Erik Heinelt

Co-founder & CEO @ Forgent

About

I believe entrepreneurship is the most effective way to create positive change. That conviction has driven me for the past 15 years, building companies in markets others considered too risky, complex, or slow. Rocket Internet in Japan and Brazil. Tirendo and askCharlie in Europe. Always driven by the same conviction: Those who create real value win. At some point I asked myself: which market needs that mindset the most right now? Public procurement is one of the largest and most overlooked markets in Europe. Over two trillion euros awarded every year through processes so complex that many companies never even submit a bid. That's why we founded Forgent. Not to build another AI company. Because this is where real economic and societal impact happens. Our AI agents master the complexity of public tenders and reduce the process to what matters. Submit the best bid. Win the contract. When more companies participate in public tenders, public institutions get access to better solutions. Innovation flows into areas that directly shape our everyday lives. If you're interested in how AI creates real economic impact in regulated markets, let's talk.

Country

Germany

City

Berlin

Industry

Internet

Skill

Künstliche Intelligenz (KI), Ausschreibungsmanagement, Unternehmertum, Start-ups, E-commerce, Entrepreneurship, Online Marketing, SEM, Venture Capital, Online Advertising, Management, Product Management, Business Development, Fashion, Web Analytics, Digital Marketing, SEO, Business Strategy, Management Consulting, E-Commerce

Experience

Co-founder & CEO

Forgent

2025 - Present · 1 yr

Berlin / London

More than 40% of public tenders in Europe receive zero or only one bid. The demand is there, but complexity prevents companies from participating in the first place. With Forgent, we help companies unlock these opportunities and win markets that were previously out of reach. To make this possible, we’ve developed three AI-powered core modules that cover the entire tendering process: Discover: Find the right tenders automatically. AI agents scan hundreds of procurement platforms and surface only the opportunities that truly match your profile. Apply: Submit winning bids in hours, not weeks. Create compliant, compelling proposals. Forgent transforms your expertise into tailored, high-quality responses. Manage: Coordinate seamlessly. Teams, suppliers, and partners work in sync. AI agents automate requests and eliminate bottlenecks. The result: More contracts won, new markets unlocked, and sustainable revenue growth. European hosted. ISO 27001 certified. GDPR compliant. 📩 Want to increase your success rate in tenders? Write to me! 💻 www.forgent.ai

Founder & CEO

EH VENTURES

2011 - Present · 15 yrs

Berlin, Deutschland

Building & investing in early stage technology companies. Co-Founder / Founding Investor: 🎓 Metodic - Empower new generation of Sales People 📬 PostPal - Direct mailing reinvented for modern E-Commerce 🏢 TheBase - Future of Living, creating large Co-Living Spaces 🧑‍🔧 askCharlie - marketplace for local services (exit to CHECK24) 🛞Tirendo - E-Commerce for automotive aftersales (exit to Delticom)