Startup Grind Journal

Wouter Reijers studied Economics and Consumer science at Wageningen University in The Netherlands. He has vast experience in restructuring companies so they can become successful and profitable after something went wrong.

Here’s for a quick snippet of wisdom before you listen to our show:

According to Wouter, one of the key factors for a successful restructuring is a strong and good communication.

Wouter visited Romania for the first time in 1991. In 2010 Her Majesty, the Queen of The Netherlands, appointed him as Honorary Consul for the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

And he shared his wisdom with us.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

How Wouter Reijers got where he is today

The beginning of something can sometimes be so overwhelming that you lose track of time. At least, that’s how Lukas Eder, the creator of Datageekery puts it. He was 10 years old when he had just discovered programming on his dad’s computer.

And it consumed him.

He went in deep, learning the ins and outs of programming languages and getting better every day. In the end, he was able to turn this hobby into a fruitful business, and that’s how his entrepreneurial journey began.

But it wasn’t all geeky programming for Lukas. He participated in an exchange program, he enrolled in the army for a year and all of his experiences molded him into the businessman you’ll hear talking on this episode of the Startup Grind Journal.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

How Lukas went from a mesmerized child to a successful entrepreneur

iQuest is a big name in the Central European tech market, and that’s not by chance. Cornelius Brody has spent a lot of time coaching big corporations on the ins and outs of good business, and he saw that we spend way too much time bogged down with company politics.

His quest was to change that, and that’s how iQuest was born.

But this episode is not just a retelling of Brody’s story. Yeah, we took a deep dive into that as well, but we also talked about the Romanian ecosystem, what startups need to succeed and how to actualize your business for a digital world.

If you’re one for efficiency and growth, you can’t miss this fireside chat.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

How Cornelius Brody runs iQuest

Ellie Cachette doesn’t back down in the face of adversity. She takes it in stride and makes the best out of every situation, and it shows.

She is the founder of Cachette Capital Management, a global trust fund focused on early-stage venture capital investing, which sometimes also dabbles in software development and mobile products.

But she wasn’t born managing a trust fund. She worked all around the SaaS industry, and she’s got hands-on experience both as a Technical Manager and a Marketing Manager.

She knows how the startup ecosystem works. And she was kind enough to sit down for a fireside chat and share her wisdom.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

The Quest of Ellie Cachette and how she got where she is today

The 21st century is quickly reinventing everything we know about life, business, money and technology. The rise of AI and blockchain technology have revolutionized every imaginable industry, and we’re only witnessing the beginning of this trend.

Mukul Pal is well aware of that. He’s the founder and CEO of Alphablock, a company that focuses on reconfiguring individual blocks from the blockchain into an intelligent market mechanism.

Oh yeah, we’re going deep on this one.

But we didn’t just talk about complicated financial technologies and the way they can change our world. Mukul Pal spoke at length about his journey and plans for the future.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

How Mukul went from studying the hard sciences to founding Alphablock

Fortech is a big name in the Romanian tech market. They build reliable software and IT solutions that help companies all across the globe, and he’s been on this path since 2003.

It wasn’t always easy, and Calin will share some thoughts on the hard times too. But he takes it a step further and, in our episode, touches on a lot of important aspects for the average (and successful) european entrepreneur.

Fortech didn’t peak yet. They’re constantly evolving, and with Calin holding the reins there’s no indication that the growth will stop. If it was, he’d put some of the wisdom he shared with us to good use.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

How Calin Vaduva founded Fortech, and his journey up to that point

Bogdan Herea is a veteran businessman in the Romanian scene. He’s the CEO and Founder of Pitech +, a tech company empowering change through the latest technologies available, he’s on the Advisory Board of the ImpactIA Foundation, and he has a lot of experience developing ecommerce platforms for big names like Jaguar, Land Rover or Subaru.

But Bogdan is not content with building a brand for himself. In our episode, you’ll also find out a lot about Academy +, Bogdan’s project to prepare Romanian’s youth for an ever more competitive digital workforce.

If we’re to take his word for it: it all boils down to hard work and making the right decisions at the right time.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

How Bogdan Herea built his successful business

Asia Lindsay is a global citizen for real. She was born in Hong Kong, in a multicultural family, and she has lived in over 6 countries throughout her life so far. This made her aware of the human aspect of business, and it shows in her career path.

She was focused on community engagement, languages and forging intercultural connections, which made her dive deeper into the importance of the people surrounding you. After holding numerous positions in the events organizing department of various companies, she started the TED Coding Club, which made her focus on the tech industry more.

Asia’s story is a story about how to hire and how to manage a stellar remote team (yes, even if you’re organizing events). Definitely listen to this episode if you’re struggling to stay on top while managing a remote team.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

How Asia Lindsay got to where she is now