Interview With Willi Mannheims - Managing Partner at eCAPITAL Entrepreneurial Partners

Shauli Zacks
Published on: January 13, 2025 Content Editor

Willi Mannheims brings decades of entrepreneurial and venture capital expertise to his role as Managing Partner at eCAPITAL Entrepreneurial Partners. With a distinguished background that includes founding and leading multiple cybersecurity companies, as well as guiding startups to success through strategic investments, Mannheims has been instrumental in shaping Europe’s cybersecurity ecosystem. Under his leadership, eCAPITAL has launched Germany’s first dedicated Cybersecurity VC fund and established a pan-European investment approach that fosters innovation across deep-tech verticals.

In this SafetyDetectives interview, Mannheims shares insights into his journey, eCAPITAL’s unique value proposition, and the critical trends shaping the future of cybersecurity. He also discusses the challenges facing startups in the sector and how eCAPITAL’s expertise helps them scale globally in an increasingly complex threat landscape.

Can you share a bit about your role at eCAPITAL and your journey in venture capital?

I serve as a Managing Partner at eCAPITAL Entrepreneurial Partners, where I focus on investments and our portfolio in cybersecurity and other deep-tech verticals. My journey in venture capital began after many years of entrepreneurial experience in the data security industry — most notably as CEO of secunet Security Networks AG, which I led to a successful IPO in 1999. Over the years, I’ve founded and co-founded several cybersecurity companies (including ESCRYPT, Xignsys and Physec), served on multiple boards (e.g., VMRay, RIPS Technologies, Sweepatic), and been an active angel investor in the sector, before joining eCAPITAL in 2016.

This entrepreneurial background gave me hands-on insights into the unique demands and challenges of cybersecurity ventures. At eCAPITAL, I leverage that experience to identify promising startups, help them navigate complex markets, and provide both strategic guidance and financial support. Beyond eCAPITAL, I am also active in various advisory and working groups (e.g., the ECSO – European Cyber Security Organisation’s VC funding working group) to advance Europe’s cybersecurity ecosystem.

eCAPITAL has a reputation for fostering innovation in emerging industries. What sets eCAPITAL apart in the competitive venture capital landscape?

There are three main differentiators:

1. Pan-European Investment Focus
   Although we’re based in Germany and have strong roots in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), our investment activities extend across Europe. We are deeply connected to numerous European cybersecurity hubs and actively invest in startups from various countries — ensuring we capture the best deep-tech innovations regardless of location.
2. Deep Cybersecurity Expertise & Networks
   Cybersecurity solutions don’t always fall into the typical categories of 1. “making customers more money” (i.e., clear ROI growth) or 2. “saving costs.” Instead, they often address emerging threat scenarios that can be difficult to quantify and sell. This challenge can complicate marketing and go-to-market strategies for founders. At eCAPITAL, we have firsthand experience in scaling cybersecurity ventures (including my own background bringing secunet to IPO) and have launched Germany’s first dedicated Cybersecurity VC fund. Our team’s operational and domain expertise helps founders navigate these complexities on a global scale, ensuring they effectively position and differentiate their solutions even when the direct financial ROI may not be immediately obvious.
3. Active Support & Strong Syndication for Follow-On Rounds
   eCAPITAL doesn’t merely invest; we work hands-on with our portfolio companies, leveraging our extensive European and global relationships. Thanks to our strong ties with other top cybersecurity investors, we can attract substantial follow-on funding, which helps startups accelerate growth and compete on the international stage.

Another key differentiator is our broader team: in addition to my own cybersecurity background, eCAPITAL benefits from the decades-long experience of colleagues like Hannes Schill, Steffen Reinecke, and Dirk Seewald, among others. Each brings deep expertise in venture investing, entrepreneurship, and scaling technology companies across Europe. Whether it’s guiding portfolio founders through complex financing rounds, providing hands-on operational support, or drawing on their networks in corporate innovation, our team collectively ensures that startups receive 360° support at every stage of their growth.

Cybersecurity is one of eCAPITAL’s focus areas. How do you identify promising startups in this space, and what trends are you seeing in the industry?

We scout innovation throughout Europe by maintaining close ties to leading universities, research clusters, accelerators, and cybersecurity communities — including those in NRW, France, the UK, Benelux, and beyond. Our evaluation typically hinges on:

• Founding Team Excellence: Does the team combine and complement deep technical expertise with business and financial expertise?
• Technological Differentiation: Is there a novel or significantly more efficient approach to tackling a pressing cyber threat? Can the USP be defended technologically in the medium and long term?
• Early Market Validation: Pilot customers, reference projects, or partnerships that prove real-world demand. Scalability of the product offering and go-to market.

Key industry trends we are currently following include:

• Confidential Computing
  Protecting data in use by leveraging secure enclaves or hardware-based security, ensuring that even privileged system administrators cannot access sensitive data.
  We have monitored this sector for several years, and have just recently made our newest investment into Apheris AI, a federated computing company that enables secure and privacy compliant use of AI on sensitive data, including pharmaceuticals and healthcare data.
• Post-Quantum Security
  Preparing cryptographic methods for the age of quantum computing to prevent “store now, decrypt later” attacks that could render current encryption obsolete.
• Next-Generation Security Operations Centers (SoCs)
  Evolving from traditional SOC approaches (monitoring, detection) to automated or AI-driven incident response and real-time threat intelligence.
• Data Authenticity
  Ensuring the integrity and trustworthiness of data throughout its lifecycle—especially critical in heavily regulated industries like finance, healthcare, and critical infrastructure.
• Vulnerability Prioritization
  Moving beyond simply discovering vulnerabilities to prioritizing and remediating them based on real risk potential (e.g., using AI/ML analytics and threat intelligence).
• Cybersecurity for Critical Infrastructure
  Heightened focus on securing energy, water, transportation, and healthcare systems (often referred to as OT or Operational Technology Security).
• Zero Trust Architecture
  Shifting the security model to “trust no one, always verify,” regardless of where users or devices connect from.
• Extended Detection and Response (XDR)
  Integrating threat detection and response across endpoints, networks, and the cloud to gain a unified view of attacks and minimize dwell time.

We continue to monitor the regulatory-driven demand spurred by EU initiatives (NIS2, Cyber Resilience Act, CSOA), which creates both challenges and opportunities for emerging cybersecurity startups as well.

In addition to industry trends, we naturally also focus on politically motivated trends, which are increasingly on the rise. For instance, at the end of 2024, cyberattacks by state-sponsored criminals from China against the USA intensified. The goal of the espionage attack was to intercept text messages and phone calls of U.S. officials. After the U.S. Department of the Treasury was also hacked, the USA is now imposing sanctions.

For cybersecurity startups looking for investment, what key attributes or milestones do you typically look for?

1. Clear Product-Market Fit
   We want to see that the startup addresses a genuine pain point in the market. Having a proof-of-concept or early pilots is highly beneficial.
2. Strong Team
   A founding team that combines specialized security research, product development know-how, and entrepreneurial spirit.
3. Initial Traction
   Reference customers or early-stage deployments, particularly in demanding sectors like finance, healthcare, or critical infrastructure.
4. Scalability & Global Potential
   Cyber threats are worldwide, so we look for solutions that can expand across European and global markets. Our broad syndication network supports growth beyond the local ecosystem.

What are the biggest challenges cybersecurity companies face today, and how does eCAPITAL help portfolio companies overcome them?

• Talent Shortage
  Finding top cybersecurity professionals is challenging. We leverage our extensive network across leading universities and research institutes in Europe (including the HGI in Bochum, but also hubs in other European countries) to help founders recruit and retain top talent.
• Complex Go-to-Market Strategies
  Navigating multi-national sales in highly regulated industries (like finance or government) can be cumbersome. We use our pan-European reach to connect startups with potential customers, pilot programs, and strategic partners outside their home market.
• Securing Follow-On Funding
  Scaling globally requires significant capital. eCAPITAL actively co-invests and collaborates with a broad set of European and international cybersecurity investors to provide larger follow-on rounds, ensuring startups have the financial runway to achieve international growth.

How do you see cybersecurity evolving in the next 5-10 years, and what role do you envision venture capital playing in that evolution?

Cybersecurity will continue its rapid expansion, driven by digitalization, AI, and the proliferation of connected devices. In the decade ahead, we anticipate:

• Accelerated Cross-Border Collaboration
  Europe’s cybersecurity sector is growing more interconnected, enabling collaborative R&D, streamlined regulations, and cross-border market opportunities.
• Emerging Tech & Regulatory Momentum
  Post-quantum cryptography, secure AI, and zero-trust architectures will become more mainstream, and new EU directives (NIS2, CRA, CSOA) will set demanding standards that foster strong market pull for innovative solutions.
• VC as a Catalyst for Global Scale
  Venture capital will remain vital in identifying breakthrough technologies early and helping them scale internationally. Our pan-European network ensures that the brightest cybersecurity ideas, wherever they emerge, gain the resources and reach needed to protect enterprises and citizens on a global stage.

Alarmingly, while cybercrime damages are expected to reach USD 9.5 trillion globally by 2024, European venture investments in cybersecurity actually dropped from €1.3 billion in 2023 to €1 billion in 2024 (European Cybersecurity Investment Report, 2024). Recognizing this gap, eCAPITAL is actively supporting the European Cybersecurity Investment Platform (ECIP), a €1–2 billion initiative backed by ECSO and other key players across 18 countries. This coordinated effort aims to close Europe’s €1.75 billion annual funding shortfall in cybersecurity—ensuring that our region’s vast research potential and innovative startups can scale effectively on a global stage.