Meet the 3VC Team: Introducing Roman Scharf
Roman has co-founded 3VC together with Peter Lasinger in 2017. His industry focus includes telecommunications, IT services, marketplaces.
Roman works closely with our companies on their product development, product marketing, branding & strategy, business relations, business development.
Why 3VC?
We have started 3VC to drive the European start-up ecosystem forward. After 25 years as an entrepreneur, founding 5 companies and moving 12 times I decided that I can have more impact by sharing my learnings. All founders make mistakes and so did I. But I also found ways to make things work, I found shortcuts, I found valuable networks and I found strong allies.
Partnering with some of the best teams in Europe on ideas that aim to make the world a better place is a true privilege and contributing to their success by proactively supporting them as a reliable, trusted partner along the way – all the way – seems like a culmination of past experiences.
What’s the journey that led you to where you are today?
I have been a founder in Europe and a founder in the US. 10 years in Silicon Valley felt like a dream come true for someone who started as a 16-year-old guy writing code in Salzburg, Austria. The differences between Europe and the US from a founder's perspective are relevant and irrelevant at the same time. Things work differently here and there – one has to acknowledge that, learn fast and build strong teams in the respective context. Success factors remain the same – character trades, values, persistence, passion, optimism and a high level of resilience in the face of difficulties.
What drives you? What’s your outlook?
Entrepreneurs choose the struggle and only through struggle they can build great companies. Investors who have been going through the struggle can relate better. European founders deserve courageous investors with a more hands-on approach and the ability as well as the intention to stand by them, to listen, to motivate, and to help out. We don’t know all the answers, but we know the people who do. We want founders to feel they are not alone. We are here and through our team, our partners, and our allies we have many ways to make a difference.
Follow Roman on LinkedIn and X.
About Roman
Roman is a serial entrepreneur and business angel. He is the founder and CEO of Talenthouse Inc., a leading global marketplace connecting brands & creatives currently valued at USD 100 million and having raised USD 30 million so far. Before he was co-founder, executive director and president of Jajah Inc. a Voice-over-IP company that raised USD 32 million from investors like Sequoia, Intel Ventures and Deutsche Telekom and was sold to Telefonica for USD 207.6 million.
Roman holds a MSc in business administration from the Vienna University of Business and Economics.
