# Roman Kirsch

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German serial entrepreneur and investor

Roman Kirsch Born Roman Kirsch (1988-07-03) July 3, 1988 (age 37) Almaty, Kazakhstan Alma mater WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management London School of Economics Occupation Tech entrepreneur Years active 2003–present Parent(s) Waldemar Kirsch and Helene Kirsch Website romankirsch.com

**Roman Kirsch** is a German serial entrepreneur and investor in the tech- and consumer-internet-space.[1][2][3]

## Early life and education

Kirsch holds a business degree from the German business school [WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management](/source/WHU_%E2%80%93_Otto_Beisheim_School_of_Management).[4] He also has a [Master of Science degree](/source/Master_of_Science_degree) from the [London School of Economics](/source/London_School_of_Economics) in Finance, Accounting and Management.[5] He also spent time at the [University of Southern California](/source/University_of_Southern_California)[5] as well as the [Indian Institute of Management Bangalore](/source/Indian_Institute_of_Management_Bangalore).

## Career

At the age of 13, Roman set up a business of importing watches from China.[6] Later in 2003, at the age of 15, Kirsch founded his first company (a souvenir shop in Hamburg).[7]

In 2011, Kirsch founded Casacanda, a furniture company that was acquired by [Fab.com](/source/Fab_(website)) in February 2012, marking one of the quickest exits in tech history for an e-commerce startup and making Kirsch one of the youngest founders to achieve this milestone.[5][7][8] He subsequently served as CEO of Fab Europe until the end of 2012, during which he oversaw the company’s expansion and its rise to unicorn status with a valuation of USD 1 billion.[5][9] Fab ultimately failed to sustain its growth and sold its remaining assets in a fire sale reportedly valued at just $15 million by 2015.[10]

In 2013 Kirsch, alongside Matthias Wilrich and Robin Müller, founded the [Berlin](/source/Berlin) fashion startup [Lesara](/source/Lesara) with Kirsch as the CEO of the company.[7][11][12][13] Despite rapid growth and recognition, such as being named Europe's fastest-growing tech company by The Next Web in 2016 and Germany's fastest-growing tech company by [Deloitte](/source/Deloitte) in 2017, Lesara faced significant challenges. In November 2018, the company filed for insolvency after failing to secure a crucial €10 million bridge financing round.

Through his venture studio Rapid Pioneers Group, Kirsch has co-founded and invested in over 30 consumer tech and brand ventures across Europe.[14] In 2012 Roman became the co-founder and investor of Amorelie, which grew into a leading female lingerie brand in [Europe](/source/Europe). In 2015 media company [Pro7Sat1](/source/ProSiebenSat.1_Media) acquired Amorelie, which is now valued at €100 million.[15] He was the first investor and advisor in Instagram-native wellness brand Fitvia in 2015,[16] which was 70% acquired by Dermapharm in 2019.[17] Other founding investments include K-Beauty brand Yepoda, HR-tech firm Global Talent Co., and coupon platform Lumaly.[18] The portfolio also includes green tech unicorn [Enpal](/source/Enpal) GmbH,[19][20] as well as Bending Spoons, LAP Coffee, everdrop, and Wild Cosmetics.[21][22]

In April 2021, Kirsch has raised $345m in an IPO on the [NASDAQ](/source/Nasdaq) stock exchange for the investment vehicle Tio Tech. Kirsch serves as CEO of Tio Tech.[23] In April 2023, Tio Tech announced its shutdown after failing to complete a transaction within an agreed two-year deadline.[24]

## Awards and recognition

- In January 2016, [Forbes Magazine US](/source/Forbes) listed Kirsch in its *[30 under 30 Europe](/source/Forbes_30_Under_30)* list for retail and e-commerce[25]

- In 2017, the business magazine Capital listed Kirsch in its 40 under 40 list for young elites[26]

- He is also a "Global Shaper" of the [World Economic Forum](/source/World_Economic_Forum) Davos and a member of YPO[27]

- In 2022, he was listed amongst the Top 50 Seed Investors in Europe by [Business Insider](/source/Business_Insider).[28]

## See also

- [Agile retail](/source/Agile_retail)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Li, Charmaine (16 May 2014). ["Meet Roman Kirsch, the 25-year-old founder who sold his startup to Fab"](https://tech.eu/features/1339/roman-kirsch-entrepreneur-lesara/). *Tech.eu*. Retrieved 28 January 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Heuberger, Sarah (23 July 2020). ["Das sind die bisher unbekannten Investments von Roman Kirsch"](https://www.businessinsider.de/gruenderszene/plus/roman-kirsch-investments/). *Business Insider* (in German). Retrieved 28 January 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Bracht, Anke. ["Roman Kirsch: Disruption in the cosmetics industry"](https://weberbank-diskurs.de/roman-kirsch-disruption-in-der-kosmetikbranche). *The Weberbank magazine*. Retrieved 28 January 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["WHU Alumni among Forbes "30 under 30""](https://www.whu.edu/en/entrepreneurship/news/single-view/article/whu-alumni-unter-forbes-30-under-30/). [WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management](/source/WHU_%E2%80%93_Otto_Beisheim_School_of_Management). 2016-02-25. Retrieved 2017-07-10.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-TEU_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-TEU_5-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-TEU_5-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-TEU_5-3) ["Roman Kirsch"](http://www.theeuropean.de/roman-kirsch). *TheEuropean* (in German). 2 May 2012. Retrieved 15 November 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Anna, Isaac (2017-01-03). ["Lesara's Roman Kirsch on how to build a fashion empire"](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/connect/small-business/lesara-roman-kirsch-on-building-a-fashion-empire/). *[The Telegraph](/source/The_Daily_Telegraph)*. Retrieved 2017-07-07.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-FOR_7-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-FOR_7-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-FOR_7-2) ["Fab Buys Casacanda For $11 million To Fight The Samwers In Europe"](https://techcrunch.com/2012/02/20/fab-buys-casacanda-for-11m-to-fight-the-samwers-in-europe/). *TechCrunch*. 20 February 2012. Retrieved 5 November 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["Lesara expandiert nach Frankreich"](https://www.derhandel.de/news/technik/pages/Online-Textildiscount-Lesara-expandiert-nach-Frankreich-11668.html). derhandel.de. Retrieved 8 August 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Nisen, Max. ["How Fab.com went from a $1 billion valuation to a $15 million fire sale"](https://qz.com/300825/how-fab-com-went-from-a-1-billion-valuation-to-a-15-million-fire-sale). *Quartz*. Retrieved 5 November 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** [https://qz.com/300825/how-fab-com-went-from-a-1-billion-valuation-to-a-15-million-fire-sale](https://qz.com/300825/how-fab-com-went-from-a-1-billion-valuation-to-a-15-million-fire-sale)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["Lesara Uses Agile Management and Data to Meet Retail Fashion Trends"](https://insights.samsung.com/2016/07/19/lesara-uses-agile-management-and-data-to-meet-retail-fashion-trends/). insights.samsung.com. Retrieved 8 August 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** Nadya, Khoja (20 July 2016). ["Changing Clothes: How Agile Retail is Disrupting the Fashion Industry"](http://www.business.com/retail-and-restaurant/how-agile-retail-is-disrupting-the-fashion-industry/). business.com. Retrieved 8 August 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** Lara, Martino (28 June 2016). ["Roman Kirsch (Lesara): Il segreto del nostro ecommerce? Qualita, senza intermediari"](http://startupitalia.eu/58144-20160628-kirsch-lesara-startup). startupitalia.eu. Retrieved 8 August 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** ["#24 How to run a company with 300+ employees in your 20s – Growth Show"](https://pod.co/growth-show/24-how-to-run-a-company-with-300-employees). *pod.co*. Retrieved 28 January 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** ["ProSiebenSat.1 bewertet Amorelie mit fast 100 Millionen Euro"](https://www.gruenderszene.de/business/prosiebensat-bewertung-amorelie). *Gründerszene Magazin* (in German). 2018-07-27. Retrieved 2019-06-05.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** ["Fitvia: Dieser deutsche Hidden Champion macht achtstellige Umsätze mit Detox-Tee"](https://omr.com/de/fitvia-detox-tee-influencer-marketing/). *Daily* (in German). 2018-08-21. Retrieved 2019-06-05.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-17)** Schnor, Pauline (2019-06-07). ["Pharmakonzern kauft Tee-Startup Fitvia"](https://www.gruenderszene.de/food/fitvia-exit). *Gründerszene Magazin* (in German). Retrieved 2019-06-08.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-18)** ["Roman Kirsch: Disruption in der Kosmetikbranche"](https://weberbank-diskurs.de/roman-kirsch-disruption-in-der-kosmetikbranche). *diskurs – Das Magazin der Weberbank* (in German). 28 January 2020. Retrieved 18 January 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-19)** Ksienrzyk, Lisa (18 October 2021). ["Softbank macht Enpal mit neuer Riesenrunde zum Unicorn"](https://www.businessinsider.de/gruenderszene/business/softbank-macht-enpal-mit-neuer-riesenrunde-zum-unicorn/). *Business Insider* (in German). Retrieved 10 August 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-20)** Forinyak, Eva (18 October 2021). ["Solar Company Enpal Becomes Germany's First "Green Unicorn""](https://www.marketsgermany.com/solar-company-enpal-becomes-germanys-first-green-unicorn/). *GTAI – Markets Germany*. Retrieved 10 August 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-21)** Christina, Kyriasoglou (14 July 2016). ["Warum ich die Zalando-App löschen musste"](http://www.gruenderszene.de/allgemein/zalando-app-test). gruenderszene.de. Retrieved 8 August 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-22)** Lunden, Ingrid. ["Enpal closes out Series C with $174M from SoftBank for tech to make it easier for homeowners to make the switch to solar energy"](https://techcrunch.com/2021/10/17/enpal-closes-out-series-c-with-174m-from-softbank-for-tech-to-make-it-easier-for-homeowners-to-make-the-switch-to-solar-energy/). *TechCrunch*. Retrieved 10 August 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-23)** Martin, Iain. ["HelloFresh Founder Lists $300 Million SPAC For European Tech Buyouts"](https://www.forbes.com/sites/iainmartin/2021/04/13/hellofresh-founder-lists-300-million-spac-for-european-tech-buyouts/?sh=7f1b87eb13c3). *Forbes*. Retrieved 18 January 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-24)** ["Tio Tech a Shutting Down | DealFlow's SPAC News"](https://news.spacconference.com/2023/04/12/tio-tech-a-shutting-down/). 12 April 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-25)** ["30 under 30 Europe"](https://www.forbes.com/30-under-30-europe-2016/retail-ecommerce/#744f9f6b7dec). *forbes.com*. Retrieved 8 August 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-26)** ["Seite nicht gefunden"](https://www.capital.de/karriere/junge-elite-top-40-unter-40-unternehmer). Retrieved 18 January 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-27)** ["Shaper's Profile – ROMAN KIRSCH"](https://web.archive.org/web/20160914221944/https://www.globalshapers.org/shapers/roman-kirsch). globalshapers.org. Archived from [the original](https://www.globalshapers.org/shapers/roman-kirsch) on 14 September 2016. Retrieved 8 August 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-28)** Kanetkar, Julie Bort, Shona Ghosh, Callum Burroughs, Michael Cogley, Tasmin Lockwood, Hasan Chowdhury, Riddhi. ["Seed 50: The best of Europe's early-stage investors"](https://www.businessinsider.com/seed-50-europe-best-early-stage-investors-2022-8). *Business Insider*. Retrieved 2025-04-22.{{[cite web](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_web)}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_multiple_names:_authors_list))

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