Meet the founder
Daniel Huf
Founder & Managing Partner - Hevesta Capital
I was born in a little town between Cologne and Frankfurt in Germany to an African-American mom and a German dad. I grew up as a bilingual, multicultural kid with big dreams.
I am an unabashed believer in the power of business to make communities stronger.
My career has ranged over many sectors from construction to consumer goods, founding a non-profit to venture capital investing, spanning several countries and two continents. But to understand what has truly shaped me you must understand my family.
A family business - my Opa’s story of building Huf Haus
My grandpa on my dad’s side (‘Opa’ in German) took over my great-grandfather's sawmill with a handful of employees and little formal education. As a shrewd entrepreneur, he took that business through many iterations: building church roofs, constructing the German pavilion at the 1958 Brussels World Fair, manufacturing simple ‘kit’ houses at a growing factory, and finally creating custom-designed, zero-carbon, luxury, modular homes.
Today Huf Haus has 112 years of history, over $100 in million revenue, 500+ staff, and is in its 4th generation of management.
Much of my career after completing my undergrad was inspired by the desire to lead a company like Huf Haus one day. I began my career at Colgate-Palmolive, working across finance, marketing, sales, supply chain departments. This experience was invaluable in appreciating how a large corporation fits together and gave me the cross-functional experience needed to become an effective operator. I then became a management consultant at Strategy&, the strategy arm of PwC (formerly Booz&Co), advising CEOs and other C-suite executives on their business strategy across sectors ranging from insurance and automotive to telecoms and retail banking. For me, these were roles focused on gaining the tools needed to be a business leader, as I always bore my Opa’s mantra in mind: “the most important decision you’ll make in your life is if you want to work for someone else or for yourself”.
Me and my Opa
Huf Haus show-house in the UK
Huf Haus' factory in Hartenfels
Me and my grandpa
Our launch event in 2018
My journey as a founder - inspired by my grandpa, the first black PhD in nuclear physics from Stanford
My grandpa on my mom’s side grew up in the segregated American South and had a rough childhood. As the first in his family to go to college, he attended Talladega, an HBCU in Alabama, at the height of the civil rights movement in the 1960s. In the 1970s, he received a scholarship to study at Stanford and became the first black person to graduate with a PhD in Nuclear Physics. His mantra is that “they can take away your assets but not your education — invest in yourself.” As such, for my mom’s side of the family education was always the most important priority.
This is what inspired me to hustle in high school to attend my dream school: Cambridge University - where I was honored to graduate with distinction. But coming out of undergrad, I realized how important an advantage having such trailblazing ancestors in terms of accessing higher education and the opportunities that come with it. In response I co-founded The Armitage Foundation in 2018, to help those who weren't so lucky. The non-profit provides a long term (6+ years) intervention to enable kids from underrepresented backgrounds get into medical school. I was inspired by the story of my co-founder, Leanne Armitage, whose background was similar to my grandpa’s and who had struggled to get accepted into medical school. The charity went from strength-to-strength, even winning a televised award from Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace, and this is where I learned that building and growing teams is my calling.
Leanne receiving the Queen's award
Bringing it all together
It was a full circle moment for me when I graduated from Stanford myself with my grandpa as part of the ceremony. It was there that I could tie together the strings of business, entrepreneurship, and education by completing my MBA and MS in Climate (focused on Energy Systems and Sustainable Buildings).
I worked briefly at a large billion-dollar start-up called ICON that 3D-prints buildings out of concrete and is working with NASA to eventually 3D print buildings on the moon and mars. I also did a stint as a climate-focused venture capital investor, with Fifth Wall, a $3.2bn investment firm focused on real estate, PropTech, and climate change. I’m now excited for my next step, to bring friendly capital and lessons learned to help an exceptional business write its next chapter.
In the last 3 years Huf Haus has transitioned into its 4th generation of management, with my cousins taking over as co-CEOs. I understand what business transition looks like — even within a family it isn’t always easy. However, it can also bring new ideas and fresh energy that takes a business to the next level. I’ve seen that too.
Both sets of my grandparents
Who I’ve got in my corner
My greatest accomplishment at Stanford was meeting my partner, Cristina Parajón, who inspires me to be a better version of myself every day.
In 2023 she was the youngest woman in almost 90 years to join the New Mexico State House, where she tirelessly represents District 25 in the heart of Albuquerque - which is also where we are based with our dogs Lila and Pinky.
Us at my sister's wedding
Article from a British tabloid with a tongue-in-cheek reference to Germany and the UK’s soccer rivalry as my dad and uncle pose before Hevesta House
Where the name Hevesta comes from
When I was four, my father ventured out on his own to expand Huf Haus to the UK, moving our family to England. This was an extremely risky move, as he launched the UK business without taking a salary, betting his livelihood on performance-based compensation driven by his conviction in the business.
The UK did not initially welcome him with open arms: it took nearly two years to sell his first house. Ultimately, however, Huf Haus has become a nationally known and sought-after brand in the UK, with this market generating a major portion of HUF HAUS revenue.
Hevesta Capital is named after Hevesta House, which was the first show-house my father built in the UK. This house was rented from a client, and since my parents couldn’t afford additional rent in the area, we lived there too. For me, this house represents the grit and determination to succeed that informs my own approach to entrepreneurship.