Agense Stracquadanio
8 min read
09 November 2025
Nick Mulder, a former-tech product manager, cofounded Hypofriend in 2018 with his father. He initially tested the concept through social media before officially becoming a licensed broker and entering the market. By combining AI and human expertise, Hypofriend empowers people to make smarter financial decisions, guiding and educating users along the process of buying a home, investing in ETFs or building a pension fund. With 5,000 people in Berlin and over 10,000 across Germany having purchased a home through its service, Hypofriend is now focused on further leveraging AI to empower its advisors and deliver more holistic, personalized financial guidance.
What brought you to found the company?
I went through the process of buying a house myself in 2016. Mortgage brokers handed me papers, tables and numbers that were hard to understand, especially for a first-time buyer. The entire experience felt deeply inefficient, and that frustration sparked something in me. Just like in healthcare where people might do their own research but still want a doctor to confirm the diagnosis, the same applied to finance.
What’s your mission?
Our mission is to help people make smarter financial decisions by combining AI with human reasoning, where reasoning is deterministic and AI is not. In this way, we aim to deliver better and more personalized financial advice.
What were the founding steps?
We were bootstrapped from the start. I built the prototype myself and tested it on social media to validate market demand, leveraging my dad’s credibility as a World Bank economist. I sent the tool to people who fit our target audience, mostly expats living in Germany, and asked for their input. That’s how we developed a user-friendly mortgage-advisory platform in English.
Once we became licensed brokers, we invested in online consultation technology and built a personalized dashboard to guide users step-by-step from deciding whether to rent or buy, understanding how much they can afford and projecting their financial future over 10 to 20 years.
“I felt a moral duty to improve the system. If I don’t do it, then who will?”
Why the name Hypofriend?
“Hypo” comes from “hypothecate,” and “friend” represents what I felt I was missing during my own experience: a person who stands by your side, offering honest advice.
How does your business reflect your personality?
Our business is honest and straightforward and focuses on simplicity. We take complex financial decisions and break them down. Passion and care drive everything we do, and we hold ourselves to uncompromising standards of integrity. We have chosen to stay independent, so our focus remains entirely on our customers.
What were some of the biggest challenges?
Working with a parent or family member tends to resurface childhood dynamics and amplify them, adding a new level of complexity. Another major challenge was COVID. Shifting from offline to a fully online model, especially in the context of home buying, was a huge hurdle. But as people began re-evaluating their living spaces demand surged, turning the challenge into an opportunity. But the biggest challenge of all was the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which disrupted the interest rate market. At the time, we had to rely on family capital, and social media became our main marketing channel.
What made the progress possible?
The dedication of founders and key employees.
“It will always take much longer than you expect, so patience is critical.”
What lessons have you learned so far?
Perseverance is essential. If you don’t love the problem you’re solving, it will show. Especially when the process becomes tougher. That’s when staying connected to the core of the problem really matters.
What was the most rewarding part of the journey?
Running into people and hearing that they used our service to buy a home is incredibly rewarding. For most, buying their first or second home is something they’ll never forget.
What is the relationship between your company and the city?
Berlin is a great place to build and scale a company. The city continues to grow, even as the rest of Germany slows down.
“Building a business is about identifying a problem you care deeply about – one you’re willing to dedicate 10 years to. Our users are our ambassadors.”
What's next?
We currently operate three separate companies: for mortgages, investment properties, and a third one on pensions and ETFs. These are the three pillars we believe are essential for building a secure financial future. With Europe’s population aging, the current system won’t be able to support retirees at the same level, so individuals will need to take more responsibility for their own financial well-being.
Our long-term goal is to reach €100 million in revenue within the next 10 years. That said, the financials aren’t what drive me. I care far more about increasing the number of people who benefit from what we offer.
What advice would you give to young entrepreneurs?
Take a long-term perspective. Too often, people build things for the wrong reasons, perhaps with the sole intention of selling quickly. It’s equally important not to overthink, and to keep testing and allow flexibility. We shouldn’t be married to our ideas. Finding the perfect match is like solving a Rubik’s Cube.
What do you think of the startup landscape in Europe?
There is still a stigma around failing in Europe, and a more limited appetite for risk with smaller potential reward compared to the US. As a result, we’re in need of a wake-up call. While the ecosystem is promising and backed by solid educational foundations, it lacks sufficient capital. To truly thrive, we need support for founders, a cultural shift that embraces learning from failure and normalizes trying again, and we need to address fragmentation and improve both the legal and technical infrastructure to better support risk-taking and innovation.