Andreas Mihalovits on Building 200+ Startup Bets from Marbella

Andreas Mihalovits is a former serial entrepreneur turned angel investor based in Marbella, co-founder of the Global Super Angels Club, and board member and early investor in The Pool. Born in Romania, raised in Germany, and now building one of the most active investment networks on the Costa del Sol, Andreas shares a remarkable story spanning decades of entrepreneurship, exits, and a deliberate shift toward a different kind of life.In episode of The Pool Podcast, host Christian Rasmusson and Andreas go deep into his journey from writing hotel management software for monasteries as a student, to building one of Germany's top internet auction platforms in the late 1990s, to surviving the dot-com crash and pivoting into subscription businesses that eventually gave him financial freedom in his mid-30s.They also talk about what it really takes to build a startup ecosystem from scratch, why Andreas chose Spain as his primary investment market, what he thinks the Costa del Sol is missing to become the Silicon Valley of Europe, and why he believes the next wave of unicorns could come from Marbella.Topics covered:- Growing up in communist Romania and moving to Germany at age 11- His first software business selling to monasteries while still a student- Turning down Amazon in 1996 to stay the entrepreneurial path- Building and exiting one of Germany's first internet auction platforms- Pivoting and surviving the dot-com crash with a subscription model- The decision to step back, move to Marbella, and start investing- Investing in 200+ startups and 16 VC funds- What Spanish startups get right and where they need to improve- The missing ingredients for a thriving Costa del Sol tech ecosystem- His AI music project under the name Cyber MCAFind Andreas on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreasmihalovits/ or search for his music on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/@CyberMCA_official Spotify https://open.spotify.com/artist/6qnxFnMa8kKTUpelYomLt9?si=DBgzwnA3TkO7QOvh0x7oVA and SoundCloud https://soundcloud.com/cybermca under the artist name Cyber MCA.