{"id":350590,"date":"2025-12-19T02:32:59","date_gmt":"2025-12-19T02:32:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/angel-investor\/german-startup-changemakers-will-fischer\/"},"modified":"2025-12-19T02:32:59","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T02:32:59","slug":"german-startup-changemakers-will-fischer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=350590","title":{"rendered":"German Startup Changemakers: Will Fischer"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Will Fischer, the Managing Partner at <\/span>Voxdale<\/span><\/a>, is passionate about solving the world\u2019s hardest problems in unique ways. He\u2019s worked in the fields of aerospace, nanotechnology, semiconductor equipment, robotics, mechatronics, consumer products, and smart furniture. He spent years working at startups and founding two of his own. Find out what is it about entrepreneurship that particularly attracts him and what advice for founders he shared with us.
\"Dark-haired
<\/span>1. Hi Will, thank you for agreeing to do the interview. Could you tell us a bit about your background and how you entered the startup world?<\/b><\/p>\n

Believe it or not, I\u2019m a 5th generation entrepreneur! Fischers have been starting companies since the early 1900s; first in Europe, then America, now back to Europe again.\u00a0 I got my start right after engineering school, going to work for my sister\u2019s medical device startup, based on nanotechnology research from the University of California, San Francisco.\u00a0 I was in the Bay Area working for that company, Nano Precision Medical, until I went to business school at Chicago Booth in 2017.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

I started my first company, D20 Robotics, while a student at Booth.\u00a0 We based the company on technology that friends and I had built for fun: a robot that uses facial detection to fire a shot of alcohol into your mouth from up to 3m away.\u00a0 It was fantastic to be in business school while starting a business because many of my friends were happy to help with marketing, strategy, sales, and financials.\u00a0 With their help, my classes, and a lot of trial and error, I learned how to start a startup. Even though that company didn\u2019t work out, it gave me the foundation to move to Berlin to start my second company, Rinckl. Our product, the Halo Bed, transformed a canopy bed into a sit\/stand desk or free space \u2013 perfect for a small flat like mine.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. You\u2019re the Managing Partner at Voxdale<\/a>, a design, engineering and research agency for mechanical and mechatronic applications in the automotive, medical and industrial sectors. Tell us about your role.<\/b><\/p>\n

My role at Voxdale combines a lot of my previous experience in several regards. I\u2019m back to my roots, so to speak, with engineering and research. I\u2019ve already been able to work on a couple of really neat engineering projects. I\u2019m also using my generalist mentality to help with business development, sales, and team growth. I\u2019ve been really impressed with the calibre and integrity of the Voxdale team, both in Berlin and in their headquarters in Belgium.\u00a0 It\u2019s simultaneously humbling and flattering to get to work with them all.<\/span><\/p>\n

Voxdale does incredible work building brand new technologies from any stage- even just an idea \u2013 to functional, usable technology. We have really smart and engaged people with skills in mechanical engineering, electronics, mechatronics, IoT, cloud and firmware development, and embedded systems. So we have the whole stack to build every kind of smart device you can think of. A huge perk is that the Belgium office has a giant workshop with the latest prototyping technologies.\u00a0 We have fun in it, but also really embrace quick prototyping.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. As you mentioned, you founded two companies: Rinckl, a smart furniture technology company & d20 Robotics<\/a>, a technology company that combines robotics with alcohol to create novel experiences in the alcoholic beverage marketing and advertising space. Could you share the top 3 lessons for founders you learned through these experiences?<\/b><\/p>\n