What Finance Forward does

Finance Forward (also marketed as FinanceFWD and FFWD) is a German-language digital finance media portal that operates as a joint venture between manager magazin, a publication of the Spiegel Group, and OMR (Online Marketing Rockstars). The portal covers fintech, banking, blockchain, crypto, funds, family offices, and private equity, producing a weekly Wednesday newsletter, a portfolio of seven distinct podcasts (FinanceFWD, Fund Build Operate, MONEY MONEY, Beckers Bets, Female Finance, Alles Coin Nichts Muss, and True Deals), and the annual FFWD conference co-located with the OMR Festival in Hamburg. Its editorial team publishes exclusive news, analyses, and background investigations, with recent coverage in 2025–2026 ranging from Berenberg's leadership changes to Binance's MiCA regulatory strategy and Kraken's German market entry.

The business model is advertising- and sponsorship-driven: all content is freely accessible via the website, podcast platforms (Spotify, Apple Podcasts), email, and RSS, with no paid subscription or paywall. Revenue is generated through podcast sponsorships and advertising, with disclosed named sponsors including Commerzbank (presenting MONEY MONEY), FINVIA family office (partnering on True Deals), BIT Capital (hosting Beckers Bets), and HV Capital (co-hosting Fund Build Operate). The audience is segmented horizontally into finance professionals and enthusiasts, crypto/blockchain investors, and investment/asset-management practitioners, primarily in the DACH region but with content accessible globally.

Name

Finance Forward

Legal name

Finance Forward

Website

https://financefwd.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Finance Forward is a German-language digital finance media portal, jointly operated by manager magazin (Spiegel Group) and OMR, covering fintech, banking, blockchain, and crypto for DACH-region finance professionals and enthusiasts through a newsletter, seven podcasts, and an annual Hamburg conference.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Finance Forward is a digital finance media portal that publishes editorial news, analysis, and investigative reporting on fintech, banking, blockchain, crypto, funds, family offices, and private equity. Its portfolio includes a weekly newsletter, seven specialized podcasts (FinanceFWD, Fund Build Operate, MONEY MONEY, Beckers Bets, Female Finance, Alles Coin Nichts Muss, True Deals), and annual FFWD conferences staged within the OMR Festival in Hamburg.

Product overview

Finance Forward is a digital finance media portal operated jointly by manager magazin and OMR, offering a portfolio of seven distinct podcast programs plus an annual conference. The core offerings include the main FinanceFWD news podcast (bi-weekly), specialized podcasts covering investment strategy (Beckers Bets), startup topics (Fund Build Operate), celebrity finances (MONEY MONEY), women's financial independence (Female Finance), cryptocurrency/Web3 (Alles Coin Nichts Muss), and financial investigative stories (True Deals). Content is distributed via a weekly newsletter and live events at the OMR Festival. The company covers fintechs, banks, blockchain, crypto, and private equity through exclusive reporting, analysis, interviews, and background research.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• FFWD Podcast: The main Finance Forward podcast covering fintech, blockchain, and financial topics
• Fund, Build, Operate
• MONEY MONEY
• Beckers Bets
• Female Finance
• Alles Coin, Nichts Muss
• True Deals

Products and services

• Finance Forward Weekly Newsletter Weekly fintech email newsletter delivering exclusive news, analysis, and interviews from the new financial world every Wednesday; free to subscribers and used as the lead audience-capture mechanism for the portal.
• FinanceFWD Podcast

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 300 podcast episodes published across multiple shows

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Capital: German finance and economics magazine covering investing, banking, and personal finance. Comparable as an established German-language finance media brand serving finance professionals and investors, though with broader scope beyond fintech and digital finance.
• manager magazin: Major German business magazine covering management, finance, and economics (parent JV partner of Finance Forward). Comparable as an established German-language business media brand serving finance professionals, with overlapping editorial coverage of banking and finance.
• Handelsblatt: Germany's leading business and finance newspaper with extensive fintech, banking, and crypto coverage. Comparable as a major established German-language business media outlet serving finance professionals, though operating at a much larger scale with broader scope beyond fintech.

Direct peers

• Paymentandbanking: German fintech news portal focused on payments, banking, and fintech industry developments. Directly comparable as a German-language fintech media outlet serving finance professionals with similar editorial coverage areas.
• The Block: Global crypto and blockchain news, research, and data provider covering digital finance. Comparable as a specialized crypto/blockchain media business with similar editorial focus on blockchain trends and Web3 developments, though serving a global rather than DACH audience.
• BTC-Echo: Germany's leading cryptocurrency and blockchain news platform covering Bitcoin, DeFi, and crypto markets. Directly comparable as a German-language crypto/blockchain-focused media outlet serving a similar crypto investor audience segment.
• CoinDesk: Leading global cryptocurrency and blockchain media outlet providing news, analysis, and events. Comparable as a specialized crypto media business serving investors and finance professionals with similar editorial coverage of Web3 and digital finance.
• Finanz-Szene: German fintech media outlet covering startups, banking innovation, and digital finance. Directly comparable as a niche German-language fintech media business targeting similar finance professionals and enthusiasts.

Regional players

• finews.ch: Swiss financial news platform covering banking, finance, and wealth management in German language. Comparable as a German-language financial news outlet serving finance professionals, though focused on Swiss market and Swiss banking sector rather than DACH fintech/crypto.

Others

• OMR (Online Marketing Rockstars): German digital marketing media and events company operating the OMR Festival (parent JV partner of Finance Forward). Comparable as a German digital media ecosystem player hosting large-scale industry events, though focused on digital marketing rather than fintech, and serving as Finance Forward's host event platform.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/financefwd
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/financefwd
• Instagraminstagram.com/financefwd

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Finance Forward