In 2013, SAP bought up CRM and cloud service provider Hybris for 1.5 billion US. At the time, the deal was the largest of its kind for a European entrepreneur, but for anyone in . It also came at a time when cloud technologies, their use case and applications, were in their absolute infancy. In this episode of the OMR Podcast, I had the chance to discuss the deal with Thoma, if he has any regrets about the timing and the price—can you regret a billion-dollar deal? We also discussed his activities as an angel investor, his investing strategy and we didn't leave any meat on the proverbial bone getting the low-down on his chain of BBQ smokehouses stateside.

with Angel Investor Carsten Thoma

From our HQ in Hamburg, Germany, we’re keeping tabs on everything and anything, and anyone who’s anyone in the European digital, marketing and tech space. OMR CEO Philipp Westermeyer and international digital marketing editor Scott Peterson, are talking shop with the biggest players and companies disrupting the European tech scene and beyond. We’ll be coming straight to your inbox every couple of weeks to keep you up-to-date on what’s up this side of the pond.

A Podstars by OMR production.

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Management

Jeff Kolovson is COO at Faire, a B2B wholesale eCommerce platform that Techcrunch described as “Indie Amazon.” But with capital raised north of USD 800m, a valuation of 12.5b US as of May 2022 and a recent partnership with Shopify, all obfuscates Faire’s size. But at its essence, the label fits: retailers can access, via subscription, millions of products by 100,000 brands on the platform and use some very clever filters to ensure that the products align with retailer values. We discussed the robust offering of features and tools the platform offers, the retailer and brand-friendly features aimed at attracting and aiding new users build their shops and the impact of partnering with Shopify.

with Jeff Kolovson, COO Faire

Today, we are talking about the future of our mobility and our cities with Dance mobility co-founder and CEO Eric Quinedus-Wahlforss. Dance is a Berlin-based mobility startup offering its users eBikes and eScooters on a subscription basis to have and to hold as their own. In today's pod, we discussed the challenges of overcoming the sodded reputation of eBikes and how Dance succeeded in selling those “clunky contraptions” most-commonly associated with unathletic retiree-types to the hipster, chic types in Europe’s major metro areas. We explored the business model, the community, the value of high-profile investors and Eric’s vision of the city of tomorrow and why he’s confident that cities will continue to move away from cars and incorporate new forms of mobility.

with Dance CEO and co-founder Eric Quidenus-Wahlforss

Quentin Bordage is the founder and CEO of Kolsquare, a leading European SaaS service that connects influencers and KOLs with companies and brands. Originally founded in 2010 as Brands & Celebrities, Kolsquare in its current form has been around since 2018, acting more as a self-service platform for companies to find, vet and connect with KOLs, or key opinion leaders. In this episode of the OMR Podcast, Bordage sat down with host Scott Peterson to discuss the current state of influencer marketing, why the 2018 pivot was more natural evolution that hard paradigm shift, as well as the nuts and bolts of the platform. We also touched on best-case practices and absolute no-gos for brands and companies new to working with KOLs.

with Kolsquare CEO Quentin Bordage

Today's episode features Johanna Dahlroos and Emma Tracey, co-CEOs and co-founders of Berlin-based creative brand agency Sceal. Its focus lies primarily in helping tech companies grow at scale, finetune brand values, overall brand presence, products and brand campaings. This episode is driven by the atypical founder stories that Johanna and Emma have. Johanna transitioned from a career as a painter in her Native Finland to digital designer and now founder, while Emma is a serial entrepreneur having founded Honeypot, an IT job platform that Emma sold in 2019 for 57m. We talked about bootstrapping, the current startup landscape, marrying a career with family and their client portfolio including storied Berlin techno club Tresor.

with Scéal CEOs Emma Tracey and Johanna Dahlroos

Nikolas Bullwinkel is co-founder and CEO of food delivery startup Circus. Based in Hamburg, the venture launched in May 2022 and has set as its mission nothing short of creating what it calls the "Kitchen of the future." In this episode of the OMR Podcast, Nikolas spoke about his plans to redefine kitchens, incorporating AI into the back of the house and why he left Flink.

with Angel Investor Carsten Thoma

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