The Amorelie founder has a new consulting job.
(Photo: Amorelie)
Berlin Lea-Sophie Cramer has been a big name in the German start-up industry for years and is correspondingly well connected. Now the founder of the internet erotic shop Amorelie is going to private equity investor KKR as a consultant. With her entrepreneurial expertise and her network, she is to support KKR in investment decisions.
KKR partner Philipp Freise, who is responsible for European business, says: “With her impressive track record as an entrepreneur and her status as a role model for founders across Europe, she brings a wealth of experience to our company.”
Cramer will also join the board of directors of hair products maker Wella, which KKR acquired two years ago. The 35-year-old should boost growth there. She herself describes Wella as an “iconic” brand in a LinkedIn post. However, the cosmetics business, which was founded in 1880, is considered outdated. The nail polish brand OPI and the US hair care brand Clairol also belong to Wella.
It’s not Cramer’s first consulting job. After graduating, she started as a consultant at the Boston Consulting Group, then went to the start-up company Rocket Internet, which was still omnipresent at the time, before switching to the Groupon discount portal and founding Amorelie in 2013.
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Since the lucrative sale of the sex toy mail order company to Pro Sieben Sat 1 and her exit from the start-up, Cramer has devoted herself to investments in start-ups and set up executive coaching for women. Most recently, she took a stake in the egg alternative provider Perfeggt, the virtual wealth management company Ride Capital and the pocket money app Bling.
>> Read more: Frank Thelen, Lea-Sophie Cramer, Florian Koschat and their personal secrets of success
She was also involved alongside investor Verena Pausder when the women’s team at FC Viktoria 1889 Berlin was taken over. She herself likes to pass on the following career tip: “If you really want to be successful, you have to see in which areas you are better than others.”
With her entrepreneurial expertise and her network, Cramer is to support KKR in investment decisions.
(Photo: KKR)
KKR intends to use Cramer’s appointment to increase its focus on the technology sector. The financial investor from the USA has been active in German-speaking countries for around 20 years and has been and is already involved in numerous German companies – such as the software division of Körber, the flavor manufacturer Wild, armaments supplier Hensoldt and the media company Axel Springer.
After a few years, KKR typically exits its holdings through a resale or IPO.
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