We are excited to welcome Christina as a Principal to the investment team at 6 Degrees Capital. She brings a rare combination of investor insight and founder experience; exactly the kind of perspective we value when partnering with early-stage companies.
Christina joins us from Lakestar, where she spent the past two years investing in companies from Seed to Series B, with a focus on AI, vertical SaaS, and Deep Tech. She is well-connected across Europe’s AI and enterprise ecosystems - actively angel investing in early-stage startups such as Dot.txt and Haize Labs, and serving as an LP in some early-stage funds.
Prior to this, Christina co-founded CoMind, a Deep Tech startup building non-invasive brain-computer interfaces. She successfully set up and scaled the business from inception to over 30 employees and secured $15 million in funding from leading investors including LocalGlobe, Octopus, and Crane. This hands-on experience as a founder gives her a unique perspective, empathy, and operational insight in her work with startups.
Christina started her career in Finance and M&A roles within the corporate sector where she spent 5 years, before transitioning into the startup ecosystem where she gained early experiences at large European venture firms including Balderton and Northzone. She also holds an ACA, a Masters in Finance from the University of Cambridge, and an undergraduate degree from LSE.
We are very excited to welcome Christina to the 6 Degrees team!
How did you get into the VC industry?
I started out in Finance. Suits, slides, spreadsheets. It was structured, respectable - the kind of path that looked impressive on paper.
But after 5 years, I got restless. I wanted to be closer to the action - around people building new things, shaping the future, and actually having an impact. Startups felt alive - chaotic, creative, forward-looking, and much more aligned to my personal values. But the problem was I didn’t know a single person in the industry.
So I did what you do when you have no connections and a lot of curiosity: I sent cold outreaches to a bunch of people on LinkedIn. Most messages were ignored, but a few weren’t, and those responses changed everything for me. I was lucky to secure an internship at Northzone which was an entry point to the industry. That’s where I got my crash course in venture: how VCs think, what matters to founders, and what makes a company worth betting on. Through this experience, I began to really establish my VC network. So when it came to starting my own company, that investor network turned out to be really useful.
Funny how some cold emails can quietly reroute your entire career path.
What did you learn from being a co-founder?
Being a founder fundamentally changed how I think as an investor. I’d had some experience in VC before starting my own company, but coming back to the investor side after building something from scratch gave me a completely different lens.
Most importantly, it gave me real empathy for founders. Starting a company is brutal. You’re told no more than yes. You’re constantly fighting uphill, against all odds - yet you keep going because something deep inside you refuses to quit. That kind of relentlessness can’t be taught - and honestly, a lot of investors underestimate just how hard the journey really is. They don’t always see the sacrifices being made behind the scenes just to keep the lights on.
It also taught me what actually matters in assessing good companies. It’s easy to get distracted by early metrics or arbitrary milestones. But what really drives success - especially in the early days - is the founding team. Their hunger, relentlessness, and ability to execute. Their ability to not only attract, but retain great talent. Their capacity to solve problems that haven’t even shown up yet. That’s what really moves the needle.
It also completely changed how I think about the value an investor can bring. Founders are the experts - it’s their company, their vision, their baby - and they know best. The most helpful investors open up their networks to make meaningful introductions and serve as a trusted sounding board. But they’re also self-aware. They don’t overestimate how much they can move the needle. They know when to lean in, and just as importantly, when to leave the founders alone and let them get on with building.
Why did you join 6 Degrees Capital?
Having worked across a range of environments, I’ve come to realise that culture is everything - being part of a genuinely fantastic team where I can show up as myself, and one that founders genuinely want to partner with. The 6DC team is extremely collaborative, thoughtful - and it immediately felt like a place where I could bring the full breadth of my experience and shape my own path as an investor.
What I appreciate most about 6DC is their mindset: curious, open-minded, and supportive of independent, contrarian thinking. They focus on backing great businesses and exceptional founders - not chasing the hype. I also love that the fund invests heavily at the Seed stage, which is where my passion lies. It’s where there’s space to form conviction early and spot the real outliers.
The fund is also at a particularly exciting inflection point - nearing a €150M close, with fresh capital to deploy and a strong appetite to back the most ambitious founders.
6DC has given me the freedom to lean into my strengths, trust my instincts, and shape my own path as an investor. It’s a powerful platform with an impressive track record - and one I’m truly proud to be part of.
What do you look for in startups?
What excites me most is backing unique unconventional founders - the ones who see the world differently. They’re relentless. They’re hustlers. They’re not afraid to go against the grain. They’re bold. They’re driven by a deep sense of purpose - sometimes shaped by hardship, sometimes fuelled by something to prove. But always with the ambition to build generational companies that shape the future.
After spending the past few years deeply immersed in AI, I remain incredibly excited by what’s unfolding in the space - whether it’s applied AI reshaping specific industries, or deeper technical breakthroughs further down the stack. I think there’s a real opportunity in niche but large underserved markets, in service-heavy industries, where AI can automate processes and improve margins. While in the deeper layers of the stack, there are opportunities for new architectures and interfaces.
I’m especially drawn to investing at the seed stage, where conviction is raw, and the upside is limitless. I love being involved when the company is still figuring things out, when nothing is certain and everything is possible.
We’re thrilled to have Christina onboard and can’t wait for you - founders, LPs and co-investors - to meet her. You can reach her at Christina.Franz@6dc.vc.