Stephan is Partner at b2venture, where he leads Investor Relations. 

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He is an experienced entrepreneur, investor, and fundraiser, having co-founded, established and sold Fanpictor, a technology company helping to build engagement with fans digitally at sporting events and at home.

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His passion for sport helped Stephan meet the challenges of being a founder. “What I learned most from sports was leadership, discipline, getting up after defeats,” says Stephan, who led his company Fanpictor as CEO for over seven years, including building up the US business out of New York, before selling it in 2019.

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“I was socialized in the world of business, as my father is also an entrepreneur having built a consulting boutique specialized on political risk assessment,” says Stephan, “I love both the analytical rigor of trying to game out how new technologies could revolutionize a traditional setting such as sport events in combination with taking responsibility for rolling out the business plan.”

The St. Gallen native graduated with a degree in business from the University of Bath in the UK, where he also played semi-professional football, followed by a Master’s degree in Banking and Finance at the University of St. Gallen.

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Before Stephan’s success as an entrepreneur, he honed his skills in investment banking and consulting. He got his entrepreneurial spirit from his mother, whom he grew up accompanying on the family business, which kindled an early interest in building something on his own.

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Combining cutting-edge technology with process and business-model innovation enabled Stephan to create a unique venture. “With Fanpictor, we were proud to have received a patent for a genuinely innovative tool, which has proven its value in other settings, too.”

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Stephan has been an LP investor at b2venture since 2020 and took on the additional task of managing b2venture’s investor relations in 2022. “The firm has an incredible track record with a number of outliers in our portfolio growing into truly global businesses with millions of users every day and the potential to change markets,” says Stephan, “and we want to capitalize on that momentum along the whole value chain and life cycle of venture capital, both with our strong existing LP base as well as building new relationships.”