Amsterdam-based Rockstart, an early-stage accelerator-VC, on Thursday, November 2, announced the appointment of Anne Mette Frejsel as COO.
With over ten years of experience in strategy, sales, and operations, Anne Mette will collaborate with Rockstart’s CEO and co-founder, Rune Theill, and the rest of the team.
Rune Theill, CEO and Co-founder, Rockstart says, “We have entered a new age of VC investments and startup acceleration, and Anne Mette’s appointment is a pivotal step in our efforts to professionalise and better support purpose-driven founders on their journey to drive positive change, both environmental and societal.”
“We are at an inflection point, and I firmly believe that many of the world’s most impactful companies will be built out of Europe throughout the next decades. In the context of getting more startups off the ground, Rockstart plays a crucial role as we continue to support early-stage founders, and Anne Mette brings a unique skill set ranging from high-level strategy to hands-on operations, which will allow us to scale our impact even further,” adds Theill.
Anne Mette joins Rockstart after a one-year sabbatical, and she was most recently Senior Director of Commercial Strategy and Communication at TDC NET.
Before this, she held several senior positions at NKT, Maersk Group Strategy, and Maersk Growth in Denmark.
Additionally, Anne Mette’s background encompasses her work as a scientist with the European Space Agency during her Ph.D. research in Astrophysics at the Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, and Stanford.
Anne Mette’s role
Anne Mette Frejsel will focus on advancing the accelerator and professionalising the organisation to support early-stage startups better.
Anne’s appointment is aligned with Rockstart’s commitment to scaling early-stage startups in AgriFood, Energy, and Emerging Technologies through its funds and accelerator programs, providing access to capital, market, expertise, and community.
The team has expanded in the last year, growing with the launch of the Rockstart Emerging Tech fund and accelerator.
Anne Mette Frejsel states, “Rockstart’s mission and purpose resonates deeply with me, and I am excited to have the opportunity to work alongside Rune and the talented team to drive the next stage of growth. Rockstart has a portfolio of highly skilled and driven founders. A key objective for me in my role as COO is to drive value for both current and future cohorts of purpose-driven entrepreneurs. I look forward to leveraging best practices from my experience in larger organisations alongside an entrepreneurial approach to make an impact through our accelerator and operations.“
Rockstart: Empowering purpose-driven founders
Rockstart is an early-stage investor that empowers purpose-driven founders across three domains: Energy, AgriFood, and Emerging Technologies.
Rockstart invests in early-stage startups and provides access to capital, market, and expertise by connecting founders with co-investors, mentors, partners, corporates, and the wider network.
To date, the VC and accelerator has invested in more than 320 startups, and its value is more than $1.3B.
Rockstart is an international team of 45+ professionals dedicated to empowering purpose-driven founders to become scalable and drive positive change on a global scale.
The company has notable exits such as Wercker, Bouw7, iClinic, and in 2021, 3D Hubs, Brincr, and Dan.com.
The company has offices in Amsterdam, Copenhagen, and Bogota, Colombia.
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