Meet the CEO

Being a serial entrepreneur can be challenging if you are active in different industries. Or you can build your own ecosystem in the digital commerce industry.

This is what Bard Farstad did. He created digital tools that helped him be more effective in his own companies while developing new products. The way he did it is really astonishing.

In this episode of the Meet the CEO Podcast, we are talking about his key to success and why attention to detail is crucial in founding companies and restoring old Italian cars and why having your own bike brand is way more than a hobby to him.

Please enjoy this episode of the Meet the CEO Podcast - we now will be live again on a weekly basis.

Bard Farstad on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/bfarstad/

Crystallize Website https://crystallize.com/

What generation are you in? X, Y...Z? Is it essential for you to be a member of this group? Do you even mock other generations like Boomers?

We encountered a vast shift in how people see their age during the last years. A generational bonding got more critical due to the inherent differences in the economy, the daily challenges, and life goals.

But how did it get so far, and what can be done about that situation? The possibility to understand each other and learn from each other would be essential. And to get known and seen, you need to be proactive and provocative - especially on LinkedIn.

Dina Brandt managed to get known within months on the platform as "Trotziger Millenial" ("Defiant Millennial") in bringing up typical misunderstandings. Still, she also delivers the necessary insights to get rid of those.

With this success, she decided to start her own company and help with her knowledge to bring people closer together again. This is why she is today's guest in the Meet the CEO podcast.

People can't not communicate! We all do know this old quote by Paul Watzlawick. But it could not be more true nowadays with all the social media streams.

People are getting more and more sensitive to how you communicate. Therefore PR got more and more crucial in especially the digital industry. Is it authentic, are your messages advertising only, or are you just bragging about your activities?

PR is not advertising - it is about relationship management. And because of these relations, the best people should be visible for the suitable topics at the right time.

One of the most skilful people on this topic is Sachar Klein. As founder of hypr PR, he created one of the most successful PR companies in Germany - although he never really wanted to be self-employed at all. Probably that's even the reason why his company is so successful.

In this episode of the Meet the CEO Podcast Sachar and Stephan are talking about why communication is critical, what are the benefits of the new normal and how teams can use their possibilities in the best way.

There are lots of KPIs out there to measure a company's success. For most, it is revenue or growth rate. But these indicators are not the relevant ones you need to figure out if times are getting tough in the market.

Then the Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) is one of the most interesting key performance indexes as it gives you an excellent overview of your existing business. In addition, you can adapt services to fit your client's group event better.

But why is this so important, and how do you measure these KPIs correctly? I am talking about these topics with Valentin Radu in this Meet the CEO Podcast episode. He is a serial entrepreneur and highly successful with his latest company OMNICONVERT.

Some brands did establish an emotional connection to their customers. The best examples are Apple and Tesla. What is the secret of those brands?

On the one hand, they manufacture fantastic technology to improve everyday life. On the other hand, they have established a direct emotional connection with their customers. So now the question is: Why do they succeed in doing that, and why do most brands not?

This is one of the topics Stephan is talking about with Alain Sylvain in this episode of the Meet the CEO Podcast. Alain is a unique character as he manages to make a first impression that lasts for a long time due to his energy, ideas, and speech. Stephan had the honour to see Alain talk at TNW 2021. He was fascinated not only by the speech itself but by how easy it seemed for Alain to point out some of the most important topics in brand communication and brand building.

Founding a company in the e-commerce industry 20 years ago was utterly different to nowadays. Most of the systems we use daily were not invented, and it was the time of the first digital gold rush.

So starting a business was often not focused on one solution but on many different ones. This is also the story of dotdigital. The company was founded as a shopping card plus an email marketing solution, and both products were highly successful.

But at some time on the journey, Tink Taylor, Co-Founder & CEO, decided it would be best to focus all the energy on being the best email marketing solution that is available in the industry. This shift was hard - internally and externally as well. But Tink is happy with how things turned out and how he created a global leader in the marketing industry.

These are the topics Tink and Taylor are talking about in this Meet the CEO podcast episode.

Bernhard had this situation back in the days as he worked as an engineer and travelled day in and out way too much. As he was into flying, he thought it might be good to use a plane for trips like this.

Fast forward to today, he is the CEO of Austria's biggest, privately owned airline. He did not only build his dream but a team that is working perfectly together. All this in one of the most exciting industries you can think of.

In this episode of the Meet the CEO Podcast, Bernhard and Stephan are talking about what it needs to build a company that lasts for decades in such a demanding industry, how to get the best people possible and if Bernhard is still enjoying flying by himself

Please enjoy this episode of the Meet the CEO Podcast - we now will be live again on a weekly basis.

We all encounter the everyday struggle of being too much in meetings, having a full calendar of meetings which could be an email or way too many onsite conferences.

What is the thing that keeps people on track or, even better, keeps them positive? It´s self-motivation and company culture. These two topics go hand in hand.

Boris Diekmann is a global leader on that topic, and it shows in this episode of the Meet the CEO Podcast because besides all the business topics we are talking about Boris shares his personal experiences and provides insights to some exciting ways of living.

Please enjoy this episode of the Meet the CEO Podcast - we now will be live again regularly!

Boris Diekmann on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/kraftner/

Heidrick & Struggles Website https://www.heidrick.com/en

Founding a startup nowadays is quite easy. There are a lot of investors out there who are just waiting for the next big thing or innovative company.

20 years ago it was way different. Not only because of the Dot.Com Crash. But the infrastructure has evolved, the internet is an integral part of our everyday lives and software services are the backbone of lots of industries.

Michael has done it the old way. He founded CELUM back then and established a company that grew to one of the frontrunners of the digital economy in Europe. He managed to build a team of employees who stay with the company for decades. This is not done easily - but can only be done if you honestly care about humans.

In this episode Michael and Stephan talk about what changed during the last years, what are the challenges even if your company is already established and what the challenges nowadays are for him as a CEO.

Please enjoy this episode of the Meet the CEO Podcast - we now will be live again regularly!

Michael Kraeftner on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/kraftner/

CELUM Website https://www.celum.com/

15 years ago, it was exceptional if you were online while travelling through Europe. Companies like Second Life were telling us stories of how our lives would be lived rather online than offline, and many people were spooked by that idea.

Forward to 2022, and we are at the gates of what will be known as the phygital decade. The technology is here, and people are open to experiencing an omnichannel lifestyle. More and more, our physical world and the digital world merge into one.

What does that mean for each of us, what possibilities does the state of the art technology provide and what will be the impacts on our personal lives? These are the topics I am talking to Nicolas Prevost about in this episode of the Meet the CEO Podcast.

Please enjoy this episode of the Meet the CEO Podcast - we now will be live again regularly!

Nicolas Prevost on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolas-pr%C3%A9vost-533575112/

Yeamob Website https://www.yeamob.com/