Nico Zeifang

Nico Zeifang is a German entrepreneur and investor best known as a co-founder of Team Internet AG, one of Europe's leading adtech and domain-monetization companies. He has been active in the domain industry since 2002 and, in 2007, published one of the first academic papers on domain-name valuation. He founded Team Internet in Munich in 2010 together with Mario Witte and Stefan Wiegard; its flagship products included the ParkingCrew domain-monetization platform and the Tonic advertising marketplace. Zeifang has described the business he co-built as reaching $100m+ in annual revenues, making it one of Europe's largest players in the space.

Team Internet AG provided Zeifang his defining exit(s). The company was acquired by Matomy Media Group and later, in November–December 2019, purchased by London-listed CentralNic Group PLC for up to US$48 million. Team Internet had grossed roughly $66.7m in revenue and $10.6m adjusted EBITDA in the twelve months to June 2019. Zeifang and his co-founders remained with the business post-acquisition; CentralNic subsequently rebranded itself as Team Internet Group plc, adopting the name of the business the founders had created.

Today Zeifang operates as an angel and private-markets investor. His personal vehicle, Rainmaker Investments GmbH, is a Munich-based holding company (incorporated November 2009) through which he holds and manages participations — the source of his "[hidden]" address. He is also Partner and Head of Alternatives at Penguin Capital, a Munich family-office investment firm backed by ~50 entrepreneurial families, where he leads the alternatives program and sits on the private-equity investment committee.

Zeifang holds a BA in Business Administration and Management from the University of St. Gallen (Switzerland) and an MSc in Accounting and Finance from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE, UK).

• Invests as an angel/early-stage backer through Rainmaker Investments, drawing on his own operating experience building and scaling an internet/adtech business from seed to a nine-figure exit.
• At Penguin Capital, focuses on the lower-mid market, giving family-office investors access to "top-tier, oversubscribed Private Equity funds and Co-Investments" across North America, Europe and select global markets.
• Publicly argues that private equity offers a faster, more predictable path to liquidity than venture capital — a thesis he has repeated on stage (0100 Conference, Prague) and in podcasts, positioning PE as more suitable for family offices seeking stability and clearer returns.
• Values founders who understand monetization and unit economics — reflecting his background in traffic monetization, domains and performance advertising.
• Combines "data-driven expertise with firsthand entrepreneurial experience" (Penguin Capital's stated edge), so pitches that speak to both hard numbers and operator credibility resonate.