Luca Eisenstecken

“Luca has been on our board since leading our Series C in 2022 and turned out to be the biggest ally we could hope for as founders. Luca is a relentless optimist, non-stop working and thinking about how he can help Factorial grow even faster.” 

•  Jordi Romero, Co-Founder & CEO of Factorial

For me, an investment is primarily about the people involved. I do not care about where the founders are from or what logos are on their resume. In the end above it all, I care about developing a deep personal relationship, connection, trust and alignment of vision anchored in the relentless pursuit of greatness. Founders must have a passion for what they do, they must live and breathe their business, they must have grit and determination, and hustle and humbleness - but most of all, they must be good people who we can forge a true partnership with. This goes both ways and a guiding principle I strive to live by is that in tough times, who you really are becomes impossible to hide.

I grew up in a German-Italian family in Germany.

I was born and raised in Germany in a half immigrant family. My mother came to Germany from Southern Italy in her teenage years in the 1950s when her father immigrated in search of a better life for his family, trying to escape dire poverty. I grew up as a dreamer and once I started my hospitality management bachelor’s degree at an internationally focused business school with a curriculum based on hands-on learning rather than frontal lectures, I started to bloom. This is also where I discovered my passion for rugby, playing the position of tighthead lock in my university's team.

The early days of my career are rather unusual for a VC, having majored in hospitality management and working in hotels.

In 2013 I moved to San Francisco to pursue my master’s degree. Before doing so, I spent a year working in some of the finest hotels in Germany across housekeeping, front desk, banqueting services and corporate sales, which made me realise that a) it is a much tougher job than one may think, working very long hours on your feet, and b) that working where others vacation is not as romantic & glamorous as it may seem.

“Luca is not only hecka smart but a truly wonderful human being, a trait I’ve seen across the entire Atomico team. Niklas has built an impactful firm that is at the epicenter of driving more European Unicorns. I am proud and honored for their trust and investments.”

• Gregor Stühler (Founder & CEO of Scoutbee, which was acquired by Coupa)

Recognising your own weaknesses, and seeking help correcting them, is a vital part of being a successful founder.

Admit when you need help and do not be too proud to seek it. I have personally learned that lesson many times, often the hard way. True leadership is less about having all the answers and more about building the humility to ask the right questions and surround yourself with those who can help answer them. By embracing vulnerability as a strength, founders unlock the resilience and clarity needed to navigate the most complex challenges of building a global category winning company.

As soon as I made it to SF in 2013, I knew I wanted a career combining tech and finance.

After completing my master’s degree majoring in corporate finance, I landed a job in technology investment banking in San Francisco, advising lower mid market companies on M&A and capital raises. Subsequently, I joined a global technology private equity firm focused on special situations and spent two years in their investment team, based in San Francisco. There I was focused on sourcing and executing enterprise software investment opportunities across public and private markets as well as a variety of complex transaction types, including leveraged buyouts & take-privates, corporate carveouts & divestitures, leveraged recapitalisations, restructurings, PIPEs and structured growth equity.

Atomico brought me back home to Europe in 2018, after 5 years in San Francisco.

While I loved my time in San Francisco and learned a tremendous amount, it became undeniable that European technology is continuing to take off and Atomico brought me back home in 2018 to be part of that, after five years there. I also made the leap of faith to pursue my passion of partnering with founders at much earlier stages than what I had been trained to do, and I have not looked back since then. My job enables me to see early what the world may look like in a few years, while partnering with some of the most brilliant minds of our days, which is the most rewarding part of what I do.

“Luca and the Atomico team have shown a deep conviction in our mission through every high and low. Their belief in our vision goes beyond investment; it's a partnership that truly empowers us.”

• Wouter Durville (Co-Founder & CEO of TestGorilla)

I properly switch off while traveling.

A road trip on dirt roads without cell phone reception & sleeping in a tent randomly pitched along the way beats a tropical beach vacation for me most days of the year - although I still do love the latter, which is more compatible with my two kids, and traveling in general. My (quite lame) claim to fame is that I have driven every single road that exists in the Yukon Territory, Northern Canada.

My taste of music is most often characterised as “unique”.

I am a passionate metal fan, especially of some of the more niche and heavier subcategories, and I have a small collection of electric guitars that I have been playing for over two decades. Despite being on the calmer side of metal, I idolise Metallica, and have been trying to acquire the rhythm guitar skills of James Hetfield and lead guitar skills of Kirk Hammett, but have failed miserably on both counts so far.