Moonfare
Moonfare is a Berlin-based private equity platform that gives individual investors and family offices access to institutional-grade funds from firms like KKR and Carlyle. It has raised $175M, most recently a Series C in 2023, and employs 207 people.
The growth story
Moonfare grew from 131 to 207 employees between 2021 and 2026, raising $175M along the way, most recently a Series C in February 2023.
About
Moonfare operates an investment platform that pools individual and family office capital to invest in private equity funds and deals, with lower minimums than traditional institutional channels. It sources opportunities globally, including proprietary funds not available elsewhere.
The company has scaled to 207 employees since its 2016 founding, backed by investors including Insight Partners and Vitruvian. Its Series C in early 2023 suggests continued expansion despite broader private market headwinds.
Founders and leadership
Engineering is the largest function with 22 employees, reflecting the platform's tech-driven approach to private markets access. Leadership likely blends finance and tech backgrounds given the hybrid nature of the business.
The Moonfare org chart
Steffen Pauls (Founder, CEO and Chairman) leads 59 mapped leaders with 7 direct reports. Click +N to expand a team; names link to the person’s public profile.
Departments, and which ones grew
Headcount by function: Finance 31 (-11% YoY), Engineering 27 (-32% YoY), Operations 23 (-8% YoY), Business Development 20 (-29% YoY), Legal 16 (+7% YoY), Information Technology 15 (-6% YoY).
Talent flow
Moonfare recruits heavily from traditional finance, with EY, J.P. Morgan and Deutsche Bank as top talent sources. Alumni frequently move to European tech firms like Zalando and Delivery Hero, with some founding startups.
Most common previous employers of Moonfare staff: EY (4), J.P. Morgan (4), Deutsche Bank (4), McKinsey & Company (3), Societe Generale (3), HSBC (3). Former Moonfare employees most often moved to Zalando (4), Delivery Hero (4), Trade Republic (3), Smarter Cover (2), ahc (2), HSBC (2).
Alumni worth knowing
The Moonfare mafia
Moonfare alumni have founded 21 companies, including Juicebox (117 employees) and OpenSource (92 employees), showing entrepreneurial spillover from its finance-tech hybrid culture.
21David Paffenholz, was Founders Associate until 2021Harry Ramsden, was Technology Recruitment Lead (Via Dragonfly People) until 2023Aurelius Zwick, was Summer Analyst until 2020Leopold von Schultzendorff, was Product Manager until 2021Max Boehnke, was Head of Implementation until 2022Pablo Santamaria Perez, was Strategy & Business Development intern until 2019
Mohamed Refai, was Intern until 2019
Silas Hundhausen, was FP&A Analyst | Private Equity / Fintech until 2023
Ludolf von Schöning, was Entrepreneur in Residence [Internship] until 2017
Karim Boussetta, was Regional Head - France & BeNeLux until 2025
Joe A., was UK Business Development Director until 2020
Tony Cotzias, was Investment Manager until 2021
Dejan Eremic, was Lead Product Manager - Growth until 2021
Adrian Frenzel, was Co-Founder / CEO until 2018
Victoria Sienczewski, was Head Of Strategic Initiatives until 2025
Nicolas Kubista, was Growth and Engagement Manager until 2020
Gerardo Bonilla, was Head of Product until 2022
Hürkan Gökkaya, was Senior Webflow Developer until 2024
Ravi Ayyala, was Head of Product until 2020
Sebastian Davidson, was Senior Advisor until 2019
Max Glasmacher, was Product Intern until 2021Hiring now
Web traffic
Traffic mix: 71% direct, 17% search, 5% social, 1% paid.
What this company is made of
Most common skills at Moonfare: Microsoft Office (63), Microsoft Excel (60), Project Management (50), Communication (48), Teamwork (46), Leadership (44), Management (43), SQL (41).
Where the team actually sits
Moonfare people are concentrated in Berlin, Germany (74), Berlin Metropolitan Area (17), Germany (14), England, United Kingdom (8). 5 offices on record.
Search footprint
Moonfare attracts about 23,990 organic search visits a month, traffic worth roughly $137K a month if bought through ads. It gained 2,835 ranking keywords and lost 2,809 in the last period.
What employees say
- Compensation
- 3.60 / 5
- Career opportunities
- 3.70 / 5
- Senior management
- 3.50 / 5
- Work-life balance
- 3.50 / 5
Frequently asked
Moonfare has 207 employees as of September 2026.
Moonfare has raised $175M in total, most recently a Series C round in February 2023.
Moonfare was founded in 2016 by Steffen Pauls, Heinrich Liechtenstein, Alexander Argyros.
Steffen Pauls (Founder, CEO and Chairman) sits at the top of Moonfare's reporting structure, with 7 direct reports.
The most common previous employers of current Moonfare staff are EY (4 people), J.P. Morgan (4 people), Deutsche Bank (4 people).
Former Moonfare employees most often move to Zalando (4), Delivery Hero (4), Trade Republic (3).
At least 21 companies have a founder who previously worked at Moonfare, including Juicebox, OpenSource, Aurora.
Moonfare attracts about 23,990 organic search visits a month, worth roughly $137K a month in equivalent ad spend.
The most common skills among Moonfare staff are Microsoft Office, Microsoft Excel, Project Management, Communication, Teamwork.
Moonfare staff are concentrated in Berlin, Germany (74), Berlin Metropolitan Area (17), Germany (14).
Moonfare has about 31 people in Finance, down 11% over the past year, as of September 2026.
Moonfare has about 27 people in Engineering, down 32% over the past year, as of September 2026.
Computed from 155 current and 264 former Moonfare profiles, as of September 2026. Source: Crustdata.
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