Filip Dames: Lessons from Zalando co-founder turned VC - backing companies like Proxima Fusion and The Exploration Company
“In 2007, if you told a Berlin founder they could sell for €100M, they’d think they’d won the lottery. Today, that’s just a milestone. The ambition level is radically higher.”
The European tech ecosystem is undergoing a fundamental phase shift. We have moved past the era of “copycats” and entered what Filip Dames, Founding Partner at Cherry Ventures, calls the Science Wave.
Filip’s perspective is unique: he witnessed the “Execution Wave” first-hand when building Zalando , and he is now one of the primary drivers of Europe’s Deep Tech frontier. Through investments in companies like Proxima Fusion, The Exploration Company, and funds like Silicon Roundabout Ventures, he is betting on a new era of engineering. We sat down to discuss why the “founder DNA” of the past won’t work for the problems of the future.
Part I: FILIP’S BACKGROUND
Let’s start at the beginning. How did you transition from a marketplace founder to building Zalando to an IPO, and eventually launching Cherry Ventures?
Filip: I’ve always been passionate about two things: building and a curiosity for different domains. On the flip side you could say I was doing way too many things, but that was always me. After university, the “natural” path was consulting, but I found it too theoretical. I wanted to be in the trenches.
I started an art collectibles marketplace in Berlin when the ecosystem was tiny. We raised money from ex-eBay angels and tried to bring back the “originality” that eBay had lost. I learned the hard way how brutal it is to scale supply and demand simultaneously. I eventually realised it wasn’t going to be the “gigantic” business I envisioned. So I moved on..
What happened next?
Filip: I reconnected with two school friends who had just launched a new venture—Zalando. I joined to help scale the business in its early days, initially leading international expansion and later overseeing product. As part of that journey, I founded Zalando Lounge and led that as the CEO.
It was the polar opposite of my first experience. We went from a handful of people to a 2014 IPO.
I experienced both ends of the spectrum: the struggle to find product-market fit where nothing works, and the “rocket ship” phase where things move so fast you’re just struggling to keep up.
Part II: UNREASONABLE AMBITION, MOMENTUM & ECOSYSTEM
You’ve seen the ecosystem evolve from the Rocket Internet days to the current “Science Wave.” How has the quality of the European founder changed?
Filip: It’s night and day. In 2008, we took execution risk: building localised versions of proven US models. Today, the ambition is global from Day 1. Founders are tackling “hard” problems - science, defence, energy. They aren’t building for Germany or the UK, they are building to dominate the global market.
You often talk about “Unreasonable Ambition.” What does that look like in a pitch room?
Filip: For me personally, it’s a mix of uncommon clarity about the future and a high tolerance for being misunderstood in the present. We look for teams that want to define an entire category - anything else is too small.
The Cherry Filter: If a plan feels “safe” or “reasonable,” it might be a good business, but it isn’t a venture-scale business. Our job is to ask: “What if all the stars align? How big could this actually be?”
Part III: THE POWER LAW AND ART OF PIVOT
In venture, the human reflex is to “fix” struggling companies. You argue for the opposite. Why?
Filip: The Power Law. Total ecosystem value is created by making the “flyers” fly even faster. Radical honesty is our greatest tool - both as investors and founders. If a hypothesis isn’t working, the best time to realise it is early. Momentum is key. And I believe founders need to have exactly the same approach - figure out what works and what doesn’t needs to be killed fast enough, MOMENTUM is key. This is one of the key differences I see between those that succeed and those that don’t
Is “ambition” something that can be taught, or is it innate?
Filip: Ambition is a muscle. Some founders aim for a 3x return; others aim for 100x. While the core hunger must be there, it can be strengthened by adding context and perspective. Sometimes a founder just needs to see what is actually possible to raise their gaze. But I do believe the best founders have this totally engrained.
Why is speed so critical when a company is failing?
Filip: It’s not just the financial drain, it’s the opportunity cost for the founder. The best founders don’t wait for the money to run out. They rethink the idea, pivot, and move on. Realising where there is actual momentum is the defining skill of the top 1%. It’s okay to have a faulty hypothesis, the crucial move is to identify three alternatives and choose the best one immediately (with a clear goal in mind).
Part IV: BRIDGING THE LAB AND THE MARKET
Deep Tech is more expensive to scale. How should founders navigate the transition from the “Lab” (Pre-Seed) to the “Market” (Series A)?
Filip: You cannot be a “Lab looking for a market.” You need a combination of deep technical insight and commercial aggression. You must bridge those two worlds in the founding team early on- I think that’s the type of opportunities that then can matter in the long run.
What is the most common mistake you see in these early teams?
Filip: Not hiring for the future fast enough. Your first 10 employees create your DNA. You must hire people who match (or even supersede) your own ambition. They are your “echo chamber” for greatness.
Does the “Science Wave” require better storytelling?
Filip: Storytelling is important, and European founders need to improve there, but it isn’t everything. It’s about commercial thinking: identifying faster paths to revenue, securing design customers, and finding strategic partnerships. I don’t care about a “cool” presentation, I care about a commercial mindset applied to hard science.
⚡ Key Lessons for Founders
Execution Risk is Dead, Complexity Risk is King: The era of “copycat” businesses is over. Modern venture scale isn’t found in building a better interface for an existing market, but in solving a “hard” engineering problem (Energy, Defence, Computing) that creates an entirely new one.
Practice Radical Honesty with Momentum: Momentum is the only metric that matters. If a technical hypothesis isn’t moving the needle, kill it. The greatest cost to a founder isn’t the lost capital, it’s the opportunity cost of spending years on a “safe” business that will never achieve a 100x return.
Commercial Aggression is a Science: A lab is not a business. The most successful Deep Tech teams integrate commercial thinking into the R&D process from Day 1. Don’t wait for a “finished product” to find a customer, find the customer to help you finish the product.
Ambition is a muscle: Your first 10 hires don’t just build the product; they set the ceiling for what the company can become. Hire people who are “unreasonably ambitious” and who treat a €100M exit as a milestone, not a destination.
The “Cherry Filter” for Success: Always ask: “What if all the stars align?” If the answer to that question doesn’t involve defining an entire global category, the vision is too small.
