Meet the finleap-Team: Sandra Kumhofer, Senior Manager Legal

Sandra Kumhofer is Senior Manager Legal at finleap. She joined the company builder in January 2015.

Sandra absolutely loves her job. Therefore, she wants to be involved in all tasks of the legal team. The difference from her past experiences in a law firm is that there is no rigid hierarchy at finleap. She is able to explore and develop interesting projects independently. The company builder offers Sandra the opportunity to build ventures from the beginning. She is passionate about being a lawyer, has a hands-on mentality, and enjoys really digging deep into every project. Sandra joined finleap in January 2015 bringing with her a law degree from Austria and years of experience as a lawyer. Before FinLeap, Sandra was working as a freelancer for a startup. However, she wanted something new that allows her to work on more than one venture at a time, so she attended a networking event where she met some of our team. Thus, Sandra became a Senior Manager Legal in the company builder. Today, we interviewed Sandra on her recent projects, her job, and the overall experience at finleap. finleap.com: What exactly do you do as the Senior Manager Legal? Sandra: I am responsible for the regulative banking law which is more of an internal process with our ventures. First step is to check if they may need any state license or approval from the financial authority. Then I sort out all legal requirements and build the legal framework around the business model. Further on, I draft the T&Cs and all contracts, and negotiate them, so it’s a very intensive and ongoing process. finleap.com: Can you describe something you recently worked on? Sandra: I work with most of the ventures here, but recently I have been working with FinReach on contracts, negotiations, coordination with other lawyers, and data protection. finleap.com: What is the key to be successful in the relationship between the legal sector and the ventures? Sandra: There are two types of lawyers: trouble searching and trouble solving ones. I am definitely from the second type as I am always trying to find solutions for our ventures. I listen to what they say, figure out their needs and wants, and then, build the legal side around these ideas. Truly, the only way for you to gain their respect is to be a part of their team, ask questions when you don’t understand, try to help and explain everything you do. The founders need to know everything about the business they are responsible for. finleap.com: What is the best part about working for finleap? Sandra: I love the culture here. Everyone is very polite and helpful, and really makes me feel appreciated. I also enjoy the connections with the ventures and their founders. Sandra demands 120% out of herself for everything she does. Apart from her job, Sandra likes to explore Berlin, because the city is exciting, hip, and young in comparison to her hometown Vienna. She also likes reading, watching movies and TV shows, and skiing in the winter.