Lara Pelka
Meet Lara
Scientist / Researcher
Hamburg, Germany
Lara Pelka is a Visiting Analyst at Norrsken VC, where she supports investments in startups tackling the world’s most pressing challenges. With a background in sustainable technology and business, she combines venture capital experience from Merantix Capital with strategy consulting at BCG and a co-founding role in proptech startup maple. She is currently completing her Master’s in Sustainable Technology at KTH, with her thesis focused on biodiversity finance at the Stockholm Resilience Centre.
Areas of activity:
Funding and Investment
About:
Lara Pelka is a purpose-driven early-career investor and entrepreneur working at the intersection of sustainability, technology, and venture capital. She currently serves as a Visiting Analyst at Norrsken VC, one of Europe’s leading impact-focused venture funds. At Norrsken, she helps identify and support breakthrough ventures that address urgent global challenges across climate, health, and equality.
Lara holds a B.Sc. in Business Administration from the University of Mannheim, where she focused on innovation and organizational strategy. She is now pursuing a Master of Science in Sustainable Technology at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, with her thesis work embedded in the MISTRA FinBio program at the Stockholm Resilience Centre, in collaboration with institutions such as the Oxford Sustainable Finance Group, Stanford’s Natural Capital Project, and Pictet Asset Management. Her research centers on aligning financial markets with biodiversity goals.
Her entrepreneurial spirit is reflected in her role as Co-Founder & Managing Director of maple., a startup rethinking how buildings are planned through a tech-enabled, sustainability-first approach. She has also gained strategic insight as a Visiting Associate at BCG, focusing on energy and private equity, and as a Business Development Intern at Merantix Capital, a Berlin-based AI venture firm.
Lara is especially passionate about nature-positive finance, circular systems, and the role of innovation in accelerating ecological regeneration. Fluent in both business and sustainability, she brings a cross-disciplinary mindset to everything she does—whether it’s scouting startups, shaping investment theses, or tracking down the northern lights in Sweden.
Involvement:
Norrsken VC
Norrsken VC exists to drive capital towards solutions that tackle some of the world’s greatest challenges and allow us to live within the limits of planetary boundaries. We're impact-agnostic, backing teams solving high-severity problems with scalable, transformative potential across the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals.