Crealize

What Crealize does

Crealize is a privately held venture studio and company builder headquartered in Essen, Germany (Crealize GmbH, registered Amtsgericht Essen HRB 26246), founded in 2015 and led by three managing directors: founder and CEO Jacob Fatih, David Ewald, and Sebastian Nisch. The firm is organized around three pillars — Company Creator (building/co-founding new companies and joining promising startups as a strategic shareholder), People Developer (personalized founder learning journeys and entrepreneurial skill development), and Bridge Builder (funding across investment series and supporting founders' standard of living) — operationalized through a four-stage methodology called "the Crealize Way": Sensing, Creating, Realizing, and Growing.

Crealize's core offering is a service-based, equity-driven company-building engagement rather than a technology product: there is no proprietary software platform, no API/SDK, no patents, and no AI/ML capability disclosed. Revenue is generated primarily through equity stakes in portfolio companies supplemented by founder living-standard support; there is no public pricing, no subscription product, and no disclosed ARR. The firm operates as a small core team (1-10 employees) and recruits co-founders, accepts startup pitches, and hires talent directly through its website.

Crealize's go-to-market is community-led and regionally focused on the Ruhrgebiet, with brand-building executed through founder-led podcast appearances (OMR Podcast 2022, Rheinland Valley Podcast 2023), Handelsblatt press, the 2021 "Kopf des Jahres" award from Marketing Club Ruhr, and an organic social presence on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Pinterest. The disclosed strategic agenda includes new ventures outside the venture-studio core (a "WeWork for Handwerker" co-working concept, a novel spa concept, and a global fitness brand), plus a 2019 acquisition of KICKZ AG as the only completed portfolio M&A event in the data set.

Name

Crealize

Legal name

Crealize

Website

https://crealize.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Crealize is a privately held venture studio and company builder based in Essen, Germany, founded in 2015. It co-founds and takes equity stakes in startups, recruits entrepreneurs, and supports founders through a four-stage "Crealize Way" methodology focused on the Ruhrgebiet region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Essen

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Equity Investment & Portfolio Returns: Crealize realizes their own ideas or joins promising startups as strategic shareholders, committed like co-founders with the aim to build lasting businesses. They fund different investment series and create ways for starting founders to back up their standard of living. Revenue is generated through equity stakes in portfolio companies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Crealize is a venture studio and company builder that creates new businesses internally or joins promising startups as a strategic shareholder committed like a co-founder. It provides bundled support including funding across multiple investment series, office space, close mentoring, founder development plans, team-building support, and access to its professional network. It also provides financial "bridges" so starting founders can back up their standard of living during the startup phase.

Product overview

Crealize is a venture studio company builder that operates through three core pillars: Company Creator (building and co-founding new companies), People Developer (supporting founder growth and skill development), and Bridge Builder (providing funding and financial support). Their methodology follows four phases: Sensing (identifying ideas and passion), Creating (developing personalized growth plans for founders and businesses), Realizing (providing expert team support to build organizations), and Growing (supporting business expansion and international growth). Crealize does not offer a single unified software product but rather provides company-building services including funding, office space, mentoring, team support, and network access to entrepreneurs. They recruit co-founders for their own ventures, accept pitches from existing startups seeking strategic partnership, and hire talent for their portfolio companies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Company Creator (Co-Founding & Strategic Shareholding)

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• WeWork for Handwerker (Craftsmen)minorOthersJacob Fatih is working on a 'WeWork for Handwerker' (co-working space for craftsmen/tradespeople) concept as one of his current projects, representing Crealize's involvement in new venture creation in the real estate/services sector.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/crealizeofficial
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/crealize-gmbh
• Instagraminstagram.com/crealize_official
• Pinterestpinterest.de/crealize_official/_created
• Xx.com/crealize_com

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments3 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Crealize