He was born in Harzburg. Koch studied Economy and worked for years for AEG.
During World War I he was a military in the German army. In 1918 he joined the German Democratic Party(Deutsche Demokratische Partei). Between the wars he worked as an economist and professor on the Technical University of Berlin.
After World War II he co-founded the Liberal Democratic Party of Germany (LDPD) in the Soviet Occupied Zone (SBZ). In 1945 he was briefly the Chairman of the LDPD, but the Soviet's forced him to resign after a few months. He opposed the landreform plans of the Soviet authorities and the Socialist Unity Party (SED).
Untill 1948 Koch was a member of the LDPD's executive committee.
In den Jahren 1919 bis 1930 arbeitete Koch in verschiedenen Industriebetrieben.
1930 habilitierte Koch sich für Betriebswirtschaftslehre an der Technischen Hochschule Berlin und arbeitete dann bis 1945 als freiberuflicher Wirtschaftsprüfer.
1948 wurde Koch aus der LDP ausgeschlossen, siedelte nach West-Berlin über und wurde Mitglied der Freien Demokratischen Partei (FDP).