Vantik
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
Vantik was a Berlin PensionTech startup founded by Til Klein and Lara Hämmerle that offered the world's first fully digital private pension for millennials. Its fund-linked private pension invested deposits in an ETF portfolio managed with a value-at-risk model, with a cash-reserve safety buffer, and its Vantikcard gave users 1% cashback on everyday purchases, invested directly into their pension — aiming to build effortless retirement-saving habits.
02 / Vantik FAILURE REASONS
Failure reasons
Vantik filed for provisional insolvency after a financing round unexpectedly collapsed. The company cited restrained European economic growth and stock market fluctuations, which also affected its business. Customer fund assets remained protected with partner bank DAB BNP Paribas, but no new cashback could be paid out while the company sought an investor solution.
03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Founded
Vantik was founded in Berlin by Til Klein (ex-BCG partner) and Lara Hämmerle as the world's first fully digital private pension for millennials, backed by a pre-seed round including Seedcamp, Atlantic Labs and N26 co-founder Maximilian Tayenthal.
- Seed funding
The company raised seed funding — including a 1.4 million euro round — and launched the Vantikcard, giving 1% cashback on purchases invested into users' pension plans.
- Provisional insolvency
After a financing round unexpectedly collapsed, Vantik filed for provisional insolvency and informed users by email; the team continued working on an investor solution that could still avert the proceedings.
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / CAUSAL CHAIN
How the factors connect
- 01
Secure financing before you need it: depending on a single funding round that can collapse unexpectedly leaves no runway.
- 02
Design for downturns: macroeconomic headwinds and market volatility can undo even a company with growing transaction volume — Vantik had turned over 12 million euros since September 2021.
- 03
Protect customer assets by design: keeping client fund units segregated and protected at a partner bank preserved user trust even in insolvency.