Founder Talk: Recent Episodes
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Welcome to Founder Talk. If you are all up in the startup or entrepreneur scene, this is the channel for you. Here we talk to the most passionate and insightful founders in Europe. In combination, we also feature startup experts, to give you the best insights possible. Why watch our Founder Talks? We inspire, help you avoid the same errors of those before you, we get personal and professional insights from busy & successful founders. Who knows, maybe you will create the next unicorn!
Meet Legitary, the early startup that has already taken the music industry by storm! They are currently analyzing over 100 billion streams to make sure results are 100% fraud free. By being the first in the market with their AI-powered algorithms, they are definitely a startup to watch out for!* Chapter description *00:00 - Meet Legitary and Nermina Mumic, join their journey07:33 - Hr insights 14:16 - Mental health insights 19.20 - Complete the sentences
“We are the Shopify for recruiters” - meet the co-founder Jan, who is a part of a digital storefront for staffing and recruiting for companies. They are here to challenge and disturb the traditional way of HR.
So where did the passion for HR tech come from? Well tune in and find out!* Chapter description *00:00 - Meet Jan & Gustav05:19 - Hr insights08:51 - Mental health in Startups11:51 - HR insights at Gustav13.34 - Journey with the Y combinator 16:02 - Complete the sentences
Meet Anna Pölzl, the Co-founder of nista.io (formerly known as Gnista). She talks about the journey of starting an early staged startup, the challenges with the pandemic and lots of HR/mental health insights.
Go green tech! Curious about what nista.io does, tune in now!* Chapter description *00:00 - Meet Anna & what Gnista is 07:28 - Hr & Mental health insights13:08 - Complete the sentences
Meet Klaudia Bachinger, who is the co-founder and ex-CEO of WisR. In this Founder Talk she shares her journey as a founder and the insights on why the startup did not succeed. She continues giving great insights on HR topics for both founders and candidates. She also shares her journey with the company in tackling mental health and creating a safe space for her team members.
* Chapter description *00:00 - Meet Klaudia Bachinger & WisR 04:15 - Social Media post of WisR closing down05:25 - HR topics09:48 - Mental health in the startup ecosystem 15:15 - Complete the sentences
Meet Tom Kupper, the Co-founder and CPO of Bloom Diagnostics, he shares the journey of being in the FinTech industry, the revolutionizing technology of the bloom system and how it might change the health system forever, in the best way possible.
* Chapter description *
00:00 - Background of Tom Kupper & Bloom Diagnostics
08:34 - HR insights
15:55 - Mental Health in the startup ecosystem & how to best support your team
20:06 - Complete the sentences
Meet Thomas Kriebernegg, the Co-founder of App Radar, in this talk you get a bit of everything, inside knowledge on App Radar, advice, tips, and his own thoughts on certain topics.
* Chapter description *
00:00 - intro to Thomas Kriebernegg, co-founder of app radar
00:21 - How App radar started
03:18 - Meet co-founder Christian
03:43 - What does App radar do?
04:49 - biggest surprise on the journey as a founder
06:42 - Growth pain within a startup
08:11 - Biggest learning as a founder
09:25 - Who do you admire the most
10:29 - Advice to founders in 2021
11:15 - Advice for female founders in 2021
11:33 - skillset to have in a startup
12:21 - first hire to App Radar
13:19 - is it hard to build up the right team for a startup
15:01 - Culture VS Skill Set at App Radar
17:20 - Complete the sentences
Meet one of the founders of Byrd, she shares their beginning in the market, the evolvement of the team, and how they powered through the pandemic. Petra shares great advice and tips, based on personal experiences as a founder. Tune in and get inspired.
* Chapter description *
00:00 - How the journey of Byrd started
01:41 -The history of the team and their skills
04:00 - How Byrd has handled the pandemic
05:53 -Their growth into 5 countries and future expansion in 2021
06:30 - Tips to entrepreneurs wanting to start their own business
07:06 - Learning journey becoming a founder
07:45 - The company culture at Byrd
08:43 - Most important trait to have in the startup ecosystem
10:17 - Tips to be a good leader
Romy Von Roeder is what we like to describe as a people expert, with over 10 years in the people business of HR, she shares some great insights and advice to anyone in the same business. She goes into detail about how Tier handled the pandemic and advice on checking your own bias when hiring.
Romy has an extensive resume with her first HR job starting in 2008, during this time she has worked in both corporate and startups. Her passion is people and she has made it very clear in the interview she is engaged in the whole journey that their candidates go through. Not only is it important to attract the right candidates but she explains how at Tier Mobilitythey do so, and what comes next to achieve the best candidates experience and its importance.
Chapter description
00:00 - Introducing Romy Von Roeder from Tier Mobility
01:17 - The growth at Tier tripling
01:47 - What does it mean to be an HR business partner?
02:36 - Romy's proudest achievement
03:19 - How did Tier manage during the pandemic?
04:30 - How to best present Tier to new hires?
05:49 - Core values of Tier Mobility are?
06:35 - What a perfect hire could look like?
08:30 - Big mistake to do when being interviewed is?
09:35 - How to reduce bias in the hiring process
10:31 - How Tier is using tools to reduce their bias in the hiring process
11:36 - Best advice for the onboarding process
12:50 - What does the future of HR look like?
14:35 - Virtual Assessment Centers and what they mean for the future of hiring
16:16 - Job openings at Tier Mobility
17:54 - Complete the sentences from Maria Baumgartner
Bastian Kellhofer shares his professional journey and how the disappointment of the non-evolution of his previous workplace encouraged him to think innovative, move with the times and create his own digital media house focusing on the hottest topics in the startup world. Their mission is to become the biggest media house in Europe. Join us on this Founder Talk and get inspiration, learnings, and understanding of different ways of thinking.
* Chapter description *
00:00 - Meet the founders of Trending Topics
00:37 - How did Trending Topics start?
01:16 - Mission of Trending Topics
01:43 - The good and the bad of the Trending Topics journey
03:09 - Bastian Kellhofer taking on several roles as founder
03:38 - What Bastian Kellhofer is most proud of
04:40 - The vision for the future and their expansion into Europe
05:18 - Bastian Kellhofer advice to founders
06:02 - Who does Bastian Kellhofer admire?
06:52 - How Trending Topics hired their first employees
07:29 - Does the perfect hire exist?
07:55 - Company culture and what Trending Topics stand for
08:25 -Is Bastian Kellhofer a good leader?
08:50 -Importance to listening to your people
09:34 - How Trending Topics react to mistakes
10:04 -Bastian Kellhofer views on onboarding
11:11 - Complete the sentences
Meet the VP of engineering at Bitpanda, Krzysztof Ras. He shares their new and exciting ventures in Poland, with their mission of building up a technology and innovation hub. He shares how Bitpanda has managed to expand in the pandemic and their upcoming projects. We deep dive into HR insights, with great advice. We also share detailed information regarding their hiring process and their current hire needs.
Krzysztofofficially joined Bitpanda at the end of 2020 as the VP of engineering. He started at Bitpanda for a very big and exciting adventure - their big move to Poland.
One of Krzysztof’s main missions is to build a technology and innovation hub in Krakow. Even though it's a global pandemic and hard times, he says this has caused people to start looking out for their own personal investments. Therefore, they are expanding and need new team members to join the team in Krakow.
This is a jam-packed interview with personal and professional insights. Make sure you have a look and absorb the information given! Want to work for a company such as Bitpanda? Help them tear down the barrier to personal finance? Then this is your biggest opportunity to join their team and make a change.
* Chapter description *
00:00 - Get to know: Bitpanda's Mission
02:57 - Bitpands's upcoming projects
05:42 - Professional skills as a team lead
10:10 - Bitpanda HR insights
16:55 - Hires that Bitpanda is looking for
18:40 - Recruiting Process at Bitpanda
20:43 - Why Networking is Important
22:08 - Superpower Krzysztof Ras wish he had
Female founder Katharina Klausberger shares her story, how she started their business and how it developed over the years. She also gives advice on how to establish a startup successfully. In addition to that Katharina Klausberger talks about the essential characteristics of company culture and how to proceed with an onboarding process in a startup, in order to develop a good team spirit.
* Chapter description **
0:00 - Get to know: Shpock and where their idea originated from
6:18 - What makes a startup successful?
7:12 - Real user stories of Shpock
9:17 - HR Insights and Shpock's company culture
14:44 - Tips for startup candidates
16:22 - Life after Shpock and new ventures
17:09 - Complete the sentences
IN ASSOCIATION WITH: Shpock
Join the interview hosted by Maria Baumgartner, and we dive into topics related to future work models! Johannes has over 25 years of experience challenging the way we work and today we will explore how he does it!
The traditional 9-5 is becoming outdated and not so effective as we thought it to be. Johannes founded XIMES to help businesses develop a more structured and efficent working time model. Tune in as we dive into topics such as the 4 day work week, how XIMES has changed businesses, tips to stay keeping your well-being in check, and much more !
Chapter description *
00:00 - Introduction to Ximes
03:23 - Implementing 4-days Work Week Model
06:38 - Getting Data and Organizing Teams
08:00 - Recommendations for Ecosystems
11:13 - Changes during Covid
13:11 - Changes in the Company Through Time
14:21 - Can Home Office be a Sustainable Model?
17:09 - “What do you do if you struggle with work?”
Laura Egg has been part of the Austrian Angel Investors Association since 2019. In today’s episode, we explore how the aaia works toward connecting private investors to Austrian Innovators and much more.
aaia’s focus lies in connecting angel investors, transferring or investing in relevant know-how, and improving startup investment legislation and regulations. They are well known for their events and seminars that foster a safe space for investors and founders to network.
Topics:
- Why Laura joined the aaia
- What would Laura like to see more often
- Laura's new project
- The pandemic and Laura's journey with aaia
- Importance of female founders and investors
- Laura's hiring learning journey
- Mental health insights
- Complete the sentence
Johannes Ferner founded Fiskaly alongside Simon Tragatschnig and Patrick Gaubatz back in 2019. In today's episode, we explore what Fiskaly looks for when hiring new talents, and their approach to structuring teams while developing culture. We also explore mental health insights along with some of Johannes’s methods to dealing with the weight of being a CEO and Founder of a growing fintech company
fiskaly’s goal is to make receipts more simple. They offer a solution for all aspects of the receipt with country-specific solutions and 100% compliance. Their sustainable and paperless approach to sales slips saves resources and optimizes businesses to integrate total transparency into legal compliance.
Topics:
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The story of fiskaly
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What is fiskaly
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How the pandemic affected operations
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How fiskaly invests into a healthy culture
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The importance of developing a good team
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Johannes's experience as a founder
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Mental Health Insights
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Complete the sentence
Valerie Baar-Baarenfels has been the head of talent at Airbank since 2021. In today’s episode, we explore how Airbank acquires talent and how Valerie’s experience has been as head of talent. She shares her insights, learnings and journey gained throughout Airbank’s fast growth.
Airbank provides all your financial needs in one platform. Their platform is perfect for startups to see all their financial activity in real-time, make easy transactions and requests, manage taxes, and control their funding! After their successful fundraising, Airbank has now reached their series A funding of 20 million US dollars!
Along with her experiences as head of talent, we look into Valerie’s journey on the subject of the power shift, Airbank’s approach to flexible working methods, mental health strategies plus much more!
Topics:
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Valerie's story of joining Airbank
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What is Airbank
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Valerie's daily work
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Airbank's culture and cultural fit
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Remote and hybrid working
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Startup vs corporate
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Mental Health Insights
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The interview & hiring process
-
Complete the sentence
Anna Maria Brunnhofer-Pedemonte founded AMB Technology in Linz, Austria in 2018. AMB Technology’s vision is to develop human-centric AI. Their technology is designed to execute accurate detection, measurement, and reconstruction of human bodies.
Their goal to digitize the human body is separated into three main pillars RedINCH, AMB data, and Raymond. RedINCH focuses on measuring the human body using 3D-scanning technology. AMB Data is centered on creating a full 3D model of any given person. Raymond is the future of computer vision, digitizing the human eye view.
AMB Technology is always looking toward the future. In this Founder Talk episode, we discuss how their futuristic vision matches the present reality. From the transition to becoming a fully remote company to having a defined company culture, we invite you to a unique look into this truly one-of-a-kind company and founder.
Adam Somlai-Fischer founded Prezi alongside Peter Halacsy and Peter Arvai in Budapest, Hungary in 2009. The company has now expanded their operations in the USA and Latvia. Their presentation software has over 100 million users, with over 360 million presentations created and counting!
Prezi is a virtual presentation tool, but not just your everyday presentation software like PowerPoint. Their virtual presentation tools help people connect and collaborate in a more meaningful way for their audience. Their tool helps users create more captivating, engaging, and persuasive content. From in-person, video conferences, recording, and shareable videos, Prezi brings hybrid teams together like never before.
Along with his experiences as a co-founder we look into Adam’s journey on the subject of company culture, how virtually running a company is like, and mental health during the pandemic.
Michael Kraeftner founded Celum in 1999 and has been the CEO for the past 23 years. In today’s episode, we explore how Michael’s experience has been as a founder and the insights gained throughout the years. Along with his experiences as a leader, we look into Michael’s journey on the subject of company culture, the concept of work-life balance, and mental health during the pandemic
- What is Celum
- The biggest learning experience with HR
- Mental health and the pandemic
- Michael's thoughts on the concept of work-life balance
- Open positions at Celum
- Complete the sentence
Sophie Bolzer is the founder of the startup Audvice. In this episode, Sophie shares her vision of voice messaging and her experiences of being a founder of a growing company.
Audvice uses the power of voice messaging to help companies create more effective and efficient communication. Their software allows users to record, edit, share and listen to voice messages in a structured format.
Sophie states that they want to combine education and communication with the use of audio to process knowledge. Whether you are walking to your next meeting or driving to work, Audvice is a perfect tool to register information on the go!
We also explore Sophie’s background as a founder and her experience in creating her founding team.
Need insights from a founder who is the literal definition of an entrepreneur? Need to know his key indicators to succeed in the startup ecosystem or his biggest mistakes in this wild journey that started in 1992? Well, we got you covered!👇
Key insights of the interview
- His professional growth, starting several companies
- The importance of raising a venture found
- Relationship between founders and venture capitals
- His key learning strengths
- Mistakes on the journey he made
- Leading core values of Speedinvest
- Hr learning, what to do and not to do
- Success traits to have as a founder
- Advice for female founders
“If the carbon footprint is the most important KPI of humanity, of the century, then why are we leaving this to excel sheet.” A female warrior who wanted to step up the game in sustainability and technology. But how did she go from a founder of male fashion to climate action? Tune in to Anna Alex as she shares her startup journey and life!
The key insights of the interview
- Planetly and Outfittery, going from B2C → B2B
- Key learnings Anna Alex experienced on her journey as a founder
- Pressure as a founder and advice
- Anna Alex's self-reflection of her skills
- Work and life balance for a founder
- Core values and company culture of Planetly
- HR Insights and recruiting process at Planetly
- Advice to founders
- View on HR for startups in the beginning
Anna Alex is the proud co-founder of Planetly. It was actually from her first startup called Outfittery, that Anna got her idea for Planetly. She was curious to calculate their carbon footprint for herself and their company. She soon realised this was easier said than done. She explains that finding the answer to this question ended up with a consultant running around the company with an excel sheet asking lots of questions. Now Planetly is a driving force in the B2B market where their software is a one-stop shop for carbon neutrality. She says they first analyze, then reduce hot spots and if that isn’t possible, they find ways to compensate for it in the companies. Sounds exactly what the future needs!
Co-Founder, Lisa Fassl share the accidental start to the game-changer startup called Female Founders. Lisa's passion for this topic is clear as day, and the future is looking bright with lots of exciting ideas and events, however, the number 1 goal is to continue to be the Nr.1 organization in Europe related to women in tech, innovation, and startups.
More than 90% of the European venture capital is going to all-male teams? The time has come to make room for the next wave of female entrepreneurs! And Lisa-Marie Fassl and her team at Female Founders are making sure that all women who want to join this ecosystem get the best chance and support possible.
The key insights of the interview * The start of Female Founders and how it was an accident * What inspired them to start Female Founders * What does Female Founders look like in 2030 * What is Female Founders? What do they do? * What Lisa wish she knew before becoming a founder * Learning journey of being a founder and starting your own business * How Female Founders selected their first hire * The best tip to be a good leader * How to handle mistakes * Traits to have as a candidate in the startup world
We get to meet the co-founder behind 9am.health, Frank Westermann! He shares his personal and professional journey with Diabetes.
He also shares his struggles and learning from his journey with MySugr and insights. His newest startup also has a focus on diabetes, but he now explains the difference between the two and how this can change the lives of those living with diabetes.
Frank also shares how to succeed as a founder, HR & mental health insights and many more topics.
Meet the startup Grande Madame, she has done it all and seen it nearly all. If you haven’t seen any of the founder talks yet, this is the one to jump into! Want inspiration from an entrepreneur, author, mother, serial founder, investor & inspirational keynote speaker? Well, meet Selma.
The key insights of the interview * How do to find your space in the startup world * Importance of the power one individual can have * Motherhood, startups & how to make it work * Candidate traits to have * Advice to HR departments * What does it mean to go with your gut feeling * Why startups should incorporate corporate thinking * Building resilience in founders * Mental health in startups * The journey Selma had with the imposter syndrome
Meet the Aussie legend that has taken the tourism industry in our European ecosystem by storm! As you can imagine the pandemic has had its ups and downs, but they are coming back now more innovative and fresh than ever before! Tune in to see what is next for TourRadar.
The key insights of the interview
- The beginning of TourRadar and its marketplace.
- Transforming into a distribution network.
- How the pandemic has changed TourRadar.
- Key to making it in the startup ecosystem.
- Traits to look for in candidates.
- The company culture at TourRadar.
- How to look at the big picture when scaling your business.
- Mental health processes at TourRadar.
- Mental health in Startups Vs. Corporates.
- How Travis Pittman, co-founder & CEO handles his own bad days.
- What he wished he knew before starting his business.
- Australia Vs. Austria, who wins.
Bitpanda is probably THE startup of the year, they earned the Unicorn status, the first Austrian startup with that title, going from 200- 700 people, moving offices - the list goes on. Big applause to Bitpanda & Eric, who joins us for our Christmas Edition of the Founder Talk. The key insights From this Founder talk: * The story behind Bitpanda & how they came to be * Where did the name Bitpanda come from? * The future of Crypto in Europe * Eric Demuth biggest lesson * Growth pain & challenges in scale bitpanda, 200 👉 700 people. * The honest answer from Eric about their culture at Bitpanda * 60 days of work from anywhere at Bitpanda - how does it work? * Key traits to be a good leader * The secret to becoming a Unicorn like Bitpanda * Honest talk from Eric about the pandemic * Mental health at Bitpanda * Startups Vs. Corporates * The best way Eric Demuth deals with struggles * The imposter syndrome