Connecting the World with Lars Hinrichs

Intro:

In the early 2000s, one German startup changed the way professionals connected with each other in Europe: XING. Founded by Lars Hinrichs in the early 2000s, it quickly became Europe’s leading professional social network—long before LinkedIn went global. Just three years after its founding, Lars took the company public, making it the world’s first Web 2.0 IPO.

But Lars is more than a founder. He’s a self-described “geek,” a hands-on investor, and now he’s the man behind Europe's biggest museum for digital and immersive art – the UBS Digital Art Museum. In this candid conversation, he talks about taking risks, lessons from the XING IPO, investing in engineers, and why Hamburg is about to become a ‘must-visit’ destination for art.

About Lars Hinrichs

Lars Hinrichs (born 18 December 1976 in Hamburg) is a German entrepreneur and investor best known as the founder of the business-networking platform XING (originally Open Business Club/OpenBC). Over the years, he has launched and backed numerous ventures, including politik-digital.de, the pre-seed investment initiative HackFwd, and the investment firm Cinco Capital, while also serving on supervisory boards such as Deutsche Telekom AG and Xempus AG. Today, Hinrichs is leading the creation of the UBS Digital Art Museum in Hamburg’s HafenCity, a major cultural project designed to showcase immersive and digital art.

About the UBS Digital Art Museum

Opening in Hamburg’s HafenCity in 2026, the UBS Digital Art Museum will be Europe’s first large-scale exhibition space dedicated entirely to digital and immersive art. Conceived by entrepreneur and investor Lars Hinrichs, the 6,500-square-meter venue with soaring 12-meter ceilings will host groundbreaking, multi-sensory installations from global pioneers like teamLab alongside emerging digital artists. Visitors won’t just view the art—they’ll step inside it, experiencing works that respond to sight, sound, and touch.

Designed to put Hamburg firmly on the international art map, the museum is built on accessibility: no prior knowledge of art is required, only curiosity.

“Everything that can be digital will be digital—and art is no exception.”

Wired for Connection

For Lars Hinrichs, entrepreneurship isn’t a choice; it’s in his DNA. Growing up in an entrepreneurial family, he felt the pull toward risk and innovation early. For him, being an entrepreneur means craving challenges, being wired to embrace the unknown, and not being able to resist the thrill of something new.

That instinct showed up fast. In 1989, while most people hadn’t even touched a computer, Lars was already online. “Back then, maybe 5–10 million people were connected,” he remembers. “I thought it was huge. But of course, I underestimated just how big it would get. Today, nearly all of mankind is somehow online or connected.”

When asked if there was something that drives him, he said that connection has become a lifelong theme. Whether through online platforms, venture capital, or art. “If there’s one thread in my life,” he says, “it’s connections. In investing, you connect capital to people. At XING, it was about connecting professionals. Even art is about connecting people with experiences.”

Taking XING public

Lars’ obsession with building connections eventually came to life in XING, which he took public at breakneck speed—just three years and a month after launch. At the time, it was unheard of. XING became the very first Web 2.0 company in the world to IPO.

Lars downplays it with a shrug: “An IPO is nothing more than a capital increase with people you don’t know. It’s just another funding round.” But being first meant opportunity, and it gave XING the chance to start buying up other social networks while competitors were still finding their footing.

The IPO roadshows, though, were an education in themselves. Lars lights up as he recalls the experience. “Most CEOs hate them, but I loved it. Two weeks of talking about your company from early morning till late at night—it was amazing.”

In Germany, investors wanted to know every single product feature. In the UK, the questions were sharper, often about long-term strategy. In the US, the crowd always anticipated what he was about to talk about on the next slide. “They were incredible. We even ended up with 15% of our IPO subscribed by US shareholders, which was massive for us.”

France, on the other hand? He laughs. “Honestly, it felt like we had to explain what the internet was. We didn’t get a single ticket there.” Switzerland leaned into questions on privacy and data security, which, looking back, felt eerily prescient.

For all the fun of the roadshow, Lars is clear-eyed about the reality of going public and doesn’t sugarcoat it for founders.

“If you want to IPO, you have to be absolutely sure you can overachieve your first year’s numbers. That’s what gains investor trust and more coverage from analysts. And remember—it’s not an exit. It’s just another funding round, only with people you don’t know. Finally, you need a clear plan for the money. Raising cash is easy, but spending it effectively is a lot more work than you think.”

From founder to investor

After nine years leading XING, Lars then decided to shift gears. He transitioned to the supervisory board and focused on investing full-time. “I get bored quickly,” he admits. “But I realized I could be a good investor too.”

He didn’t start from scratch. Lars had already set up Cinco Capital, the holding company behind XING, as his investment vehicle. Through it, he launched HackFwd, a seed investment initiative that backed 16 startups.

The results were mixed. Out of 16 early investments, more than half failed. But the winners generated six times the return on all capital invested. “It’s a simple equation,” he says. “You just need to be right more often than you’re wrong.”

His approach was unusual for Europe at the time. Instead of backing MBAs with polished business plans, he sought out engineers. “I believe engineers are the artists of the 21st century. In the US, the best companies are engineer-led. In Europe, too many were MBA-led. I wanted to bridge that gap.”

What does he look for today? “Big problem-solving ideas,” he answers without hesitation. “If I can personally relate to the problem, I’m much more likely to invest. Numbers alone don’t convince me.”

And his advice for first-time founders? Forget the business plan. “Show me your MVP. Quit your job. Prove you’re committed. And think global from day one. Europeans love to perfect their product before launch. Americans launch globally even before the products exists. The sweet spot is somewhere in between.”

“There’s no such thing as a free lunch. You’ve got to dig in, become a domain expert, and think global.”

Betting on AI and Telecom

Ask Lars about trends, and he doesn’t hesitate. “Everything is AI. If you’re not applying it, you’re out.” For him, the distinction lies in whether AI is at the core of a business, rather than added as a feature. That’s where the real breakthroughs will happen.

He points to recent developments in India, where Jio launched the world’s largest data center and rolled out AI-driven translation across multiple languages. “It’s absolutely incredible,” he says. “Every day, there’s something new, and the pace of change is breathtaking.”

Telecommunications is another space close to his heart. Having served more than a decade on the board of Deutsche Telekom, Lars watched the company climb from a mid-tier European operator to the clear number one in Europe and the United States. The experience left him convinced there’s still untapped potential in the sector. “Being on the board of a company where every big strategic move hit green checks was incredible,” he recalls. Then, with a grin, he adds, “Some people are already rumoring that I’m starting something new in this area. Let’s just say—no comment.”

The next frontier: Digital Art

Despite his track record in tech and telecom, Lars’ latest project isn’t a startup or an investment fund. It’s the UBS Digital Art Museum, opening in Hamburg in 2026.

The idea first sparked in 2016, when he stumbled across a single teamLab piece at an exhibition at Fondation Maeght in the South of France. The experience floored him. “The technical precision, the scale—it touched me so deeply,” he recalls.

A few years later, he flew to Tokyo to visit teamLab’s museum. Watching visitors step out grinning, he felt the pull immediately: “Everybody came out with a smile. That’s when I knew I had to bring it to Hamburg.”

The numbers behind it are staggering: 6,500 square meters of exhibition space, ceilings soaring 12 meters high, and two full underground floors—because, as Lars points out, “the only real enemy of digital art is light.”

The goal isn’t just to host teamLab’s world-leading work, showing their encompassing exhibition “teamLab Borderless”, but to create a permanent home for digital artists from around the globe—a hub where the art itself responds to touch, movement, even sound, and where the installations connect in real time. “After a few minutes inside, you don’t just see the art—you feel like you’re part of it,” he says.

Why Hamburg? For Lars, it’s both practical and personal. Hamburg’s HafenCity is one of the few places in Europe where you can build at that scale. And, Hamburg is his hometown. “Hamburg has great art, but it’s not recognized globally. This museum is a chance to change that,” he says.

For him, the project is about more than just art—it’s about accessibility. Unlike traditional museums, you don’t need to know anything about art to enjoy it. “You don’t even have to be interested in art,” Lars insists. “You’ll still love it. It’s so immersive and so moving, you walk out knowing you’ve seen something from a new epoch of art.”

Taking time out

Even entrepreneurs with boundless energy like Lars need a place to recharge, and for him, that place is Ibiza. He calls it his “happy place.” The moment his plane lands, he feels it—the island’s light, the international crowd, the balance between quiet hikes and the biggest clubs in the world. He doesn’t just vacation there; he makes it part of his rhythm, flying over seven times in a single summer. “If you have a house there, you just take the next flight and go,” he says with a grin.

Quick Fire Round

Tool you can't live without?

My iPhone

Founder or startup you admire?

Richard Branson. “He’s the coolest entrepreneur on the planet. Even at his age, he’s full of energy, 24/7.”

Recharge ritual:

Staying in my villa in Ibiza.

Best advice you’ve ever received:

Never stop learning. “If you stop learning, you stop being good at what you do. That’s why I’m always curious about what the next generation is doing. I’m always asking my kids to tell me what they’re into. It keeps me inspired.”

From pioneering Europe’s first social network IPO to shaping the next chapter of digital culture, Lars Hinrichs has built, exited, invested, failed, and succeeded. But the thread tying it all together is, and has always been: connection.