Asked to describe himself in just one word, Felix Hemmerling takes a moment to reflect. Then, he decides. “Hypercurious.”
The adjective is a perfect fit. Hemmerling is active in multiple sectors: he’s the co-founder of the Luxembourg Open Air electronic music festival, which started as a simple Excel spreadsheet and now attracts thousands of attendees; the co-founder, CEO, and chairman of the construction and property technology enterprise software-as-a-service kodehyve, which aims to help the real estate industry manage projects more efficiently; the co-founder of the on-chain Web3 fund manager wagmi GP; the co-founder of the AI-native volatility trading hedge fund BlackShip Capital; and the founder of the private equity boutique and venture launchpad nø cap ventures, which builds and backs ventures in technology, finance, real estate, art, and entertainment.
He’s also spent time in the corporate world, with a stint at Banque de Luxembourg as a fintech/regtech product manager. A year at the digital finance platform operator Finologee provided him with insights into digital onboarding, automated KYC/AML flows, and building companies.
“I don’t think I’m the entrepreneur who’s going to stick with one single product for 10 years and only focus on that one single thing,” says Hemmerling, speaking at a rate of roughly 100 miles per minute and adds that he was also a very energetic kid. “There’s so many things to learn about, to explore, that it would be a waste of potential to not try different things – of course, with a certain fiduciary responsibility and focusing on the projects that need your attention!”
“It’s all about building exciting ventures with people that I truly enjoy working with,” he continues. Many of the companies that Hemmerling has built have overlapping associates, investors, and business partners. “I think we all have a limited amount of time on this planet, and I just don’t see myself fit into that one box, where I’m that guy – like, I’m the founder of that one specific company for the rest of my life, or for the next 10, 15 years. For me, it’s about exploring that curiosity.”
“There’s a lot of different topics that I’m curious about, but where I’m not building a company, because there’s also sometimes limits. Let’s say, for me, it would be a bit more difficult today to launch a new cancer treatment, because I’m not a biochemist and I don’t have that knowledge in that industry. But once I have the curiosity on one hand, some kind of added value on the other hand, and I see that we can put something together and create some value, then I want to explore that,” he says, assuming that other elements like timing are also aligned. “It’s about building stuff that’s meaningful, creating value for some segment of this world.”
Hemmerling, who started doing triathlons at the age of eight, has maintained a competitive athletic spirit. He now plays tennis multiple times a week, “it keeps my mind sane!”, and enjoys hiking and spending time in nature.
This article was published in the 8th edition of Forbes Luxembourg.
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