We visited LIQID in Berlin.
LIQID welcomed us to their headquarter in the heart of Berlin, and gave us a tour at their nice office.
Check out the interview and have a glance at their office.
Find out more below.
Thanks for having us. Can you tell us more about the core business of LIQID?
LIQID is a fintech focused on the investment needs of affluent private clients. Supported by HQ Trust, the multi-family-office of the Harald Quandt family, we offer our clients digital access to our multi-award-winning wealth management, the world’s best private equity and venture capital funds as well as curated cash management solutions.
All from €100.000. We are a niche player – in the best possible sense of the word. Our target are private investors who are too demanding for retail offers and too digital for traditional private banks. For them, we have built an intuitive, cost-effective and bank-independent proposition that only takes a few clicks to complete.
In a short few years, this has made us the European leader in digital private banking.
Your Business
How did you get to your business idea and when was your company established?
Our business idea was based on our founders’ personal experience (and personal frustration) with the financial service offers still commonplace today. Expensive retail offers with hidden fees and no real chance of earning decent returns? No thanks. Stuffy and intimidating private banks? Not for us.
The best private equity and venture capital funds only available to professionals with millions to invest. Why? LIQID was launched in late 2016 and has grown rapidly since.
Today, we manage close to €1 billion on behalf of our clients.
In which countries are you active?
LIQID is currently focused on Germany. It’s not only our home market but also a perfect place for our offer. While income-rich, German affluent clients have traditionally achieved returns on their money that are substantially below the European average.
The reason? High fees, terrible products and limited financial awareness. Our mission is to change this – and to level the playing field for affluent investors.
Are you planning to expand your venture in other countries? And if so – where?
Of course. We are already looking at other European markets and will be announcing our first initiatives there in 2021.
Are you using Venture Capital? And if – who are your Venture Partners?
Without venture capital we could not achieve our ambitious goals as fast as we want to achieve them. We were initially backed by Project A and HQ Trust, and have since added a number of other German and European funds to our investor base.
Our largest investor is Toscafund Asset Management LLP, a London-based hedge fund specialised in financial service investments.
Where do you see the company in 5 years?
Our mission is to level the playing field for Europe’s affluent private investors. We see potential for our products and services in several European countries outside of Germany where affluent investors are still facing untransparent and excessive costs, low quality products and very limited access to professional investment services.
Our brand will be known for innovative, high quality products and best in class services and serve as a “Go-To” provider for customers that look for a solution for their finances. As digital asset managers, we see ourselves as an important part of the digitization process in our society and in the financial services sector.
Our aim is to drive technological development and process innovation – all with the goal of having the best customer experience in the financial services industry.
Your Team
How many employees work at the company now?
We are a Berlin-based team of 70 employees with 15 nationalities working in different departments such as Tech & Product, Strategy & Operations, Asset Management, Sales & Relationship Management, Marketing, Finance and People & Culture. We are aiming for a sustainable growth by focussing on finding and hiring the greatest talents on the market. Building long-term employment relationships, where our employees and the company can grow together.
You want to join us in shaping the future of digital private banking? We can`t wait to meet you. Check out our open positions here https://www.liqid.de/karriere.
What is the average age of your team members?
At LIQID we are a colourful mix of different perspectives and backgrounds. Experienced managers and newcomers collaborate closely with interns and working students. Everybody is challenged to take ownership and to keep questioning the status quo. Tech, Sales and Ops are unified in creating a superb client experience, Marketing and Asset Management pull together in order to create high quality content… we rather think in project groups or squads than in departments.
We embrace diversity as a source of innovation and competitive advantage, we inspire each other and learn from each other’s experiences.
What kind of attitude should new employees have in order to work at your company?
Our five company values – Entrepreneurial Ownership, Forward Thinking, Client Success, Team and Trust – reflect what we stand for. They are the heartbeat of LIQID. Different people have different approaches, but we share the same goals and live by the same values, thus new colleagues should value the same principles.
We look out for new talents who accept responsibility on their actions, deliver on their promises and work with passion to make a sustainable impact. Paying attention to details, whilst fully understanding the bigger picture is a very important skill new employees should have.
We value open communication, curiosity and team spirit – The LIQIDians are team players who believe that smart collaboration will yield great results.
How does your recruitment process look like?
Our recruitment process is as individual as the exciting job positions we offer for new employees. People can apply using our career portal or get in touch via other channels such as LinkedIn, for example.
Our recruiters also do a lot of direct sourcing. We like to kick off our recruiting process with an initial phone call, followed by two interviews in our office, not only with the recruiter and the hiring manager, but also with potential colleagues and other internal stakeholders.
We often incorporate case studies or coding challenges, prior to the interview or onsite during a specified time slot. The outcomes are discussed with the hiring manager, and although the results are important, more relevant for the assessment is the individual approach to complex issues.
Last, but not least, we take each candidate on a little office tour. That being said, our People Team is very engaged to create fast and transparent recruitment processes, with mutual appreciation and respect as top priority.
Why is it fun to work at your company? What benefits can employees expect at LIQID?
Working at LIQID is unique – first and foremost because of our amazing team and our culture, where the well-being of the employees is very important in order to create an innovative and performance-driven culture. And this goes far beyond just working in a modern, light-flooded office with ergonomic furniture and first-class technical equipment.
Besides flexible working hours, free organic fruits & snacks, excellent coffee (and an original espresso machine, hell yeah!), all different kinds of beverages, Lunchit – the digital meal vouchers, and free health initiatives, we enjoy spending time together by hanging out after work.
Our café is the centrepiece of the office, where we play table soccer, have an after-work drink or play with our console. For our keen sport enthusiasts we offer volleyball sessions, yoga, and much more.
Working at LIQID also means inspiring work and great development opportunities, such as individual training concepts, coaching and certificates such as the “CFA Certification” for financial analysts.
“And we love team events!”
Currently, during the pandemic, most of these are happening digitally, including our monthly All-Hands Meeting that consists of relevant business updates, celebrates promotions and functions as a platform for team updates. Not to forget our LIQID Academy, a series of Lunch & Learn lectures hosted by either internal or external speakers.
Every team has it’s own team event budget for e.g. boat trips, creative workshops or going to the beer garden. The company events – our 2019 summer party at “Katerschmaus” or the festive holiday party we celebrated at the “3 Schwestern” restaurant in the Bethanien-monastery in Kreuzberg, to just name a few – are always huge highlights.
Do you offer your new employees a relocation service or help to relocate?
Moving to another country isn’t always easy – so we do our best to make the transition as seamless and easy as possible. We have a very engaged People & Culture Team who assists during the visa process and helps to get their documents sorted, insurances covered, etc.
We also offer German classes -both individual classes or group courses- to help our new joiners get started. At our regular team events and sports classes, new employees can quickly have a chat with other LIQIDians and get to know the whole team.
Your Office
How big is your Office?
Our Office is around 1,000 square meters with 16 office rooms, 4 kitchens and 5 meetings rooms spread over two floors. Our office is not only a productive space with first-class technical equipment, it offers room for personal growth, inspiring conversations and after work events. Located at the Ku’Damm in Berlin Charlottenburg surrounded by many cafés, restaurants and bars, choosing the best lunch spot can be a challenge.
Did you get help from an interior designer to design your office? And if so, who did you work together with?
In 2019, we completely redesigned our office. As a first step we asked our team about their preferences ideas and the look & feel they would prefer in order to create the ideal work space. As a team, we decided on a modern, functional design with lots of daylight as a contrast to our traditional old building with detailed stucco and high ceilings. Kinzo, a Berlin-based interior Design Studio, was our leading partner in developing the interior design concept and for the selection of high-quality and ergonomic furniture we worked together with unitedspaces einrichten GmbH.
Our fantastic Office Management Team who moves heaven and earth to make sure that every employee and our guests feel comfortable and welcome when entering our office and takes care of all the plants and hand-picked beautiful decors. Just recently, they put a great world map on the wall in our café on which every employee can mark where they come from.
What are the special things in your office?
Our overall working space is made up of spacious offices and a variety of unique corporate spaces such as a playstation corner, our café and the balconies where we love to make BBQs. High exposed ceilings and natural lights boost our employee’s well-being and everyone can immortalize themselves in our polaroid birthday calendar and world map to show where they come from.
And one fact to know: The office of Hans-Dietrich Genscher, Vice Chancellor of West Germany until 1990, was located in the rooms where our Asset Management Team has it’s working space today.
Thank you LIQID team for the interview and photoshoot!
Location: Berlin Germany Website: LIQID
Photos: Andreas Lukoschek
You must be logged in to post a comment.