"I remember being really upset about it." Antonia Cramer had just received an automated rejection for a job at Moonfare. For most people, that would be the end.

But not Antonia.

She refused to give up. Her persistence landed her a role at Moonfare in 2020.

Today, she's Vice President at PSG, driving portfolio growth across the DACH region — and still applying the customer-obsessed approach she learned at Moonfare.

So, what’s the story behind the job rejection from Moonfare?

I was so keen on working at Moonfare. I applied for a role and got a computer‑generated ‘no’. I remember being really upset about it. At first, I told myself to move on, but I couldn’t let it go.

A week or so later I tracked down an HR person’s email address and wrote to her: ‘Hey, I applied a couple of weeks back. Did you get my CV?’

She replied saying that they hadn’t. So, after a few emails back and forth, I sent my CV across. This led to getting an interview and a week or so later I signed the job contract.

Great perseverance! Why were you so determined to join Moonfare?

I loved the idea of individual investors gaining access to private equity. At the time, Moonfare was the only firm doing this. I wanted to become an expert in this area and felt that Moonfare was my best option.

I was also drawn to the chance to work with people like Steffen, Magnus and Lorenz, bounce ideas with them and watch how they make decisions. In a large GP, you would wait years for that level of access.

Is that what you enjoyed most about working at Moonfare?

Yes, but I also really enjoyed my team. “You come for the founders; you stay for the team.”

There were 20 of us. We were all super excited about our roles and we were involved in each other’s lives. It was like a small family.

I also enjoyed building a commercial understanding of private equity across Europe. Learning about the GPs, how their strategies performed and being able to dive into all that data.

What’s the biggest lesson you took with you?

Customer success is everything. Moonfare made me obsessed with client service, you know, providing ‘white‑glove service’. I learned there’s no such thing as being too client‑obsessed.

Why did you decide to move on?

I spent three and a half years at Moonfare and I had enjoyed building my own team and developing the DACH market. I wanted to do more of that but at scale. And when this opportunity at PSG came up: it was exactly what I was looking for.

Tell us about being Vice President at PSG.

I head up everything we do around origination in the DACH market. About 50% of my time is spent researching very particular B2B software verticals to find businesses for PSG to invest in. It’s very interesting.

How did your time at Moonfare prepare you for this role?

It would have to be the strong commercial understanding of private equity: knowing the GP landscape inside out and how to benchmark real performance.

The customer obsession, too. These days, I am dealing with a different customer type but the ‘white‑glove service’ approach still matters. It’s just about providing it at the Moonfare level.

Lastly, what is your advice to someone joining Moonfare now?

Take advantage of all your colleagues’ skills. Moonfare has a knack for bringing really interesting people together with different backgrounds and knowledge pools.

So, just stay plugged into what’s happening across the business, across departments and find opportunities you can run with.

At Moonfare, you can have a lot of autonomy to own your projects. So, go hang out with people, compare notes and jump into projects together.

Wise words indeed. Thank you for your time, Tona.