Valerie Bures-Bönström (Managing Director, XAnge, investor & serial entrepreneur)

Valerie Bures-Bönström is Partner and Managing Director for DACH (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland) of XAnge, a venture capital firm, and the founder and former CEO of Mrs. Sporty, Europe’s leading women’s fitness company. She is one of the most renowned entrepreneurs and managers in the European fitness industry. Before joining XAnge, Ms. Bures-Bönström was the founder and CEO of Pixformance Sports and the founder and CEO of Vaha. Prior to that, she co-founded Mrs. Sporty and, for over 20 years, served, among others, as COO and CEO for the women’s fitness chain’s international business. During this time, she contributed significantly to the growth of the franchise company, which now comprises more than 200 gyms. Ms. Bures-Bönström obtained a Master’s degree in Computer Science from FU Berlin and an Executive MBA from London Business School. ______________________________________ The CEO Leadership Series is the flagship event series of the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and takes place at the Heilbronn campus. The goal of the event series is to connect top managers with young students in order to promote a fruitful dialogue. The guests first hold a panel discussion with the host about their careers and organizations, and then respond to questions from the students in a Q&A session. This gives students valuable insights into the fascinating and exciting life and work of successful and renowned managers. ______________________________________ 00:00 Intro 03:57 Childhood and school 07:03 Studying computer science 09:57 Early entrepreneurship 11:45 Intern at J.P. Morgan 13:38 Offer from Deutsche Bank 15:50 PhD 16:59 Founding Mrs. Sporty 21:42 Business model of Mrs. Sporty 24:21 Programming the firm as the chief operating officer (COO) 28:17 Leaving the firm 33:57 Successes and failures 38:05 Becoming a venture capital (VC) investor 48:50 Advice for early-stage entrepreneurs 55:33 Advice on entrepreurial exit Music: Good Morning by MaxKoMusic