Verena Pausder

Verena Pausder is an entrepreneur and one of the best-known faces in the German start-up scene. Since December 2023, she has been Chairwoman of the German Startup Association. She stands for entrepreneurial passion, economic and socio-political responsibility, and a strong commitment to strengthening Germany as a future-ready business hub. She has been active in the startup ecosystem for over thirteen years and, together with a nine-member board of experienced entrepreneurs, works to attract international talent, foster diversity, unlock more late-stage capital, improve research transfer, promote deep tech startups and advance entrepreneurship in Germany. For many years, she has been a leading advocate for digital education. In 2017, she founded Digitale Bildung für Alle e.V. to promote equal access to digital education and to drive structural change in Germany’s education system. In July 2022, she and five co-founders took over the women’s football team of FC Viktoria Berlin with the goal of leading the club from the regional league to the 1st Bundesliga within five years and creating lasting progress in women’s football. In her podcast “FAST & CURIOUS,” she discusses trends and developments in the startup world with co-host Lea-Sophie Cramer; the show ranks among Germany’s leading business podcasts and reaches more than 30,000 listeners each week. Born in Hamburg in 1979, she lives in Berlin with her husband and children.