Frank Thelen is a businessman based in Bonn, Germany. He was a co-founder of companies such as Softer Solutions and doo. As of 2014, he is the CEO of venture capital firm e42, now Freigeist Capital, which has invested in startups such as Wunderlist, MyTaxi, KaufDa, pitch or Pumperlgsund.
Thelen consults for the Microsoft Ventures accelerator in Berlin, and in 2014 he joined the German version of the TV show “Dragons' Den”, called "Die Höhle der Löwen" (Lions' Den), a reality show that invests in startups. He also supports startups in German politics and is a regular guest in German talk shows like 'Hart aber fair'.
In 2018 his autobiography "Frank Thelen - Die Autobiografie: Startup-DNA - Hinfallen, aufstehen, die Welt verändern" was published and has been a bestseller for several weeks.