Thomas Funke is a German academic and entrepreneur. He is the co-founder and CEO of Tomorrow University of Applied Sciences, a remote-first institution offering degree programs in sustainability, entrepreneurship, and technology founded in 2020. He is also the co-founder and co-director of TechQuartier, a

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

-based innovation hub recognized as part of Germany's national FinTech initiative founded in 2016.

Career

In 2020, Thomas Funke co-founded Tomorrow's Education (now Tomorrow University of Applied Sciences), a

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

-based edtech startup launched with former

N26 N26 Bank SE, doing business as N26, and formerly named Papayer GmbH, and Number26 GmbH'','' is a multinational German fintech and neobank company based in Berlin that offers a variety of financial services to individuals and businesses. N26 was ...

CTO, Christian Rebernik. The institution offers online degree programs focused on sustainability, entrepreneurship, and technology. Its first program was developed in partnership with WU Vienna. In 2024,

Tomorrow University Tomorrow University of Applied Sciences (or simply Tomorrow University), is a Germany’s accredited remote-only university, specializing in sustainability and technological innovation. It offers fully online bachelor’s, master’s, and MBA progra ...

was ranked first in Germany and 25th worldwide in the Leadership category by the World University Rankings for Innovation (WURI). Since 2016, Funke has also been co-founder and director of ''TechQuartier'', a

-based startup hub and innovation hub designated as one of Germany's official FinTech hubs by the

Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (, ; abbreviated BMWE, formerly BMWi) is a cabinet-level ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany. It was previously known as the "Ministry of Economy". It was recreated in 2005 as "Mini ...

. At TechQuartier, he helped foster collaboration between startups, corporates, and research institutions. Earlier in his career, in 2008, Funke founded the Entrepreneurship Center Network, a collaboration among six universities aimed at supporting student-led startups. Since 2014, Funke has held academic roles as a lecturer at institutions including

Goethe University Frankfurt Goethe University Frankfurt () is a public research university located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was founded in 1914 as a citizens' university, which means it was founded and funded by the wealthy and active liberal citizenry of Frankfurt ...

and WU Vienna. He is also on the advisory board of the Eintracht Frankfurt football club since 2020.

Publications

In 2018, Funke co-authored an article comparing business model development to soccer strategy, he emphasized the importance of adaptability, structured planning, and collaboration. Through this analogy, Funke highlighted that developing business models requires coordination similar to that of a well-organized football team. In 2019, Funke co-led the study ''“Scale-ups in Europe: An Untapped Potential”'' with

Goethe University Goethe University Frankfurt () is a public research university located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was founded in 1914 as a citizens' university, which means it was founded and funded by the wealthy and active liberal citizenry of Frankfurt ...

and the Yi Shi Foundation. The study found that only 4% of start-ups become scale-ups, attributing this to limited market access, lack of supranational funding, and rigid internal structures. The study called for EU-wide structural reforms and a cultural shift toward embracing entrepreneurial risk and failure.

References

Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Vienna University of Economics and Business alumni German founders {{Germany-business-bio-stub