Katharina Mayer is the Founder and CEO of the social start-up Kuchentratsch. Translated the company name means „Cake Tittle-Tattle“ and this gives a hint what the mission behind the social start-up is all about: preventing the feeling of social isolation and poverty of the elderly by providing grandmas and grandpas with a place in Munich to get together, pursue their passion for baking, and top up their pension. In 2018 Katharina made a successful deal in the German version of shark tank called “Die Höhle der Löwen” where she convinced two lions aka investors of her social startup.

In this episode, Katharina talks about how she initially came up with the idea for Kuchentratsch and why she discontinued her career in developmental work. We learn about her efficient leadership style managing three generations of employees under one roof (spanning from young students to grandmas and grandpas in their 80’s). She tells us about how she dealt with the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic and how she went from product idea to ready-to-buy baking mixes within only a few months! Also, Katharina shares what life lessons her elderly bakers taught her. As every guest, Katharina reveals her toolbox, namely her favorite books, podcasts, inspiring thought leaders, and must-read newsletters.

Sven Schmidt is Managing Director and CMO at Machineseeker Group and a serial entrepreneur. He co-founded venture-backed Verwandt, which was sold to Accel portfolio company MyHeritage. Sven also was the co-founder of Getgo, a venture-backed e-commerce ticketing company that was sold to CTS Eventim, where he was head of the New Media division. On top, he was Venture Partner at Accel and Earlybird in total for 6.5 years. He is most prominently known for being a regular podcast guest at OMR podcast and co-host of the ds-insider-Podcast. In this episode, Sven talks about his previous role as a venture partner and what triggered his investment decision in Fiverr, Vinted (formerly Kleiderkreisel), Prezi, and Mitfahrgelegenheit.de (now BlaBlaCar) back then. He also tells us why he chose to not be active as a business angel nor would consider a political career. Shifting topics to his day-to-day business, we also learn more about his vision for the Machineseeker Group and why he decided against Home Office, although everything is transitioning from offline to online due to Covid-19. Talking to Sven, we learn about the power of education, networking, and signaling as well as his favorite tools, and thought-leaders on Twitter, Newsletters, and Blogs to follow.

Sven Schmidt ist Geschäftsführer und CMO bei der Machineseeker Group und Serial Entrepreneur. Er war Mitgründer des Wagniskapital-finanzierten Unternehmens Verwandt .de, das an das Accel-Portfoliounternehmen MyHeritage verkauft wurde. Sven war auch Mitbegründer von Getgo, einem VC-finanziert E-Commerce-Ticketing-Unternehmen, das an CTS Eventim verkauft wurde, wo er den Bereich Neue Medien leitete. Darüber hinaus war er insgesamt 6,5 Jahre lang Venture Partner bei Accel und Earlybird. Bekannt ist er vor allem als regelmäßiger Podcast-Gast beim OMR-Podcast und als Co-Host des ds-insider-Podcast. In dieser Folge spricht Sven über seine frühere Rolle als Venture Partner und was damals der Auslöser für seine Investitionsentscheidung in Fiverr, Vinted (ehemals Kleiderkreisel), Prezi und Mitfahrgelegenheit.de (jetzt BlaBlaCar) war. Er erzählt uns auch, warum er weder als Business Angel aktiv ist noch eine politische Karriere in Betracht zieht. Beim Themenwechsel zu seinem Tagesgeschäft erfahren wir auch mehr über seine Vision für die Machineseeker Group und warum er sich gegen Home Office entschieden hat, obwohl durch Covid-19 alles von offline auf online umgestellt wird. Im Gespräch mit Sven erfahren wir mehr über die Macht der Bildung, des Netzwerkens und des Signalings sowie über seine Lieblingstools und wem er am liebsten auf Twitter & Co.

Judith Dada is a partner and managing director of La Famiglia, a women-led Berlin-based VC firm that invests in seed-stage B2B tech startups. In this episode, Judith talks about how she ended up in VC and what biases she encounters as a female VC partner. She tells us about the process of launching a second fund and how the COVID-19 pandemic affected La Famiglia. From a macro perspective, Judith shares her opinion on the regulation of tech companies as an ex-Facebook manager and why we urgently need to update our educational system and mindset in Europe to make sure the next tech or industry giant is "made in Germany." Talking to Judith, we also learned why networks are a double-edged sword and not the solution but the root of the problem for a diverse founder scene. Lastly, we get insights into how Judith, a passionate writer, stimulates her mind with her favorite books, podcasts, apps, and newsletters and what kind of fantasy novel we can expect from her very soon!

Hanno Renner is the founder and CEO of Personio, an HR SaaS company on its way to becoming Germany's next unicorn. As a passionate skipper, Hanno tells us how he navigates his 500-employee ship and what he learned about sailing his team as servant leader through rough seas aka the Covid-19 crisis. We also learn from Hanno how Personio is set-up for rapid growth, the benefits of Metrics Monday, and how the M&A integration of the Spanish startup 'Rollbox' underwent. Additionally, Hanno shares how he balances his schedule being a CEO, triathlete, and business angel all at once. We also touch upon the early days: Hanno’s way to founding Personio, his prior startup idea “Feedbackme”, why he discontinued it, and how this entrepreneurial experience enabled him to realize the strong tailwind behind Personio in the first place. In the end, Hanno shares his productivity hacks with us, recommending his favorite books and tools!

Welcome to Mostly Awesome, a podcast by CDTM in Munich, launching new episodes bi-weekly on Wednesdays on all platforms where you can listen to a podcast! What awaits you here, why you should listen in, and who are we? In this teaser, you will find all the answers!
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