Struggling to bridge the gap between corporate innovation and startup agility? Discover the secrets of successful corporate venture building from Christian Lüdtke, a pioneer who transformed the landscape of corporate Germany with the Lean Startup Principle. Learn firsthand about the challenges and triumphs of creating ventures within a corporate structure, the importance of selecting the right team, and how to effectively engage with venture builders.

Welcome to the Digital Transformers Podcast with Kilian Karrasch. On this podcast, you'll hear about the latest next-generation business opportunities, how to build products and business models around them, and how to create more revenue for your business. Plus, you'll learn about the many lessons Kilian and his guests have learned on their path to building and running multi-million euro businesses.

About the host: 

Kilian Karrasch is the founding partner at Boldheart, the leading next-generation product & venture builder. Together with his team, he helps ambitious corporates such as Valora, GEMA, and the International Chamber of Commerce identify, build, and scale successful next-generation digital products and business models.

Follow Kilian's socials: LinkedIn

About the guest:

Christian Lüdtke is co-founder & CEO of the innovation hub BRYCK which empowers startups to build a livable future. Before he co-founded etventure, one of the largest corporate venture builders in Germany that was eventually acquired by EY. He went from building up corporate innovation departments and ventures at Bertelsmann and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt - the largest education publisher at the time - to importing the lean startup principle to Germany and helping hundreds of organizations build innovation units and ventures. These days, he helps entrepreneurs develop the skills they need to successfully build their ventures.

Follow Christian's socials: LinkedIn

Timeline:

(10:35) - From corporate to startup mentality: how to make the mindset shift happen

(16:32) - The importance of CEO support and the right mindset in corporate venture success

(20:23) - When is the right time to pursue corporate venture building?

(23:47) - How to overcome C-level objections on new business investments

(29:39) - Internal development vs. partnering up

(32:09) - The critical role of internal IT departments - and how to engage them in your innovation projects

(33:09) - How to build the right founding team

(36:26) - Sales strategy and customer engagement: Picking up the phone and the importance of direct communication

(39:04) - The significance of investor readiness and how to prepare for fundraising rounds

Facing hurdles in transforming your innovative ideas into successful corporate ventures? Here's the blueprint for crafting ventures responsible for over $5 billion in equity value. Learn the secrets to fine-tuning incentive structures, selecting lucrative new business opportunities, and assembling the dream team for your venture.

Welcome to the Digital Transformers Podcast with Kilian Karrasch. On this podcast, you'll hear about the latest next-generation business opportunities, how to build products and business models around them, and how to create more revenue for your business. Plus, you'll learn about the many lessons Kilian and his guests have learned on their path to building and running multi-million euro businesses.

About the host: 

Kilian Karrasch is the founding partner at Boldheart, the leading next-generation product & venture builder. Together with his team, he helps ambitious corporates such as Valora, GEMA, and the International Chamber of Commerce identify, build, and scale successful next-generation digital products and business models.

Follow Kilian's socials: LinkedIn

About the guest:

Jordan Schlipf is the founder and CEO of Rainmaking and Rainmaking Venture Studio. Jordan went from founding several small startups, over launching Startupbootcamp - the world's largest industry-focused startup accelerator network, to building Rainmaking into one of the leading corporate venture builders in the world that has built companies with a total equity valuation of $5B+ to date.

Follow Jordan's socials: LinkedIn

Timeline:

(03:52) - Shift your focus: empowering talented founders for venture success.

(07:48) - Why corporates struggle with generating new business ideas - and how to change that

(14:07) - The ideal adjacency for new business models

(18:01) - The pivotal role of incentives in driving entrepreneurial behavior within ventures

(22:48) - The ideal structure of a venture board

(29:17) - Why few corporate ventures build successful new businesses.

(36:13) - How to balance the investment portfolio and select the right business ventures

(39:46) - Entrepreneurial ambitions? A reality check for corporate employees

Struggling to reinvent your company for the digital age? Learn why traditional approaches to innovation often lead to dead ends and how to pivot towards methods that guarantee success. In this episode, we discuss essential strategies and governance structures that have propelled over 100 ventures to success.

Welcome to the Digital Transformers Podcast with Kilian Karrasch. On this podcast, you'll hear about the latest next-generation business opportunities, how to build products and business models around them, and how to create more revenue for your business. Plus, you'll learn about the many lessons Kilian and his guests have learned on their path to building and running multi-million euro businesses.

About the host: 

Kilian Karrasch is the founding partner at Boldheart, the leading next-generation product & venture builder. Together with his team, he helps ambitious corporates such as Valora, GEMA, and the International Chamber of Commerce identify, build, and scale successful next-generation digital products and business models.

Follow Kilian's socials: LinkedIn

About the guest:

Jan Sedlacek is the founder of one of the globally leading corporate venture builders - Stryber -, which has created over 100 ventures and worked for major companies such as Nestlé, ADQ, Migros, Generali, Vorwerk, and many more.

Follow Jan's socials: LinkedIn

Timeline:

(01:13) - The failure of traditional innovation methods

(04:32) - Choosing the right innovation tools and strategies for business model enhancement.

(06:35) - How to develop innovation capabilities and mindset within organizations.

(09:08) - The impact of corporate gravity on venture success.

(11:02) - Deciding between corporate venture building and M&A based on strategic needs.

(14:15) - How to establish a corporate venture building strategy with effective governance.

(22:11) - Designing governance structures to support venture success.

(33:22) - Managing ventures in adjacent areas for operational independence and strategic relevance.

(42:17) - Planning for long-term asset leverage in scale-up venture scenarios.

(43:43) - Risk mitigation by scaling ventures incognito before leveraging corporate assets.

(47:05) - Understanding future governance options for ventures, including integration or management as new business lines.

Teaser: How to Establish Effective Governance Structures for Venture Success

About the Episode:

Embarking on a digital transformation but worried about the pitfalls? This episode is your guiding light. Richard and Joachim, with over 50 years of combined experience, share invaluable insights on setting a clear direction, the importance of sponsorship and choosing the right partners, and learning how to engage and motivate your team for a seamless transition.

Check out the full Transformation Guide: Reflections on Organizational Transformation

About the Host:

Kilian Karrasch is a founding partner at Boldheart, the leading next-generation product & venture builder. Together with his team, he helps ambitious corporates identify, build, and scale successful next-generation digital products and business models. 

Follow Kilian's socials: LinkedIn

About the Guests:

Richard and Joachim are esteemed figures in the realm of digital transformation, boasting over 50 years of collective experience. As former executives and current advisors to C-level teams, they've spearheaded major transformation projects across prominent companies and governmental organizations in Europe.

Follow Richard's socials: LinkedIn;

Follow Joachim's socials: LinkedIn"

Timeline: 

(00:50) - Introduction

(05:00) - Discussion on the inception of the "Reflections on Organizational Transformation" document.

(07:20) - The Importance of collaboration in digital transformation.

(09:40) - Organizational transformation vs. mere change.

(12:30) - Real-world examples of transformation: Nokia and Hugo Boss.

(14:55) - The necessity of transforming organizations and how to recognize existential threats to the business.

(17:10) - Discussion on the high failure rate of digital transformations and how to navigate it.

(19:45) - The role of clear direction and clarity in successful transformation.

(22:30) - The challenge of securing leadership sponsorship and alignment.

(25:00) - Selecting the right partners for transformation efforts.

(27:50) - Addressing internal dynamics and engaging the team for transformation.

(30:15) - Strategies for dealing with different mindsets within the organization towards transformation.

(33:00) - Importance of establishing credibility and showing early successes.

(35:45) - The continuous process of transformation beyond the initial stages.

(38:20) - Closing remarks and anticipation for the next episode on maintaining momentum in transformation.

About the Episode:

Is your organization's digital transformation journey hitting roadblocks? This episode is your guide through the maze. From establishing direction to the nuances of ongoing engagement and value creation to protecting the vision and the team, this conversation sheds light on what it takes to sustain transformation efforts.

Check out the full Transformation Guide: Reflections on Organizational Transformation

About the Host:

Kilian Karrasch is a founding partner at Boldheart, the leading next-generation product & venture builder. Together with his team, he helps ambitious corporates identify, build, and scale successful next-generation digital products and business models. 

Follow Kilian's socials: LinkedIn

About the Guests:

Michael Rammelsberger and Franziska Jörg are seasoned experts in organizational transformation, each bringing a rich tapestry of experience from the world of retail, consumer goods, and e-commerce. As executives and change leaders, they have spearheaded strategic initiatives and operations overhauls in some of the leading SMEs and stock-listed companies in Europe.

Follow Michael's socials: LinkedIn;

Follow Franziska's socials: LinkedIn

Timeline: 

(0:58) - Introduction.

(4:36) - Unveiling key principles for successful change.

(9:18) - Effective communication strategies across diverse teams.

(15:00) - The necessity of engaging stakeholders at all organizational levels

(17:26) - How to manage complexity in large-scale transformations.

(20:11) - The significance of adding value and achieving early wins.

(30:56) - Persistence and adaptability as keys to sustaining efforts.

(37:43) - How to foster a culture of innovation and continuous improvement.

(45:27) - How to protect transformations and personnel from negative factors.

(54:14) - Conclusion

Startup Founders!

If you are looking to gain access to markets and capital, a corporate partner can be a game changer. But how do you select the right opportunities and partners and avoid getting stuck in endless processes and "slow-boat mentality"?

In this third episode of the Boldheart x PwC Exclusive "Innovation Unbound - The Definite Guide to Corporate and Startup Collaborations", we dive into the key indicators to look out for and discuss the dos and don'ts from a startup perspective that will help you navigate the field.

If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe, like, or share this podcast to spread the word. 🙏

And if you have questions about this episode or would like to discuss how to drive your innovation initiatives, reach out via LinkedIn or email to:

• Kilian Karrasch (Boldheart) for general inquiries about the episode and your questions related to ideation, market research, UI/UX design, MVP building and venture building: kilian@boldheart.io

• Jannis Grube (Pwc) for general inquiries about the PwC Scale program and about finding the right corporate partners to accelerate your startup success journey: jannis.grube@pwc.com 

About the hosts:

• Kilian Karrasch is founding partner at Boldheart, the leading next-generation product & venture builder. Together with his team, he has helped numerous ambitious corporate clients and high-growth startups identify, build and scale successful digital products and services for their next generation of customers.

• Jannis Grube is co-leader of the Scale Program at PwC Germany. He has worked with countless startups to help them collaborate more effectively with corporates.

Corporate Leaders!

Do you want to connect to startups? Identify new market opportunities? Learn about best practices to drive speed? Or simply foster a connected culture of innovation?

In this second episode of the Boldheart x PwC Exclusive "Innovation Unbound - The Definite Guide to Corporate and Startup Collaborations", we dive into the prerequisites you need to fulfill from a corporate side to accomplish those goals.

Step by step, we talk about the different innovation options (both internally and externally) and take a critical look at what it takes to go from "zero to hero".

If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe, like, or share this podcast to spread the word. 🙏

And if you have questions about this episode or would like to discuss how to drive your innovation initiatives, reach out via LinkedIn or email to:

• Kilian Karrasch (Boldheart) for general inquiries about the episode and your questions related to ideation, market research, UI/UX design, MVP building and venture building: kilian@boldheart.io

• Stephan Hofnagel (PwC) for general inquiries about the PwC Scale program and about finding the right startups and technology to accelerate your corporate innovation journey: stephan.hofnagel@pwc.com 

About the hosts:

• Kilian Karrasch is founding partner at Boldheart, the leading Next Generation product & venture builder. Together with his team, he has helped numerous ambitious corporate clients and high-growth startups identify, build and scale successful digital products and services for their next generation of customers.

• Stephan Hofnagel is co-leader of the Scale Program at PwC Germany. Stephan has worked with countless major corporates to help them collaborate more effectively with startups.

Have you ever thought of collaborating with a corporate or startup to accelerate your innovation success?

In this Boldheart x PwC Exclusive "Innovation Unbound - The Definite Guide to Corporate and Startup Collaborations", we dive into dos and don'ts and reveal best practices when it comes to kickstarting and accelerating collaborative innovation at any stage.

Whether you are a corporate innovator or a startup founder, learn the ideal timing and prerequisite to drive innovation success through:

• Hackathons,
• Innovation challenges,
• Accelerator and incubator programs,
• Venture clienting,
• Digital units,
• Venture building and more...

If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe, like, or share this podcast to spread the word. 🙏

And if you have questions about this episode or would like to discuss how to drive your innovation initiatives, reach out via LinkedIn or email to:

• Kilian Karrasch (Boldheart) for general inquiries about the episode and your questions related to ideation, market research, UI/UX design, MVP building and venture building: kilian@boldheart.io

• Jannis Grube and Stephan Hofnagel (PwC) for general inquiries about the PwC Scale program and collaborative innovation: jannis.grube@pwc.com & stephan.hofnagel@pwc.com 

About the hosts:

• Kilian Karrasch is founding partner at Boldheart, the leading next-generation product & venture builder. Together with his team, he has helped numerous ambitious corporate clients and high-growth startups identify, build and scale successful digital products and services for their next generation of customers.

• Jannis Grube and Stephan Hofnagel are the leaders of the Scale Program at PwC Germany. Together, they have worked with hundreds of B2B startups, several family businesses and established corporations to foster successful collaborations in the innovation ecosystem. 

My name is Kilian Karrasch and in this episode, I talk to Filip Dames, Founding Partner at Cherry Ventures and former Chief Business Development Officer at Zalando and founder of Zalando-Lounge.

Filip went from founding a first small startup to joining Zalando as part of the founding team to helping build it into one the largest fashion retailers in Europe. Now, Filip is Germany's "Investor of the Year 2022" and has joined the ranks of the FORBES Midas List Europe as one of the most influential investors on the continent.

In our podcast episode, we talk about:

• how to hire the right talent to fuel your innovation ambitions
• how to successfully identify, validate and scale innovations internally
• and some of the hottest trends in the market

If you enjoyed this episode, please take a minute to subscribe, like, or share this podcast to spread the word, so I can continue bringing you outstanding guests and conversations. 🙏

And if you have questions about this episode or on how to start building digital products or services, you're welcome to reach out to me.

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kiliankarrasch/ 

E-Mail: kilian@hatch.studio

Filip Dames on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/filipdames

Cherry Ventures: cherry.vc

Timeline:

0:00 - Introduction

0:27 - Who is Filip Dames?

0:48 - Topics of the podcast

1:06 - What you wouldn’t expect about Filip

1:55 - Reasons for choosing an entrepreneurial path

3:13 - How a first business can set you up for success

8.20 - Top learnings from internal venture building at Zalando

9:39 - The entrepreneurial spirit of trial, error, and iteration

11:01 - How to keep the entrepreneurial mindset alive while scaling the company

13:58 - How to transition into startup investments

16:39 - Core success factors for startups and innovation teams in the beginning

17:56 - Who should be your first hire

21:10 - The factors to look at when investing in startups

24:26 - How to know when to pivot and change direction

28:11 - How to identify product-market-fit

31:19 - Boundary conditions for innovation success

33:14 - How to figure out which internal innovation is the most promising

34:30 - Which KPIs are most important for evaluating innovations

37:29 - The hottest trends and ideas in the market

40:27 - How to get in contact with Filip

My name is Kilian Karrasch and in this episode, I talk to Michael Müller-Wünsch, CIO of OTTO and responsible for the digital platform business within the Otto Group.

During his tenure, Michael successfully transformed Otto from catalog to platform business, and with that led one of the few truly successful digital business model expansions in Europe. Today, the platform business already makes up 30% of OTTO’s business revenue, and Michael, for his successes has been named CIO of the Year.

In today’s episode, we talk about:

• The secret behind Otto’s corporate innovation structure 
• How to master technology-driven innovation and successfully identify the next digital business field of your organization?
• How to build a product-driven organization that outcompetes the market - even in a large corporate?

Michael's LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/muewue

If you enjoyed this episode, please take a minute to subscribe, like, or share this podcast to spread the word, so I can continue bringing you outstanding guests and conversations. 🙏

And if you have questions about this episode or on how to start building digital products or services, you're welcome to reach out to me on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kiliankarrasch/ or E-Mail: kilian@hatch.studio.

Thanks again for listening to the Digital Transformers podcast. 🚀

Timeline:

0:00 - Introduction

0:28 - Who is Michael Müller?

0:49 - Topics of the Episode

2:08 - What does Otto do differently to be continuously successful?

5:44 - How is the Innovation Organisation setup at Otto?

8:47 - Michael’s recommendation to mid-sized companies or bigger corporations

11:31 - The venture clienting model

15:33 - How Otto identifies new digital business opportunities

24:12 - How to identify the most relevant topics when building a digital platform

27:08 - The approach to launching new features

28:51 - The OKR cycle setup

33:18 - The biggest challenges and trends in the platform business model

36:40 - Digital projects Otto is working on right now

My name is Kilian Karrasch and in this episode, I talk to Rainer Karcher, Global Head of IT Sustainability at Allianz Technology, about: 

• the importance of IT sustainability - and how to properly sell it 
• best practices to make your IT more sustainable
• and 3 tips on how to get started

If you enjoyed this episode, please take a minute to subscribe, like, or share this podcast to spread the word, so I can continue bringing you outstanding guests and conversations. 🙏

And if you have questions about this episode or on how to start building digital products or services, you're welcome to reach out to me on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kiliankarrasch/ or E-Mail: kilian@hatch.studio.

To get in contact with Rainer: linkedin.com/in/rainerkarcher

Thanks again for listening to the Digital Transformers podcast. 🚀

Timeline:

0:00 - Introduction

0:08 - Who is Rainer Karcher?

0:30 - Topics of the podcast

0:50 - What is IT sustainability and why does it matter?

3:24 - The often overlooked impact of digitization on the environment

5:56 - The correct way for companies to start becoming more sustainable

8:33 - The simple practice every company can do to become more sustainable

10:41 - How to communicate the company’s sustainability efforts to shareholders, employees, and customers?

13:42 - Why to use persona thinking in internal and external sustainability communication

17:39 - Sustainable IT vs. enabling sustainability through IT-services

20:15 - How to embed sustainable IT in your organization

23:21 - Easy implementations for companies to become more sustainable

24:50 - How to balance usability and sustainability

27:24 - How to become more sustainable as a producer or manufacturer

31:25 - How to track your IT sustainability progress

36:18 - The 3 core factors to master IT sustainability

39:00 - How to get in touch with Rainer Karcher

My name is Kilian Karrasch and in this episode, I talk to Johannes Reichert, Head of Global IT and Chief Information Officer at Hilti Group.

During his career, Johannes drove the global IT agile transformation and large-scale IT projects, introducing not only an innovative CRM system and top-notch ERP functionalities but also developing a microservice-based infrastructure to enable Digital Products in one of the least digitized industries in the world.

In our podcast episode, we talk about:

• his core learnings on launching microservices at startup speed in the corporate IT department?
• best practices on how to transition a multinational company step-by-step into an agile way of working?
• how to evaluate the degree of agility needed in large-scale IT projects?
• and much more…

If you enjoyed this episode, please take a minute to subscribe, like, or share this podcast to spread the word, so I can continue bringing you outstanding guests and conversations. 🙏

And if you have questions about this episode or on how to start building digital products or services, you're welcome to reach out to me on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kiliankarrasch/ or E-Mail: kilian@hatch.studio.

Thanks again for listening to the Digital Transformers podcast. 🚀

Timeline:

0:00 - Introduction

0:28 – Who is Johannes Reichert?

0:50 – Episode overview

1:18 – One thing you wouldn’t expect about Johannes

1:43 – How Hilti managed to transform one of the least digitized industries

5:38 – The startup “ingredients” that corporations need to create innovative digital products

8:40 – The right agile mindset that leads to success

9:41 – The process behind deciding what systems to innovate

11:22 – Core learnings from digitizing Hilti

12:37 – Digital unit vs. corporate IT - what is the right setup to innovate?

15:55 – Core learnings from the Global IT Transformation at Hilti

19:01 – How to do an agile transformation the right way?

21:06 – How to select the right transformation methods?

22:12 – How to convince your team to use agile methods?

25:19 – When does it make sense to work in an agile manner?

28:43 – Valuable feedback on agile setups

31:30 – How to run an agile IT transformation in a hybrid setting?

34:00 – When does agile make sense in large IT-scale projects?

36:23 – Best practices for running large scale agile IT projects?

38:37 - How to create transparency during agile projects

40:30 – How to protect the team from too much interference?

My name is Kilian Karrasch and in this episode, I talk to Daniel Hanemann, CEO and Co-Founder of Wundertax.

Daniel went from building up Foodpanda in Hong Kong to founding Wundertax, one of the leading tax software in Germany.

But his story has a twist that taught him many lessons…

In our podcast, we talk about: 

• what his experience as a re-founder taught him about succeeding as an entrepreneur
• what most entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs get wrong when starting out
• growth strategies on how to grow your business 60% y.o.y. - without increasing your costs

Daniel on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/hanemann

Wundertax: wundertax.de

If you enjoyed this episode, please take a minute to subscribe, like or share this podcast to spread the word, so I can continue bringing you outstanding guests and conversations. 🙏

And if you have questions about this episode or on how to start building digital products or services, reach out to me on LinkedIn (you can find me at linkedin.com/in/kiliankarrasch/) or write me an email at kilian@hatch.studio.

Thanks again for listening to the Digital Transformers podcast. 🚀

00:00 - Introduction

00:28 - Who is Daniel Hanemann

00:40 - Topics of the podcast

01:24 - What led Daniel to become an entrepreneur

02:42 - Idea discovery: Daniel’s epiphany that led to “Wundertax”

03:58 - Why Daniel left his startup after two years

06:02 - An unusual story: how Daniel rejoined “Wundertax” later to accelerate growth

07:05 - How to leverage mixed heritage to build successful companies and cultures

11:03 - The benefits of having a diverse team

12:58 - The challenges of having a diverse team

18:31 - How to decide what features to focus on when starting out

20:09 - Why intentionality is one of the most important traits for founders

22:58 - How to decide on the “one thing” the company should focus on

24:48 - How to deal with co-founder differences

27:12 - How to cope with leaving behind the innovation you’ve dedicated your life to

28:47 - Why founders should prioritize physical and mental health

30:53 - How “Wundertax” grew 60% every year with flat costs - and how you can do so, too

35:22 - The advantage of having a small and lean team of experts

42:02 - The importance of estimating customer lifetime value into marketing budgets

46:06 - The three best digital growth strategies

Today I welcome Marketing Executive and Keynote Speaker Maria von Scheel-Plessen to the show.

Maria started her career as an e-commerce manager at Hugo Boss and - after leadership roles at Amazon and the rocked-backed Asian Zalando Zalora, went on to digitally transform the luxury maison Montblanc to move it into the omnichannel age. She has been nominated Luxury Women to Watch 2021, Business Punk Watchlist 2022 & Business Insider Future Shaper 2022.

In today’s episode, we talk about: 

• how to transform a luxury maison into a leading digital player
• 3 tactics to successfully market to GenZ
• and her personal advice on building a successful career in the luxury industry

Connect with Maria on her socials 📲

Instagram: @mariaplessen

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mariavsp

If you enjoyed this episode, please take a minute to subscribe, like or share this podcast to spread the word, so I can continue bringing you outstanding guests and conversations. 🙏

And if you have questions to this episode or on how to build outstanding products or services for your next generation luxury customers, reach out to me on LinkedIn (you can find me at linkedin.com/in/kiliankarrasch/) or write me an email at kilian@hatch.studio.

Thanks again for listening to the Digital Transformers podcast. 🚀

Timeline:

0:00 - Intro

0:30 - Who is Maria von Scheel-Plessen

0:55 - Episode overview

1:16 - Why involving external parties is crucial to accelerate innovation success

2:50 - Why Montblanc embarked on the journey of digital transformation

5:51 - What challenges Montblanc faced in the transformation and how Maria overcame them

9:06 - How to prioritize what departments of the company to digitalize first

11:18 - How to convince stakeholders you’re taking the right digitalization approach

14:37 - How support circles in a company can foster innovation

16:25 - How Maria’s support circle at Montblanc came together

18:21 - Why it’s important to communicate the mission of your department

20:23 - How Gen-Z will shape the luxury industry

23:24 - Strategies and tactics to successfully engage Gen-Z

26:56 - How to deal with brand risk when engaging in new marketing channels like the metaverse

28:11 - Should luxury brands collaborate with (micro-)influencers

30:36 - The one tip Maria would give founders and corporate professionals that want to be successful in the luxury industry

Serial entrepreneur and angle investor Robert Ermich went from being a consultant to building one of the fastest-growing online portals for mobile phones and contracts, which he later exited to Mobilezone. 🚀

In this episode, we talk about:

• How to rapidly build up a leading platform in a market dominated by big companies
• 3 tips on fostering a strong innovation company culture
• Succeeding in the new era of digital marketing

If you enjoyed this episode, please take a minute to subscribe, like or share this podcast to spread the word, so I can continue bringing you outstanding guests and conversations. 🙏

And if you have questions to this episode or on how you can identify best build outstanding platforms, reach out to me on LinkedIn (you can find me at linkedin.com/in/kiliankarrasch/) or write me an email at kilian@hatch.studio.

Thanks again for listening to the Digital Transformers podcast. 🚀

In this episode, I talk to Victor Henning, serial entrepreneur, investor, and former advisor to the UK and Dutch governments on technology policy.  

Victor went from opening and raising 75000€ for the first student cafe in the town where he did his Bachelor, to building Mendeley, one of the world's leading platforms for scientific research. After his successful exit, he then went on to build the world's best smartphone camera system with Fjorden.

Victor has been nominated “Best European Startup Founder” by Techcrunch and holds investments in more than 15 startups.  

In today’s episode, we talk about the following:

• how to identify strong customer pain points and build a business around it
• how to organically acquire tons of customers - in B2B and B2C
• and other core learnings of building leading tech companies

Victor Henning on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/victorhenning

Victor's smartphone camera system Fjorden: fjorden.co

👋 Get in touch with Kilian here: linkedin.com/in/kiliankarrasch

Do you have an innovative idea you would like to validate through market research or rapid prototyping or a validated concept you would like to bring to life (e.g. in form of an MVP)? Then book a free consultation here: http://bit.ly/3Xr0BvG 🚀

Timeline:

0:00 - Introduction

0:48 - Who is Victor Henning

1:25 - What we cover in the episode

1:49 - What made Victor the entrepreneur he is today

5:24 - How Victor founded 2 leading companies and which walls he encountered in the process

9:32 - How to validate and size market potential - and what not to do

16:49 - How to rapidly validate prototypes

21:59 - How to use content-marketing the right way to get vast amounts of customers

25:51 - Challenges in scaling a science platform into a market leader

28:40 - The advantage of keeping your product simple

34:17 - How to artfully deal with thousands of customer complaints

37:43 - Why your entire team needs to understand the customers problems

38:27 - Advice on how to succeed in launching new products and services

In this episode, I talk to Bonita Grupp, Head of E-Commerce & HR at TRIGEMA and possible successor to the current CEO Wolfgang Grupp. 

As a member of the family business dynasty, Bonita has played a key role in the digital transformation of the traditional clothing retailer - and has been recognized as Top 40 under 40 for her achievements. 

In our episode, we talked about the following: 

• what it takes for traditional family businesses and organizations to succeed in digital transformations?
• how to win over GenZ employees - also for classical functions such as production
• why strong values will be the core differentiator for companies in future?

Bonita Grupp on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/bonita-grupp-396a4923

Jobs @TRIGEMA: https://www.trigema.de/karriere/jobs/

👋 Get in touch with Kilian here: linkedin.com/in/kiliankarrasch

Do you have an innovative idea you would like to validate through market research or rapid prototyping or a validated concept you would like to bring to life (e.g. in form of an MVP)? Then book a free consultation here: http://bit.ly/3Xr0BvG 🚀

Timeline:

0:00 - Introduction

0:56 - Who is Bonita Grupp

1:18 - Topics covered in the podcast

2:31 - The challenge of digitizing TRIGEMA

4:36 - Why the digitization journey of TRIGEMA has differed to that of other competitors

6:25 - The crucial issue that TRIGEMA had to solve through digital innovation

10:22 - How TRIGEMA communicated the transformation to employees and what the action steps were to kick the process off

12:30 - How Bonita selected the individuals to drive the transformation at TRIGEMA

14:06 - How TRIGEMA as a traditional company is approaching New Work

16:52 - Which work values matter to Gen-Z

18:09 - How TRIGEMA is adapting it’s work culture to cater to Gen-Z

21:02 - The #1 tip Bonita would give other corporates who want to successfully transform themselves digitally

24:11 - The biggest challenge companies have to overcome when it comes to digital transformation

In this episode, I talk to Carsten Priebs, CIO of Randstad.

Carsten is a multi-award-winning digitalization, IT, and innovation top-level executive who has led hundred-million dollar transformation and innovation projects at some of the leading companies in their industry, including DB Netz AG and Randstad. 

In this episode, we talk about the following:

• how he as CIO took one of Randstad’s award-winning apps from “zero” to market in 6 weeks
• his top learnings as an innovation executive
• and his suggestions for everyone who wants to build highly successful digital products and services fast

Carsten's LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/carstenpriebs

Carsten's Blog: https://www.tech-leadership.de/

👋 Get in touch with Kilian here: linkedin.com/in/kiliankarrasch

Do you have an innovative idea you would like to validate through market research or rapid prototyping or a validated concept you would like to bring to life (e.g. in form of an MVP)? Then book a free consultation here: http://bit.ly/3Xr0BvG 🚀

Timeline:

0:00 - Introduction

0:48 - Who is Carsten Priebs?

1:09 - Topic overview

1:33 - Carsten’s secret

2:33 - How endurance sport shapes business success

3:40 - Building an award-winning app

5:29 - Need identification: the big pain point to solve

7:12 - The secret to developing an app in only 6 weeks - as a corporate 9:02 - Determining app features & functioning

12:06 - How to evaluate the viability of your idea - the falsification test

15:42 - Validating your idea with “The three phases of a lean startup”

19:59 - How to pilot-test

21:14 - Project timeline

21:51 - The biggest challenge in the app development process

23:07 - How to convince stakeholders to use the platform

26:07 - Why developing a non-profit app can be a smart business move

28:32 - The two tips Carsten would give founders and corporate innovation leaders seeking to build similar digital products or services

31:13 - The key success factors to pay attention to when bringing digital products and services to market really fast.Timeline:

Christian Ammer climbed the IT ranks at Siemens Financial Services and Real Estate and later led major international IT carve-out projects at Siemens before shifting into the Financial SME and Legal Sector.

He has been awarded twice Top10 CIO of the year and won the Digital Transformation Award in 2021 for his outstanding work.

In today’s episode, we talk about the following:

• what it takes to transform companies in traditional industries such as legal services into digital leaders
• how organizations can leverage digitalization to enhance their service business 
• and why IT M&As only make sense in particular circumstances - and what it takes to make them a success

Christian on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/cha23x

Christian's book - Praxis Guide für Digital Leader: https://www.hanser-kundencenter.de/fachbuch/artikel/9783446475625

👋 Get in touch with Kilian here: linkedin.com/in/kiliankarrasch

Do you have an innovative idea you would like to validate through market research or rapid prototyping or a validated concept you would like to bring to life (e.g. in form of an MVP)? Then book a free consultation here: http://bit.ly/3Xr0BvG 🚀

Timeline:

0:00 - Introduction

0:46 - Who is Christian Ammer

1:16 - What topics are covered in the episode

2:18 - How can you radically digitize a traditional law business

3:31 - Creating technology to enhance the work of lawyers 

7:10 - What can you do if you can’t digitize your core business

11:40 - How to overcome the challenge of change in your business

13:34 - What services are crucial to enhance lawyer’s and service personnel’s ways of working

16:03 - The advantage of law firms using digital platform services instead of startup tools

20:07 - Christians' two core learnings in transforming Noerr into a digital leader

25:36 - How to evaluate if the willingness to transform the business is high enough 

30:18 - Why a positive perception of IT is essential in your company and how to change this perception

35:48 - should companies acquire new IT talents to function as role models in the company

38:15 - Christian’s tips on how to facilitate a cultural transformation

40:18 - What are the most crucial challenges the legal industry will have to face in terms of digitization

42:50 - Why artificial intelligence won’t solve everything in the legal business

Today I talk to Marcus Stahl, the founder of Tonies SE

At the age of 45, Marcus and his co-founder created a digital story playback device for small children and within only 6 years of starting operations, scaled the company to IPO.

Today, Tonies has won numerous design awards and has sold its category-defining products to users in more than 100 countries. 

But their story wasn’t easy. Frustrated by the lack of child-friendly solutions to consume audio dramas, Marcus and his co-founder dedicated 3 years to creating a solution before hitting the market. In the process, they learned what it takes to conquer the next generation of customers.  

In today’s episode, we cover:

• why iterative product development is wrong when launching radically innovative products and why you should focus on product perfection instead
• the importance of customer knowledge and passion across the team when building a category-defining product
• and other important factors when building and scaling a hardware-based company to IPO.

Marcus on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/marcus-stahl-b77a5022b

Tonies (Company): tonies.de

👋 Get in touch with Kilian here: linkedin.com/in/kiliankarrasch

Do you have an innovative idea you would like to validate through market research or rapid prototyping or a validated concept you would like to bring to life (e.g. in form of an MVP)? Then book a free consultation here: http://bit.ly/3Xr0BvG 🚀

Timeline:

0:00 - Introduction

0:19 - Introducing Marcus Stahl & Tonies

1:04 - Topics covered in the episode

2:32 - Marcus Stahl’s background and how he got the idea for Tonies

5:57 - The biggest challenge Tonies had to overcome in the first year

9:44 - The importance of technological development for Tonies 

12:13 - Was the focus on the hardware/physical product or on the storytelling

13:30 - What was the major success factor for Tonies

15:38 - How can you ensure that your product is successful once it hits the market

18:09 - Why you should focus on product perfection before launching radically innovative products

20:23 - Why customer support is so important

22:54 - Being flexible in your daily work as a founder

24:01 - Biggest challenges Tonies faced while building up the company to its size today

26:56 - The importance of customer knowledge and passion across the team when building a category-defining product

29:15 - Advice for staying close to the customer while internationalizing

32:04 - Marcus Stahl’s number one learning during his journey of building an IPO Company