), Endy, McMakler | occupation = Entrepreneur }}
'''Christopher Muhr''' is a German serial entrepreneur with investments and board seats in startups in Europe, Israel and North America. He is best known for co-founding Groupon International (Citydeal), Canadian Mattress brand Endy, prop tech startup McMakler and scaling Auto1 in the role of COO.<ref>{{cite web |title=#EXKLUSIV Ex-Auto1-Macher Christopher Muhr startet Patient 21 |url=https://www.deutsche-startups.de/2019/06/19/christopher-muhr-patient-21/ |website=deutsche-startups.de |language=de-DE |date=19 June 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Aug 2018 |first1=Caspar Tobias Schlenk 20 |title=COO Christopher Muhr hat das Unicorn Auto1 verlassen |url=https://www.businessinsider.de/gruenderszene/business/muhr-auto1-coo |website=businessinsider.de |language=de-DE |date=20 August 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Dez 2016 |first1=Caspar Tobias Schlenk 21 |title=Exklusiv: Neue Investoren für Auto1 |url=https://www.businessinsider.de/gruenderszene/allgemein/auto1-serie-e-target-baillie-gifford/ |website=businessinsider.de |language=de-DE |date=21 December 2016}}</ref>
== Personal life == Muhr was born in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia. He graduated from Cologne Business School with a degree in Business Administration. After graduation Muhr spent two years of development work in microfinance in Namibia and Uganda. Muhr also holds an MSc in management from Handelshochschule Leipzig (HHL) and Instituto de Empresa (IE). After receiving his degree at HHL, Muhr pursued a short career in M&A at NIBC in Frankfurt prior to joining Rocket Internet in Berlin. In December 2009 he founded CityDeal and started his career in tech.<ref>{{cite web |last1=wuest |first1=Leonard |title=Einblicke: Serien-Gründer in der Berliner Start-up-Szene |url=https://www.bochumer-zeitung.com/aktuell-aktuell/vermischtes/87232191-einblicke-serien-gruender-in-der-berliner-start-up-szene |website=bochumer-zeitung.com |language=de-de}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Primus: Vorstand Sebastian Fischer ist neuer Aktionär |url=https://www.immobilienmanager.de/primus-sebastian-fischer-neuer-aktionaer/150/78702/ |website=immobilienmanager.de}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Aug 2018 |first1=Caspar Tobias Schlenk 15 |title=Home24-Gründer Felix Jahn wird Geschäftsführer bei McMakler |url=https://www.businessinsider.de/gruenderszene/business/home24-felix-jahn-mcmakler/ |website=businessinsider.de |language=de-DE |date=15 August 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Jul 2015 |first1=Kim Richters 08 |title=Das unbekannte Berliner Milliarden-Startup, das 500 Millionen Dollar will |url=https://www.businessinsider.de/gruenderszene/allgemein/auto1group-berlin-einhorn/ |website=businessinsider.de |language=de-DE |date=8 July 2015}}</ref>
==Career== In his last role he served as COO for Auto1 Group one of Europe's most valuable startups to date and drove the companies international expansion. Muhr is also known as a founder of Endy, which was sold to Sleep Country in November 2018 as one of Canada's largest-ever e-commerce acquisitions, and as a co-founder of Groupon International via the acquisition of his company Citydeal which was acquired in 2010 in Groupon's largest acquisition to date.<ref>[http://www.inc.com/ss/groupons-global-expansion-strategy?slide=1 "Groupon Expansion Strategy"] ''Inc''. Retrieved 3 January 2013.</ref><ref>(16 May 2010). [https://techcrunch.com/2010/05/16/breaking-groupon-acquires-german-clone-citydeal/ "Groupon acquires German clone CityDeal"] ''Tech Crunch''. Retrieved 3 January 2013.</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Stüber |first1=Jürgen |title=Warum der Groupon-Europachef das Schnäppchenportal verlässt |url=https://www.morgenpost.de/wirtschaft/article127051509/Warum-der-Groupon-Europachef-das-Schnaeppchenportal-verlaesst.html |website=morgenpost.de |language=de-DE |date=17 April 2014}}</ref>
During his time at Auto1 he together with his partners from Warpspeed Ventures founded McMakler which today is considered one of Europe's fastest growing prop tech startups.<ref>{{cite web |title=Warburg Pincus partners with McMakler in Germany |url=https://www.privateequitywire.co.uk/2020/11/20/292547/warburg-pincus-partners-mcmakler-germany |website=privateequitywire.co.uk |language=en |date=20 November 2020}}</ref> In 2011 Muhr was voted 35th in The Wired 100.<ref>{{cite web |title=2nd annual Wired 100: Positions 49-30 |url=https://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2011/06/the-wired-100/the-wired-100-49-30?page=all |website=Wired}}</ref> He has been featured in various publications including the Financial Times, BBC News,<ref>{{cite web |title=Is group buying really a good deal? |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12368985 |publisher=BBC |date=5 February 2011}}</ref> Manager Magazin, FAZ and is a regular a speaker at events like DLD.<ref>{{cite web |title=Unicorns Made in Germany |url=https://dldnews.com/unicorns-made-in-germany/ |website=dldnews.com |date=5 February 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Robert Gentz: "Amazon ist sowohl Partner als auch Wettbewerber" |url=https://www.internetworld.de/digitaler-handel/start-up/robert-gentz-amazon-sowohl-partner-wettbewerber-1463227.html#gref |website=internetworld.de |language=de-DE}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Christopher Muhr, Founder, Endy Sleep |url=https://www.topionetworks.com/people/christopher-muhr-563229a7aac9e4db560000c0#new-site |website=topionetworks.com}}{{dead link|date=March 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>
=== Auto1 Group === In his last venture Muhr was acting as chief operating officer at Auto1 Group, overseeing their international expansion.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mai 2017 |first1=Hannah Scherkamp 19 |title=Auto1 sammelt 360 Millionen Euro ein |url=https://www.gruenderszene.de/automotive-mobility/auto1-finanzierung-360-millionen-euro |website=gruenderszene.de |language=de-DE |date=19 May 2017}}</ref> In 2018 Auto1 had over 4,000 employees with operations spanning across 30+ countries and revenue of over Euro 2.9 billion.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mai 2017 |first1=Hannah Scherkamp 19 |title=Auto1 sammelt 360 Millionen Euro ein |url=https://www.gruenderszene.de/automotive-mobility/auto1-finanzierung-360-millionen-euro |website=gruenderszene.de |language=de-DE |date=19 May 2017}}</ref> Auto1 was valued at about 2.9 billion Euro ($3.4 billion) when SoftBank Group Corp.'s Vision Fund invested in 2018.<ref>{{cite web |title=SoftBank's Vision Fund Invests $560 Million in Auto1 Group|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-14/softbank-s-vision-fund-invests-560-million-in-auto1-car-portal |publisher=Bloomberg L.P.}}</ref> In August 2020 Bloomberg reported that the company is undertaking steps to prepare for IPO.<ref>{{cite web |title=SoftBank-Backed Car Website Auto1 Ramps Up IPO Prep|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-08-27/softbank-backed-car-website-auto1-is-said-to-invite-ipo-pitches |publisher=Bloomberg L.P.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Jul 2015 |first1=Caspar Tobias Schlenk 30 |title=Home24-Mitgründer und das Team von Auto1 starten eigenen Inkubator |url=https://www.businessinsider.de/gruenderszene/allgemein/home24-auto1-warpspeed/ |website=businessinsider.de |language=de-DE |date=30 July 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Auto1 setzte 2,2 Milliarden Euro um |url=https://www.businessinsider.de/gruenderszene/automotive-mobility/auto1-umsatz-2017/ |website=businessinsider.de |language=de-DE |date=4 April 2018}}</ref>
===Endy=== In 2015, Muhr co-founded Canadian mattress brand Endy. In under four years, Endy became Canada's major online mattress retailer and was sold in 2018 for $89 Million to Sleep Country Canada.<ref>{{cite news |title=Canadian mattress company Endy to be acquired by Sleep Country Canada in landmark $89 million deal |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/press-releases/2018-11-29/canadian-mattress-company-endy-to-be-acquired-by-sleep-country-canada-in-landmark-89-million-deal |access-date=18 July 2021 |publisher=Bloomberg L.P.}}</ref> The company has generated over $150M in sales and has won numerous awards including being named Fastest Growing Retailer in Canada by Maclean's and Canadian Business.<ref>{{cite web |title=Endy named Canada's fastest growing retail company, 4th overall, on the 2018 Startup 50 |url=https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/endy-named-canada-s-fastest-growing-retail-company-4th-overall-on-the-2018-startup-50-1027532660 |website=Business Insider |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Kyriasoglou |first1=Christina |title=Was die Gründer der Billion-Dollar-Startups gemeinsam haben |url=https://www.businessinsider.de/gruenderszene/allgemein/gruender-unicorns-europa-studie/ |website=Business Insider |access-date=18 July 2021 |language=de-DE |date=25 September 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Kyriasoglou |first1=Christina |title=Auto1: COO Christopher Muhr verlässt Wirkaufendeinauto.de |url=https://www.manager-magazin.de/unternehmen/autoindustrie/auto1-coo-christopher-muhr-verlaesst-wirkaufendeinauto-de-a-1223958.html |website=manager-magazin.de |language=de}}</ref>
===Groupon=== End of 2009 Muhr started Citydeal, later on also referred to as Groupon International, with initial operations in Germany, the UK and France. Funded by the Samwer brothers, Rocket Internet, and Holtzbrinck Ventures the voucher deal company quickly expanded into further European markets.<ref>{{cite web |title=Groupon's Global Expansion Strategy |url=http://www.inc.com/ss/groupons-global-expansion-strategy?slide=1 |publisher=Inc.com |access-date=18 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140811163336/http://www.inc.com/ss/groupons-global-expansion-strategy?slide=1 |archive-date=11 August 2014}}</ref> The company was acquired by Groupon in 2010, just five months after its launch. Although no confirmed figures were released of the deal, it was reported that the sale of Citydeal was between $100M USD and $300M USD. At the time of acquisition, Citydeal employed 600 people and had presence in 80 cities in 16 countries.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Fowler |first1=Geoffrey A. |title=Shopping Site Groupon Buys Germany's CityDeal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704379004575248563606136520 |access-date=18 July 2021 |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=17 May 2010}}</ref>
In 2011, ahead of Groupon's IPO, Muhr moved to the Chicago headquarters joining the executive management team around Andrew Mason and taking on the position as Senior Vice President Sales to spearhead growth in Groupon's North American business.<ref>{{cite web |title=Groupon Turns to Citydeal Team to Rectify Slow Growth |url=http://socialtimes.com/groupon-turns-to-citydeal-team-to-rectify-slow-growth_b75778 |publisher=socialtimes.com |date=25 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111107005322/http://socialtimes.com/groupon-turns-to-citydeal-team-to-rectify-slow-growth_b75778 |archive-date=7 November 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Groupon slows in Chicago |url=http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20110903/ISSUE01/309039983/groupons-growth-slows-sharply-in-chicago-raising-questions-about-ipo-value |access-date=18 July 2021 |work=Crain's Chicago Business |date=3 September 2011 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Bhattacharjee |first1=Nivedita |title=Exclusive: Groupon taps Citydeal team to boost sales |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-groupon-idUSTRE77M7U620110823 |access-date=18 July 2021 |agency=Reuters |date=23 August 2011 |language=en}}</ref>
Muhr served as the company's Senior Vice President of Sales until September 2012 before he took on Groupon's International Business as SVP EMEA. Under Muhr, North American revenues grew 81% year-over-year.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}}
==References== {{reflist|2}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Muhr, Christopher}} Category:1981 births Category:Living people Category:German businesspeople