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Felix Kues is a serial entrepreneur, deep-tech investor, and Harvard Business School OPM participant. Felix shares his journey from building AI software companies across multiple continents to founding a highly automated venture fund and later launching an AI platform for investors during OPM. He reflects on how global exposure shaped his leadership, the loneliness of entrepreneurship, and the importance of cultural fluency in decision-making.

Felix candidly discusses mistakes, especially poor co-founder due diligence, and reframes entrepreneurship as a marathon filled with struggle rather than a sprint toward glamour. He demystifies fundraising, explaining why it is opaque by design and often misunderstood by founders. A major theme is bias: Felix explains how his fund uses AI and objective scoring to counter human subjectivity in investment decisions.

OPM emerges as a transformative experience for Felix, not for content alone, but for peer learning, trust, and perspective. The conversation ends on a deeply personal note: Felix’s evolving definition of success, centered not on wealth or exits, but on love, family, hope, and enabling others to “take the shot.”

Here are the Top 10 Takeaways from the conversation:

1. Entrepreneurship is a marathon, not a sprint
   Co-founders must be aligned for long, difficult journeys - not short bursts of success.
2. Do real due diligence on co-founders
   Trust, resilience, and long-term commitment matter more than skills or friendship.
3. Global exposure reshapes leadership
   Living across cultures builds adaptability, humility, and deeper human understanding.
4. Fundraising is opaque by design
   VCs rarely say what they truly want; founders must learn investor incentives and constraints.
5. VCs are far more niche than founders assume
   Each fund operates within strict mandates that aren’t visible on their websites.
6. Bias exists even in open-minded leaders
   Objective systems and data help counter human subjectivity in decision-making.
7. AI can automate process, not judgment
   AI excels at research and analysis, but humans still make final investment decisions.
8. Entrepreneurship can be deeply lonely
   This loneliness often motivates founders to shift into investing or mentoring roles.
9. OPM’s true value is peer learning
   Learning from other experienced entrepreneurs’ lived journeys is irreplaceable.
10. Redefine success beyond money
    True success is love, family, hope, service, and helping others create their own paths.

Books: 

• Never Split the Difference
• The Last Kings of Shanghai