10 Things You Didn’t Know About Michael Cassau
Michael Cassau is a German Businessman and entrepreneur. He serves as the CEO of a subscription-based tech company called Grover. With an interest in knowing more about Grover and its leadership, we looked into Mr. Cassau’s personal and career history and were impressed with what we learned. Here are 10 things you didn’t know about Michael Cassau you might also find interesting.
1. Mr. Cassau is highly educated
According to his LinkedIn page, Michael attended three institutions of higher learning, some simultaneously. In 2006, he enrolled in the law program at Ruprecht-Karls-Universitat Heidelberg/The University of Heidelberg. He earned his B.Sc. and his M.Sc in the field of Economics in 2011. He studied for his JD in law from 2007 through 2012, passing the First State Examination for his JD degree. In 2008 he attended the Copenhagen Business School studying finance.
2. Cassau began his career in private equity
Mr. Cassau listed his first employment experience in the private equity sector. In April of 2012, he went to work for the prestigious and notorious Goldman Sachs private equity firm at the London, England branch. He remained with the firm for 2 years and 5 months, leaving in August of 2014.
3. Michael left Goldman Sachs to work for Rocket Internet
In a big career industry switch, Cassau took a job with Rocket Internet, which is in the technology industry. This was a big change of environment for him. He joined the international company with offices in Singapore, Chicago, Toronto, Sydney, Paris, and Berlin in August of 2014. He only stayed with the firm for 7 months, leaving in February of 2015. Mr. Cassau left his post to strike out in a new business venture to try out his entrepreneurial skills.
4. Michael Cassau is the founder of Grover
Cassau is not only the CEO of Grover, but he is also its founder. He launched the new tech startup in April of 2015. The company is headquartered in Berlin, Germany. Mr. Cassau has been at the helm as chief executive officer for 6 years and 1 month.
5. He is a visionary entrepreneur
According to Alejandro Cremades, Michael is a dreamer and a visionary who knows how to put concepts into motion to create distinct and useful realities. He saw a need and developed an exceptional solution through Grover. The tech company focuses on delivering access to consumer electronics by offering a tech subscription model for those who prefer to rent versus purchase. This allows them to try out consumer electronics without the requirement for a full purchase.
6. He has successfully courted large investors
It isn’t easy to start a new tech company when you’re on your own. Cassau learned this the hard way, but he is persuasive and dedicated to making his venture a success. He took the initiative to raise funds to establish his new business venture and went out and asked for venture capital backing. In today’s competitive society, more startups are rejected than accepted among the larger investment firms. So far, Grover has raised more than $300 million from a variety of top-tier investment companies.
7. He’s backed by a long list of top firms
Michael’s Grover company impressed venture capital investors to the point of convincing them to invest seed funding and beyond. There is a long list of large companies that helped him to raise the necessary funding to get Grover on its feet. Global Founders Capital, Seedcamp, Samsung Next Corporation, Chromo Invest, Enjoyventure Management, Augmentum Fintech, Commerzbank, June Fund, K-Invest, Circularity Capital, Hannover Innovation Fund, Verengold Bank, and many more jumped on the bandwagon to help him become established. Many other investors believed in his ability to lead the company into success and profitability.
8. He is a business model theorist
Michael Cassau’s time in college was an excellent investment of his time and resources. He emerged as a thinker who uses the circular economy business model as the philosophy embraced by Grover. The overarching goals of Grover and Cassau are to provide consumers with more affordable access to tech goods that are as affordable as possible. Rentals seemed a viable option that allows consumers to pay a monthly fee for the use of technology. He shared that he learned about the mechanics of the financial system during his time at Goldman Sachs. This led him to see that ownership of tech is not a necessity. Rental offers a better way to use something as long as it’s needed but it doesn’t bind you to the expense of ownership and when you no longer need the technology, you simply end the rental agreement. You’re not stuck with something you’ll never use again.
9. He also founded Rocket Internet
We also discovered that Cassau is the founder of another company that he established just before moving on to Grover. He is a co-founder at Rocket Internet. While he was at the company physically, he fulfilled multiple roles. He also served as the managing director and the head of rollout and operations at the firm. This new and revealing information suggests he is a humble person. On his LinkedIn page, he does acknowledge working at Rocket Internet, but he does not list his title, nor did he mention the fact that he is one of the co-founders.
10. He is also a guest speaker
According to Crunchbase, Michael Cassau is also an expert and guest speaker who is in demand at tech industry events. He served as a guest speaker at the CeBIT 2017 conference that was held in Hanover, Niedersachsen, Germany on March 20, 2017. This was followed by another speaking engagement at the Tech Open Air 2017 conference in Berlin, Germany on July 11, 2017. Michael was also a guest speaker at NOAH Berlin 2019, held in Berlin on June 13, 2019. Professionals in the tech industry are interested in hearing what he has to say because of his solid reputation as a successful entrepreneur in the industry.