Startup Notes

Inspired by numerous requests of our listeners, we created some special episodes based on different key themes. We have put together the best pieces of timeless advice that we found most insightful from all the conversations with founders and VCs that we have published so far.

In our third special episode, we focus on what makes great teams and company cultures. Find out what successful startups do right in this regard - we hope you enjoy!

[01:33 - 06:12] Who you should hire first when starting a company

[06:13 - 07:31] How to best set up the compensation scheme for your team

02 - Florian Heinemann (Project A Ventures)

[07:36 - 09:35] What type of expert your first marketing employee should be

[09:36 - 11:50] The background and experience your first marketing employee should have

03 -  Friedrich A. Neuman (MAKERS.do)

[11:55 - 12:59] The ideal setup of a founders team

04 - Benedikt Franke (Helpling)

[13:04 - 15:20] The conditions for making it work to start a company with a friend

05 - Niklas Jansen (Blinkist)

[15:21 - 21:23] When and how to build a strong company culture

Inspired by numerous requests of our listeners, we have created some special episodes based on different key themes. We put together the best pieces of timeless advice that we found most insightful from all the conversations with founders and VCs that we have published so far.

In our second special episode, we focus on the traits of great founders. Find out what successful entrepreneurs have in common - we hope you enjoy!

01 - Christoph Gerber (Talon.One, former Lieferando)

[01:52 - 03:46] What mindset entrepreneurs should have

02 - Uwe Horstmann (Project A Ventures)

[03:50 - 05:34] What traits and skills of founders stand out for early-stage VCs

[05:35 - 07:57] The #1 trait of great entrepreneurs

[07:58 - 12:02] What startup CEOs must do and what they should not

03 -  Julian Riedlbauer (GP Bullhound)

[12:06 - 14:43] Being ahead of the market and knowing when to change roles

04 - Jasper Masemann (HV Holtzbrinck Ventures)

[14:48 - 16:52] How founders leave a lasting positive impression with VCs

05 - Friedrich A. Neuman (MAKERS.do)

[16:56 - 18:47] Which traits founders need to bring to the table

Inspired by numerous requests of our listeners, we have created some special episodes based on different key themes. We put together the best pieces of timeless advice that we found most insightful from all the conversations with founders and VCs that we have published so far. In this first episode, the particular focus is on one of tech’s most important topics: Raising money from venture capital investors. We hope you enjoy!

01 - Pawel Chudzinski (Point Nine Capital)

[01:38 - 03:15] Why tech startups usually need to raise money

[03:16 - 05:02] Criteria that Point Nine Capital assesses when making investment decisions

[05:03 - 06:47] On the importance and best practices of a good pitch deck

02 - Philipp Pausder (Thermondo)

[06:52 - 07:45] Why VCs invest more into complex business models nowadays

[07:46 - 08:19] Large markets that have lots of potential and VCs like to invest in

03 -  Julian Riedlbauer (GP Bullhound)

[08:24 - 10:03] How founders can leave a lasting impression with their pitch

04 - Claude Ritter (Cavalry Ventures)

[10:07 - 11:55] Soft factors that influence an investment decision

05 - Jasper Masemann (HV Holtzbrinck Ventures)

[11:59 - 12:59] How founders can differentiate themselves and positively ‚wow‘ VCs

06 - Luis Hanemann (e.ventures)

[14:07 - 16:41] Personal learnings of a founder who turned VC

The siblings Pia and Cornelius Frey started Opinary in 2013. The Berlin-based startup has established a new way for users to share their opinion in online content. Its technology helps millions of monthly users to share their view with a tap and understand opinion trends at a glance. Publishing partners (like The Times, HuffPost, and NBC) use Opinary to engage and monetize their audiences, while global brands and corporations boost attention, create high conversions and generate insights.

By now, Opinary has raised 4m€ in funding from renowned investors like Project A, Global Founders Capital, and Rolf Schrömgens (Founder of Trivago).

In this episode, Pia and Cornelius explain what it is like to start a company with a close family member, the way Opinary helps its clients to gain valuable insights, and how they bootstrapped the startup from a side project into one of Germany’s hottest tech companies.

Michael Cassau is Founder & CEO of Grover. The startup is one of Europe’s market leaders in technology rentals, bringing the access economy to the consumer electronics market, by offering a simple, monthly subscription model for the best in tech. Via its website Grover.com, it makes new technology products accessible to everyone while breaking the linear way of consumption, questioning the meaning of ownership, and offering a real alternative to financing.

Since it was started in 2015, Grover has closed 60m€ in funding by prominent investors like Circularity Capital, Commerzbank, Samsung NEXT and Global Founders Capital (Rocket Internet).

In this episode, Michael explains in detail the reasoning behind founding Grover, what the future for the sharing economy holds, and how to find the right investors that share your vision for global growth.

In our 8th #FromScratch masterclass, Josef Brunner (Founding Investor & CEO of relayr) taught our audience how to leverage corporate-startup partnerships.

Relayr enables its clients to digitize physical objects for harnessing the power of the Internet of Things. In 2018, the startup was sold to Munich Re (Group) for €300M. Partnering with corporations has been key for its success.

In this episode, Josef and moderator Christian Miele (Partner at e.ventures) discuss the criteria to evaluate the suitability of corporate partnerships, the right timing for starting such collaborations, and what the common reasons for failure are.

Florian Hübner is Founder & Co-CEO of Uberall. The startup has developed a cloud-based platform to let small and large businesses get listed and market themselves across multiple location-based services. Uberall has raised more than $50m by leading VCs like Project A and HPE Growth Capital since it was founded in 2012.

Originally started in Berlin, the startup by now has a team of 250 employees with offices in San Francisco, Cape Town, Paris, London and Amsterdam.

In this episode, Florian shares his key learnings on internationalization.