This year, the „Golden Aurora“, the prize for the best female Business Angel in Europe wins the Angel Investor Lin Gong-Deutschmann. Next to her four other outstanding female investors were nominated: Conny Hörl und Katja Ruhnke as a team, Kiana Mardi, Gao Mengting and Sylvia Tantzen.
The prize was awarded for the sixth time this year by Business Angels Netzwerk Deutschland (BAND), the association of Business Angels and their ecosystem in Germany as well as Business Angels Europe (BAE), the European association of national Business Angel clubs. “Mrs Gong-Deutschmann is an extraordinary business angel ambassador due to her steady engagement to motivate other female investors to take the next step. We are really honoured to award this prestigious prize to Lin Gong-Deutschmann and are anxious about her further journey as “Europe’s Female Angel Investor of the year 2022”, says Ute Günther, board of BAND.
Lin Gong-Deutschmann is currently active Angel Investor at On Deck, California and co-founder/partner at L&H Holding GmbH, Bonn (Germany). Furthermore, she is co-founder of AI Academy, Sri Lanka and board member at Dugga Digital Assessment, an award winning Swedish EdTech company offering digital knowledge assessment solution in over 100 countries.
Lin Gong-Deutschmann holds a diploma in Business Administration from Technical University of Munich and attended a Management Executive Program for Artificial Intelligence at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). After working for Oliver Wyman as Engagement manager/senior project manager in manufacturing, transportation, and energy practice with focus on business innovation (e-mobility, connected cars) and M&A in a global leading strategy consultancy, she co-founded L&R Holding GmbH, an angel investment and advisory firm for start-ups with the will and skill to take on the world.
In total, eight proposals from all over Europe (Portugal, Sweden, Netherlands, Germany) were received to nominate Lin Gong-Deutschmann as “Europe’s Female Business Angel of the Year 2022”. She is described as a person with broad knowledge and great passion about founding companies. Especially in EdTech she shows high expertise – always with a supporting and very empathetic kind of character. “Lin is not only a person with incredible knowledge about running a start-up but also has a heart that shows her passion for supporting start-ups, the ecosystem and its stakeholders.”
Business Angels Netzwerk Deutschland e.V. (BAND) is committed to building up the business angels’ culture in Germany, organizing the exchange of experience and promoting cooperation. As the umbrella organization of the German informal venture capital market, BAND is the spokesperson of the German Business Angels and Business Angels networks towards politicians and the public. Patron is the Federal Ministry of economics and energy in Germany.
Business Angels Europe (BAE) is the European Confederation of Angel Investing, representing the European Business Angels' Federations and Trade associations in Europe. BAE brings together the most active and developed countries operating in the angel market in Europe.