Starlight Capital
Strategic CFO Consulting for growth companies
Venture Capital Advisory for investors
Combining the founder's and investor's perspective - for growth companies and investors.
Starlight Capital unites three activities under one roof
I've built companies as a founder and invested as a VC — today I combine both worlds for ventures and investors.
Consulting and Advisory Services offered by Benedikt Wenninger Consulting under the Starlight Capital brand. Starlight Capital GmbH is a pure investment holding.
For Growth Companies
Your entrepreneurial CFO
From fundraising & exits — equity rounds, debt and asset-backed structures — to fractional CFO capacity at eye-level with the founders: Strategic CFO Consulting across three situations, with hands on value creation.
Learn moreFor Investors
Your entrepreneurial Venture Partner
Venture Capital Advisory for VC funds, family offices and corporates: building and extending venture investment capabilities, portfolio support & value creation for your venture companies.
Learn moreWho am I
Your Entrepreneurial CFO
I speak the language of both founders and investors — and combine those perspectives in my work. I deeply believe that growth companies and investors can only be truly successful if they understand what drives the other side.
I know both sides first-hand: as a founder, I built and scaled ventures — most recently Heimkapital, raising €300m+ across equity, debt and asset-backed structures. As a VC Principal, I led investments and held multiple board seats across Europe and the US — accompanying companies from early stage through growth to exit.
+10
Years as founder & investor
+€300m
Raised in equity & debt
2×
COMPANIES FOUNDED & SCALED
10+
VC INVESTMENTS · EU & US
Benedikt Wenninger
FOUNDER
2025 – today
Founder, Starlight Capital
2020 – 2024
Co-Founder & Managing Director, Heimkapital
2017 – 2019
Principal, yabeo (Venture Capital)
2015 – 2017
Co-Founder & Managing Director, Curetics
2014
Deutsche Bank · Golding Capital Partners
Education
2015
MSc Management & Technology, TU Munich
2012
B.Sc. International Business Studies Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen Nürnberg NTU Taipeh
For Growth Companies
TRANSACTIONS
Fundraising & Exits
Equity or debt story, financial case, dataroom and process execution — I make companies investor-ready and support or lead the transaction process: from equity rounds to debt and asset-backed financing structures. Bringing in the experience, network and freeing up management bandwidth.
GROWTH
Fractional CFO
Structuring growth and setting up the company for growth and scaling: From growth finance, financial engineering and asset-backed structures to building a scalable finance infrastructure: financial planning, cash-management, reporting, board and investor relations — senior capacity at a fraction of a full-time hire, available right away.
SPECIAL SITUATIONS
Value Creation
Value creation across strategy, commercial model and finance. Where suitable and desired, I also join the leadership team and turn the operational levers — towards the next value event: funding round, secondary, or exit.
What I bring in
EXPERIENCE
I bring the experience of +10 years of building companies and investing as a VC into your company
CAPACITY
Senior Capacity - available right away and with flexible engagements
NETWORK
Investors, lenders and operators across Europe — opened up for your case
For Investors
For VC Funds
Investment Process Support
Additional senior capacity across all stages of your investment process.
- ▸ Screening, due diligence and closing
- ▸ Local presence in the DACH ecosystem, e.g. as a Venture Partner
- ▸ A first-hand founder's and operator's read on the teams and companies you evaluate
For Family Offices & Corporates
Venture Capital Advisory
Building your venture investment capability from within — a structured process and market positioning for direct investments:
- ▸ Investment strategy & criteria
- ▸ Market positioning & brand development
- ▸ Deal flow & pipeline building
- ▸ Investment, due diligence & decision process
- ▸ Portfolio management & value creation
From design to hands-on execution — where useful, I run the process alongside your team until it stands on its own.
For VC Funds, Family Offices & Corporates
Portfolio Support & Value Creation
Senior CFO / CEO capacity for your portfolio companies — recommended by you, engaged by the company.
- ▸ Hands-on value creation in your portfolio companies across strategy, commercial model and finance. As sparring partner, co-pilot, or embedded.
- ▸ Freeing up management bandwidth, and bringing in specific expertise and experience.
- ▸ Building the bridge between founders and investors — creating alignment between the cap table and the leadership team