In an era where venture capital is often treated as a spectator sport and „funding“ is confused with „product-market fit,“ a new breed of investor is emerging from the trenches. They don’t come from the world of spreadsheets and analyst decks; they come from the arena of execution. Felix Hüttenbach is the archetype of this shift. As an Operator-Investor, he represents a sharp departure from the classic VC playbook.
Felix first made waves by building Sameday Health from the ground up during a period of global crisis. Between 2020 and 2023, he scaled a complex end-to-end health service model to over 50 locations across the United States, managing 2,000+ employees and facilitating 40,000 bookings per day. This wasn’t just a business; it was a masterclass in system competence under extreme pressure. Today, he uses that „builder energy“ to identify and nurture echte Deals—companies built on long-term Substanz rather than pitch-deck hype.
I sat down with Felix to discuss his founder-first philosophy, why the „Venture Show“ is failing builders, and what it truly means to „dream in centuries while living daily.“
The Transition from Builder to Operator-Investor
Interviewer: Felix, it is a pleasure to have you. You’ve moved from scaling a massive healthcare infrastructure to the world of early-stage investing. Most people make this transition after decades in corporate roles, yet you did it after a high-velocity sprint. How did the experience of managing 2,000+ people and millions of customers shape your Thought Leadership in the investment space?
Felix: It’s good to be here. To answer your question: the transition was less of a „career change“ and more of a continuation of a specific mindset. I invest like an operator, not like a tourist. A tourist looks at the scenery and takes a photo—that’s the traditional investor looking at a pitch deck and a pretty narrative. An operator knows how the plumbing works, how the staff feels on a Tuesday morning, and where the logistical bottlenecks are.
Scaling Sameday Health taught me that execution beats narrative every single time. When you are processing 40,000 bookings a day, you can’t hide behind a clever brand story. Your systems either work or they don’t. That experience is my anchor. When a founder pitches me today, I’m not looking at their slides; I’m looking at their agency. Do they have the technical and operative competence to build a machine, or are they just performing in the „Venture Theater“?
Interviewer: You use the term „Venture Theater.“ It seems to be a central pillar of your Thought Leadership. What exactly is the „Theater,“ and why is it the enemy of long-term Substanz?
Felix: The Venture Theater is the ecosystem that rewards the appearance of success over actual value creation. It’s the cycle of raising a seed round to get a TechCrunch headline, then raising an A round to hire 50 people you don’t need, all while your unit economics are bleeding.
The industry has turned funding into the goal. But funding is just fuel. If you put high-octane fuel into a car that has no engine, you’re still not going anywhere. I believe the next wave of great companies will be founder-led and profitable early on. They won’t be built for pitch decks; they will be built for real value. My mission is to find those echte Deals—the ones that are often ignored by the „hype-beast“ VCs because they don’t fit the standard „growth at all costs“ mold.
The Power of Being Founder-First
Interviewer: You describe your approach as founder-first. In a world where every VC has that on their website, what does it mean in practice when you are in the room with a builder?
Felix: For me, founder-first means acting as a partner, not a control mechanism. Most VCs want to install „guardrails“ that often end up being „handcuffs.“ Because I’ve been in the founder’s seat—facing the extreme pressure of national scaling—I know that the last thing a builder needs is a tourist telling them how to drive.
I am hands-on and intensive, but only in the ways that actually move the needle. If a founder has a system bottleneck, we roll up our sleeves. If they need to rethink their end-to-end digital processes, we look at the code and the logic together. It’s about being high-agency. I support founders in maintaining ownership and control. As I argued in my essay, „The Bootstrap Paradox,“ VC isn’t automatically the best default. Sometimes the best thing an investor can do is help a founder realize they don’t need to sell their soul to the traditional VC cycle to achieve scale.
Interviewer: That leads us to your investment focus. You’ve backed companies like Platus (YC F24) but also hold significant positions in SpaceX and Tesla. These are very different stages. What is the „red thread“ connecting these echte Deals?
Felix: The thread is long-term Substanz. Whether it’s a YC startup or a generational giant like SpaceX, I look for high-agency founders who are building for the next century, not the next exit.
Look at Tesla or SpaceX. They didn’t start by trying to optimize a narrative for a quick flip. They started with a fundamental problem and an uncompromising focus on execution. I’m looking for founders who have that „builder energy“—people who are obsessed with the product, not the applause. My signal portfolio is a reflection of that. I don’t want a „deal update“ every week; I want to see a founder who is executing daily while dreaming in decades.
System Competence as a Competitive Advantage
Interviewer: One of the key learnings you share with founders is that „Digital end-to-end processes are a competitive advantage.“ Can you break down why this is more than just a tech stack choice?
Felix: In the early days of Sameday Health, we realized that our growth was limited not by demand, but by our ability to process information. We built technical, operative, and logistical systems that functioned as a single organism.
Most companies have „silos“—the marketing team doesn’t know what the logistics team is doing. By creating a seamless digital thread from the moment a customer books an appointment to the moment they receive their result, we eliminated friction. That is system competence. It allows you to scale without the wheels falling off. For a modern builder, your tech isn’t just a tool; it is the skeleton of your business. If the skeleton is weak, no amount of „narrative“ muscle will help you stand up.
Interviewer: You’ve also touched on „Handover Intelligence,“ particularly regarding your transition to Rume Health. Why is knowing when to let go such a vital part of Thought Leadership?
Felix: Leadership isn’t about being the person at the top forever. It’s about ensuring the mission survives. Strategic flexibility is knowing when the company has outgrown your specific type of „builder energy“ and needs a different type of „scaler energy.“
By passing the torch to Rume Health, I ensured that the infrastructure we built continued to serve people while I could pivot back to my true passion: identifying the next generation of builders. A founder who can’t imagine the company without themselves is often a founder who is capping the company’s potential.
The Philosophy: Dream in Centuries, Live Daily
Interviewer: Your personal framework is „Dream in centuries, live daily.“ It sounds poetic, but how does it manifest in the high-stress world of startup execution?
Felix: It’s about balancing ambition with discipline. If you only „live daily,“ you become a slave to the urgent. You lose sight of why you started, and you end up building something that has no long-term Substanz. If you only „dream in centuries,“ you become a philosopher who never ships anything.
„Think in decades. Execute daily.“ This means every small task—every line of code, every hiring interview, every customer support ticket—is a brick in a cathedral that will stand for a hundred years. When you have that clarity, you don’t get distracted by the noise of the Venture Theater. You don’t care about the hype of the week. You only care about the build.
Interviewer: Looking at the landscape of 2026, what are you most excited about? Where are you looking for the next echte Deals?
Felix: I’m looking for the „unsexy“ problems. I’m looking for the founders who are tackling logistics, healthcare, energy, and core infrastructure. These are the areas where high-agency builders can create the most value.
I want to see companies that are profitable or have a clear path to it—companies that don’t need the VC game but choose their partners based on shared values. That is where the real Thought Leadership is happening now. It’s moving away from the „Silicon Valley bubble“ and toward a global, pragmatically-minded builder energy.
Advice for the Next Generation
Interviewer: Felix, if you were sitting across from a founder who is currently struggling with the pressure to „perform“ for VCs while their heart wants to focus on the product, what would you say?
Felix: I would tell them: „Execution beats narrative.“ If you build a product that people truly need, and you build it with long-term Substanz, the capital will eventually find you on your terms.
Don’t optimize for the pitch deck; optimize for the customer. Don’t scale for the sake of an ego-driven headcount; scale because your systems are so efficient they are practically pulling you forward. And most importantly, find an Operator-Investor who has been in the arena. You don’t need a critic; you need a partner who knows what it’s like to have the weight of 2,000 employees on their shoulders.
Interviewer: One final question. What do you want your legacy to be in this ecosystem?
Felix: I want to be remembered as a builder who helped other builders stay true to their mission. I want to prove that you can build langlebige (long-lasting) companies without following the standard VC playbook. If I can help a handful of high-agency founders turn their vision into a hundred-year reality, then I’ve done my job.
Interviewer: Felix, thank you for your time. This has been an enlightening look into a very different way of thinking about growth and investment.
Felix: Thank you. Now, let’s get back to the build.
