Steffen Bartschat

Hill88 helps corporates engage with the Silicon Valley startup ecosystem, and helps early stage startups scale to sustainability. Our specialty is helping corporates and startups establish a local base here without the attendant costs for office space and full-time staff salaries.

LEAD is Executive Education's signature program at Stanford Business School. It is conducted entirely online and encompasses 9 courses that can be taken over the course of a year. Many of my favorite professors are part of this fresh and interactive learning format. As a member of the teaching team, I shepherd a cohort of students through the course - answering their questions, providing feedback on their assignments, and participating in live Q&A sessions.

Named as one of the three most active angel groups in the US, Sand Hill Angels makes about 30-40 investments a year ranging from $50-$250k per deal. Co-chair of the consumer screening committee. The following startups are part of my investment portfolio: Tactical Haptics - revolutionizing human-machine interfaces through a new type of touch feedback Front Range Biosciences - bringing modern biotechnology to cannabis and hemp Zum - on-demand rides and care for 5-15 year old kids Magnetic Insight - next gen medical scanning Movellus - disruptive technology for semiconductor design Tivic Health - bioelectronic therapy for sinus pain relief myLAB Box - at-home medical lab test kits Diatomix - nano scale coating that actively cleans the air from VOCs Volumetris - 3D bioprinting of tissues and organs

Bissell is a Michigan-based startup founded in 1876 and still family-owned. The company is focused on all things related to cleaning, including carpets, floors, and surfaces. It recently expanded into cleaning air and pets! Bissell's sales & development footprint has expanded beyond North America into Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia. As the Silicon Valley technology scout, I look for interesting startups that could help Bissell create smart & connected products that can anticipate cleaning needs. We are also looking to increase product simplicity and usability, while of course at the same time making the underlying cleaning technology more sophisticated, effective, and increasingly more automated. Bissell loves pets - we create special products that help pet families keep their homes clean and also support animal welfare organizations via the BISSELL Pet foundation.

Blickfeld produces a solid-state, MEMS LiDAR sensor for automotive suppliers and a variety of developers in other industries, including people/crowd management, drone geo-mapping, smart city / traffic control, security and perimeter protection, and autonomous cars & robots. While competitors are talking about "samples" available next year, Blickfeld is fulfilling orders today! MEMS technology opens up many new markets for this laser-based 3D sensing technology since it eliminates the mechanical complexities of a spinning laser beam, dramatically reducing maintenance, weight, power, and cost, while expanding customization options through software. Blickfeld GmbH is a Series A funded startup headquartered in Munich Germany. Major investors include High-Tech Gründerfonds, Continental (Automotive), and OSRAM ventures (Lighting/Sensing).

Faurecia is a $25B tier-one global supplier to the world's leading automotive brands. As the company's Silicon Valley technology scout and strategic advisor, I helped find startups with interesting technology that matched Faurecia's business interests. I also advised the senior management team (including "C" level) on strategies to engage with startups.

gestigon is a German software startup that provides complete skeleton recognition and hand gesture control software solutions for the consumer electronics and automotive markets. As Advisor and Head of Busdev (North America) I helped the company expand into this region, with a focus on enabling hand gesture and visualization for VR and AR (Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality) head mounted devices, as well advanced robotics and consumer appliance applications. gestigon was acquired by automotive tier one supplier Valeo in March 2017.

LUMO BodyTech is a wearable device company that makes LUMOback, a sensor worn on your back to make you more mindful of your back posture. It works together with an iPhone app that provides statistics and advice. As interim COO during the seed investment stage of the company, my focus was on monitoring our financials, and ensuring our first product was delivered successfully. This included building a 3 year business simulator to gauge revenue and cash flow requirements, monthly monitoring & forecasting of all expenditures, weekly monitoring of mechanical, hardware, and software engineering activities, and supply chain vendor qualification, selection, and monitoring - including manufacturing, fulfillment, and logistics. After our successful Series A financing I shifted to the Executive Advisor role, helping transition part of our supply chain to China and focusing on business development for corporate and distribution partner channels.

Full-time Master's study program. Key interests included entrepreneurship, corporate finance, oganizational behavior, global supply chains, and managing sales. Projects focused on consumer devices related to smart energy (residential demand response) and home automation.