Research

Collaboration

If you like to collaborate on research, especially with focus on machine learning and causality, feel free to reach out!

Summary

The goal of my research is to empower entrepreneurs and organizations by uncovering how data and signals drive strategic decisions under uncertainty.

Working at the intersection of strategy and entrepreneurship, I examine how textual narratives, visual communications, and behavioral cues causally shape venture financing, competitive positioning, and innovation outcomes. I develop and apply computational methods—including causal machine learning, natural language processing, and computer vision—to extract actionable insights from large-scale observational data.  My research with colleagues is cited in official reports by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Publications Office of the European Union, particularly within the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission.

Methods

My methodological approach centers on applied machine learning, specializing in natural language processing (NLP) and multimodal machine learning for integrating heterogeneous data sources (text, speech, video). I have recently incorporated causal inference methods, including instrumental variables and causal discovery, to address endogeneity in observational data, and experimented with multi-agentic frameworks (simulacra). My PhD work helped me to develop competencies in network analysis, graph theory applications, and economic complexity metrics.

Highlights

• To the best of my knowledge, we had the first multimodal machine learning classifier for venture outcomes showcased in this publication.
• Together with my colleague Paul Hünermund, I co-founded the Causal Data Science Meeting in 2020. Since then, we had Guido Imbens, Susan Athey, Judea Pearl, among others as keynote speakers.
• One of the first peer-reviewed publications to measure the predictability of the Bitcoin price, based on social media emotions [tl;dr: highly volatile, reverse causality].

Reviewing and Service

• Reviewer for Academy of Management, ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI), Computers in Human Behaviour, Journal of Business Venturing, Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Entrepreneuership Theory & Practice, Research Policy, Strategy Science, Journal of Management Studies.
• Web Coordinator, TIM Division (Academy of Management)

Grants and Collaborations

• 2025 Dutch Research Council – NWO Starter Grant (340,000 EUR) [Lottery]
• 2025 Collaborator: With Paul Hünermund (PI) – Independent Research Fund Denmark (5,296,599 DKK)
• 2023 Collaborator/Co-Supervisor. With Christian Seel (PI) – Dutch Research Council NWO M Grant  (350,000 EUR)
• 2022 Project-Partner: With Christian Hopp (PI) – Swiss National Science Foundation (601,347 CHF)
• 2019 Google Research Cloud (5,000 EUR)
• 2018 Federal Ministry of Education and Research (112,000 EUR)
• 2018 Academics at Amazon (Workshop Cost)
• 2016 RWTH Project House ICT Grant, RWTH Aachen (96,000 EUR)
• 2014 PhD Fellowship, Dr. Werner Jackstädt Foundation (18,000 EUR)
• 2012 Research Fellow, Foundation for Economic Sciences (5,000 EUR)

Awards and Honors (Selection)

Poets & Quants Top 40 u. 40 MBA Professors, Santa Rosa, US; University-Wide Best Teacher Nominee (Top-5), Maastricht University, NL; Faculty-Wide Best Teacher Award, Maastricht University, NL; Borchers Badge, PhD Thesis Award, RWTH Aachen University, DE; Marshall Memorial Fellow, Marshall Fund of the United States, USA; Research Fellowship at the MIT Media Lab, USA; Fellow, Royal Society of Arts, London, UK Young Innovator of the Year 2013, Lab Finalist, Falling Walls, Berlin, DE; A.T. Kearney Scholar, Falling Walls, Berlin, DE; Rethinking Economics Fellowship, Foundation for Science, Frankfurt, DE; Awwwards Website Design Awards – Honorable Mention, USA; Participant at Y Combinator Startup School 2012, Stanford University, USA; Best Practice Paper Award, Stanford Medicine X, Stanford University, USA; Conference Grant by the Swiss National Science Foundation, Zurich, CH; Jörg Hogan Students Award (Dean’s List), Witten/Herdecke, DE; Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG Talent Network, DE.