Bernhard Niesner is the founder of Busuu, which sold to Chegg for €436m in 2021, making it the largest EdTech Exit in Europe. However, the company almost died 7 years in which marked a pivotal moment for Bernhard, specifically with how he approached startup culture.

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Bernhard was kind enough to share his incredible story and lessons from the rollercoaster ride of Busuu!

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📖 Video Chapters

00:00 - Intro

04:19 - Culture Crisis

17:30 - Culture Exercises

21:42 - Culture Eats Strategy For Breakfast

32:02 - Team of A Players

38:55 - 100 Rejections From VCs

47:56 - How much to raise?

50:37 - Relationships with investors

58:05 - Evolving our internal chatter

01:02:12 - Success is the struggle

01:05:50 - M&A Learnings

01:17:43 - Post-exit life

01:20:11 - Family : Work Harmony

01:24:10 - What's impossible?

01:28:55 - Unconventional Opinion

01:30:04 - How we can help Bernhard

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If we haven’t met before - Hey 👋 I’m AJ, a serial entrepreneur and community expert who believes that company building should be viewed more through the lens of relationship building.

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