User:Lingveno/Martin Saidler

Martin Saidler is a Vienna-born Swiss businessman and entrepreneur. He has founded and developed numerous technology companies including Centralway, Centralway Numbrs, Saidler & Co., LikeMag, and jobinteractive.com. In 2013 his net worth was estimated to be 325 million CHF.

Early career
Martin Saidler was born in Vienna, Austria in 1967. He attended University of Vienna where he studied journalism and political science, but later dropped out to start his first company, a student travel agency. He then moved to Berlin where in 1997 he founded the employment website Jobinteractive.com. In 1998, the employment website became one of the major job portals in Germany. In 1999, the Beisheim Holding Switzerland (BHS) acquired Jobinteractive.com. The website was combined with other employment websites and rebranded JobScout24, forming the basis for the company Scout24.

Centralway
In 1999 Saidler founded the investment company Centralway AG, in Switzerland, developing it into one of the largest Internet corporate groups in Central and Eastern Europe. He subsequently sold off the companies to various major firms including Axel Springer, Daily Mail UK, CME (Time Warner), Deutsche Telekom, Tamedia, MCI, Jelmoli, and others.

Centralway Numbrs
In 2012 Saidler acquired Netvision, and transformed Centralway into a company builder for start-ups. The company builder invested in start-ups such as SecureSafe, Lending Club, Arista, and others. Through Centralway, Saidler generated co-investments with well-known venture capital funds such as Y Combinator, Google Ventures, JPMorgan Chase, and First Round Capital. In 2014 the company was renamed Centralway Numbrs. It currently focuses on the development of banking apps, and has developed one of Germany's most popular mobile banking apps.

Saidler and Co.
In 2013 Saidler founded Saidler & Co. The firm controls various subsidiaries in the real estate, fintech, and technology industries including LikeMag, Moburst, Elevator fund and State of Mind Ventures (Pinchas Buchris’ Fund). The company is also the majority shareholder of mobile banking company Centralway Numbrs.

Criticism
Some media outlets have criticized Saidler claiming that some of the funds for his investments have come from “third parties” and that some of his past companies are “not traceable”.

Philanthropy
Martin Saidler is a member of the international Council of the Global Leadership Foundation and has funded and supported projects with the Weizmann Institute of Science and the University of Haifa. He has also worked on projects to improve access to financial services that led to a meeting with former president Shimon Peres at the Peres Center for Peace in 2016. Saidler also takes part in initiatives to generate investments between Switzerland and Israel.