Hansi Hansmann rebrands venture operation as Hansmann Family Office with €150 million under management

A cautious view on venture returns

Despite a long track record of high-profile early bets on Austrian companies such as Runtastic, mySugr, Shpock, Busuu and Durchblicker, Hansmann struck a cautious tone about returns. He argued that the distributions-to-paid-in metric, known as DPI, remains weak across most of the funds in which the office is invested. "Bei fast allen Fonds, in denen wir investiert sind, ist der DPI – also das tatsächlich zurückgeflossene Kapital – noch sehr schwach," he said, and pointed to venture capital's notoriously slow cash cycle: "könne es im Venture-Capital-Bereich durchaus passieren, dass man sieben bis neun Jahre 'trocken' ohne Realisierung verbleibe."

Hansmann also pushed back against loose usage of the word "exit" in startup coverage. He described the recent transfer of Emmi to Mistral as a swap of one hope for another, not a clean exit, noting that limited partners only see cash if Mistral eventually lists, after which a one-to-two-year lock-up typically follows. "Das Wort 'Exit' wird ohnehin viel zu locker verwendet, auch von den Medien," he said.

Picking smaller, specialist funds

Pallweber, the office's Managing Partner, said the team deliberately tilts toward smaller, specialist managers rather than large generalist funds. "Deshalb investieren wir eher kleinere Tickets und bevorzugen kleinere Fonds, vor allem Emerging Manager mit sehr spezifischem Fokus. Sehr große, generalistische Fonds mit breiter Streuung liegen nicht im Fokus," she said. She added that the office does not model itself on any particular European peer but draws lessons from a wave of first-generation family offices, especially in Germany, that is now reaching Austria.

Pallweber framed the office's recent exit history as evidence of patient timing. "Unser letzter Exit, Tractive, hat jetzt 13 Jahre gedauert," she said, a deal counted among the largest startup exits in Austrian history. The office's exposure to the Tractive story also illustrates how it concentrates capital: it is a limited partner in all three major Austrian VC funds that held Emmi positions, including the Emmi-to-Mistral transaction.

Diversifying beyond venture capital

Deal flow will tighten further. Hansmann said the office currently makes three to four lead investments a year plus a handful of co-investments, and plans to slow the overall pace to focus on lead deals. The broader portfolio has been diversifying into other asset classes for roughly two years. Capital now also flows into profitable private-equity holdings, particularly in succession situations in the DACH region, alongside public-market investments such as ETFs.

Real estate is another growing leg. The office holds projects in Spain, including the Hotel Vacança Beach in Dénia, managed on the ground by a long-standing local confidant, while Austrian assets are handled with other partners. A fund investment cited as an example is Sarona Ventures from Israel, which originated from the family-office investments of the Deel founders.

Philanthropy as a fourth pillar

Philanthropy has been built into the new structure as a fourth investment pillar. "Wir werden jedes Jahr siebenstellig in Philanthropie Geld geben," Hansmann said, with grants channelled through the Romulus Stiftung and committed on multi-year terms. Partners include Kontext – Institut für Klimafragen, Changemaker GenC, Conxious and Female Founders. Pallweber defined the themes: "Unsere Themenfelder sind klar definiert: Unternehmertum, Nachhaltigkeit und Gender Equality. […] Der Unterschied ist nur: Statt Financial Return steht hier der Social Return im Mittelpunkt."

The rebranding formalises an evolution Hansmann sketched with characteristic understatement. "Meine Engel-Aktivitäten habe ich ja jahrelang gemacht, sagen wir mal, aus Spaß," he said of his more than 15 years as a business angel in Austria. The core team remains compact at four people: Hansmann, Lisa Pallweber, Laura and Andrei. Hansmann also sits on the advisory board of the Stiftung Unternehmerische Zukunft, a role independent of the family office.