Bits & Pretzels Podcast

This week's guest is Oliver Holle, Co-founder and Managing Partner at Speedinvest, one of Europe's leading investment companies, which is working with some of the household names in the startup ecosystem such as Tier, Schüttflix or Planetly.  Before becoming an investor, Oliver had started a business himself which struggled quite a bit during the first years but then merged with two other startups and became 3united, a mobile content and messaging company. It was acquired by VeriSign in 2006 for 55 million Euros.  Together with Oliver, who has lived and worked both in Silicon Valley and Europe as a founder and investor, we'll be taking a look back to find out what learnings he has to share especially from the past year - and we will look into the future: At major trends and developments and how to succeed as a founder or investor in 2021:  “As a founder in crisis, you need to be two things. You need to be ignorant. You can't listen to everybody. You can't believe all the things people tell you, because if you do that, then you throw in the towel immediately. So you have to stick to what you believe in the core. And on the other hand, you have to listen super carefully and differentiate and substance, say, be flat, open up your inner beliefs about what you think is true and really challenge that for yourself.“ Tune in to this episode if you want to hear more about 1) Oliver's tips for entrepreneurs on how to get through 2021 - another year which will for sure be strongly influenced by the ongoing pandemic, 2) the importance of a strong company culture and a reliable team and 3) what playing cards with his daughter has taught him about taking risks and why he recommends time offline to everyone.  More to explore: Stay updated on news & insights from us about founders, startups in Bavaria, Austria & Switzerland at www.bitsandpretzels.com. Signup for our media newsletter to get the next episode of this podcast delivered right to your inbox: www.bitsandpretzels.com/media-signup. Hosts: Britta Weddeling (@bweddeling), Bits & Pretzels podcast host (@bitsandpretzels) Featuring: Oliver Holle (@oholle), Co-Founder & Managing Partner at Speedinvest (@speedinvest) Follow us: Twitter: @bitsandpretzels Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bits-&-pretzels If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review. You can also send us feedback at podcast@bitsandpretzels.com. Production: professional-podcasts.com (Regina Körner, Migo Fecke), Sophie Dechansreiter & Dina Zhakupova.

This week's podcast guest and his team are moving quantum computing forward in Europe like no one else and they want to make it the new hotspot for the technology. His name is Jan Goetz and the company he co-founded and now is the CEO of is the German-Finnish startup IQM, which has just recently been all over the news because it received another 39 million Euros in funding. This round, which was led by deep-tech-investor MIG Fonds, adds the total amount of funding up to 71 million Euros. And with that support IQM as a European player enters the race for quantum computing which has so far been mostly between the big tech companies from the US and China.  This podcast episode is all about building up a company around a technology which is not even fully developed yet but which is expected to have a huge impact on all of us. Even if at the moment we're still talking about research machines as Jan stresses, the vision is huge:  “And if this only partly becomes true, then it will really, really revolutionize society in many, many aspects. So it's still a big promise, but I think we have pretty good chances to see the impacts on society.“ In conversation with Bits & Pretzels podcast host Britta Weddeling Jan talks about 1) what he and IQM are up to, 2) what learnings he has to share as a founder and person from IQM's journey and 3) what potential he sees for this fascinating technology for every single one of us in the future!  More to explore: Stay updated on news & insights from us about founders, startups in Bavaria, Austria & Switzerland at www.bitsandpretzels.com. Signup for our media newsletter to get the next episode of this podcast delivered right to your inbox: www.bitsandpretzels.com/media-signup. Hosts: Britta Weddeling (@bweddeling), Bits & Pretzels podcast host (@bitsandpretzels) Featuring: Jan Goetz (@JanGoetz6), Co-Founder & CEO of IQM (@meetIQM) Follow us: Twitter: @bitsandpretzels Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bits-&-pretzels If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review. You can also send us feedback at podcast@bitsandpretzels.com. Production: professional-podcasts.com (Regina Körner, Migo Fecke), Sophie Dechansreiter & Dina Zhakupova.

If you had to name one company that during the current pandemic quickly became an essential part of all of our lives – it would very likely have to be Zoom! And this week on the podcast we welcome the executive who is at the center of that crazy growth story: Harry Moseley, Zoom's Global Chief Information Officer. But a sudden growth doesn't come without a cost - Harry also shared how Zoom was dealing with the difficulties of growing exponentially during this crisis, what at times felt like putting new engines on a flying airplane, and what founders can learn from that experience: From 1) how to not neglect the root cause of the problem in a hectic situation and 2) how to onboard people efficiently in a crisis situation when the demand for talent is rising at your company to 3) how to navigate a completely new customer group. More to explore: Stay updated on news & insights from us about founders, startups in Bavaria, Austria & Switzerland at www.bitsandpretzels.com. Signup for our media newsletter to get the next episode of this podcast delivered right to your inbox: www.bitsandpretzels.com/media-signup. Hosts: Britta Weddeling (@bweddeling), Bits & Pretzels podcast host (@bitsandpretzels) Featuring: Harry Moseley (@harrymoseleyd), Chief Information Officer at Zoom (@Zoom_us) Follow us: Twitter: @bitsandpretzels Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bits-&-pretzels If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review. You can also send us feedback at podcast@bitsandpretzels.com. Production: professional-podcasts.com (Regina Körner, Migo Fecke), Sophie Dechansreiter & Dina Zhakupova.

While the whole world is still grappling with the effects of the current pandemic, this week's podcast guest shows how to not let yourself be defeated by uncertain circumstances: Jan Frodeno, the three times Ironman World Championship winner, Olympic winner, world record holder and entrepreneur who was our guest at our Bits & Pretzels Networking Week. He turned the obstacle into an opportunity, invented the first of its kind Ironman@home and turned it into a great success: 320 million people from 50 different countries watched Jan for eight and a half hours swim, cycle and run in his living room. Not only did he raise 200k Euros for charity but his accumulated PR-value was estimated at 12 Million Euros - almost the same amount he gained from his victory at the world championship. And after venturing into entrepreneurship himself he shared some learnings from his successful career in sports that have helped him navigate the business world: From 1) why failing and losing from time to time is necessary and 2) why a positive mindset is non-negotiable to 3) how he uses a launching rocket that is moving toward the sky as his personal mantra to focus, build his mental strength and blend out any noise around him. Tune into Jan Frodeno's live conversation with Britta Weddeling to get some inspiration and motivation for the year ahead and get 2021 kickstarted on the right foot. More to explore: Stay updated on news & insights from us about founders, startups in Bavaria, Austria & Switzerland at www.bitsandpretzels.com. Signup for our media newsletter to get the next episode of this podcast delivered right to your inbox: www.bitsandpretzels.com/media-signup. Hosts: Britta Weddeling (@bweddeling), Editor-in-Chief of Bits & Pretzels (@bitsandpretzels) Featuring: Jan Frodeno (@janfrodeno), Olympic Champion and 3x Ironman World Champion Follow us: Twitter: @bitsandpretzels Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bits-&-pretzels If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review. You can also send us feedback at podcast@bitsandpretzels.com. Production: professional-podcasts.com (Regina Körner, Migo Fecke), Sophie Dechansreiter & Dina Zhakupova.

Emission-free mobility, search engines that plant trees or clothes made from recycled materials: companies with a neutral or even a positive impact on the global or local environment, also called “green businesses”, are on the rise - and rightly so, we think. But what's really sustainable and what's just buzzword-bingo or even greenwashing? This entrepreneur is on a mission to find that. Omar Selim, the CEO of Arabesque Group, an investment company that's focusing on sustainable investments. Omar's team developed an artificial intelligence to crawl large public data-sets with the goal to analyze certain companies' sustainability level. Before taking over that position he worked in traditional banking for 20 years at UBS, Morgan Stanley and Barclays amongst others. And in conversation with Britta Weddeling, Editor-in-Chief at Bits & Pretzels, the banker turned investor explains why he has decided to enter the entrepreneurial world. He thinks the finance world needs to change its operations and start to invest more in sustainable businesses. And in this podcast he explains 1) why he thinks that finance has a bigger role than just providing money or giving advice, 2) why for a founder financial transparency is key, and 3) why it's important to “not chase everything that moves”. More to explore: Stay updated on news & insights from us about founders, startups in Bavaria, Austria & Switzerland at www.bitsandpretzels.com. Signup for our media newsletter to get the next episode of this podcast delivered right to your inbox: www.bitsandpretzels.com/media-signup. Hosts: Britta Weddeling (@bweddeling), Editor-in-Chief of Bits & Pretzels (@bitsandpretzels) Featuring: Omar Selim, CEO of Arabesque Asset Management Follow us: Twitter: @bitsandpretzels Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bits-&-pretzels If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review. You can also send us feedback at podcast@bitsandpretzels.com. Production: professional-podcasts.com (Regina Körner, Migo Fecke), Sophie Dechansreiter & Dina Zhakupova.

This week on the Bits & Pretzels Podcast we welcome an entrepreneur who is at the forefront of the global remote work experiment that shows no sign of ending anytime soon, as Europe struggles to contain the second wave of Covid-19. Stewart Butterfield, the founder and CEO of communication platform Slack, which is certainly a huge winner of this crisis, even though the company is faced with incumbent competitors such as Microsoft. We've talked to Stewart just before he closed this year's mega exit in tech that also happens to be Salesforce's largest ever acquisition. The Slack founder & CEO joined us at our Bits & Pretzels Networking Week – and discussed the future of work as well as the huge growth his company has seen since the pandemic hit with home office becoming the new normal and more than 12 million people actively using Slack every day. But Stewart also shared his key learnings from his 15 plus years in tech including what's necessary to navigate the ups and downs of scaling a company and continuously pushing your firm as well as yourself to new beginnings. More to explore: Stay updated on news & insights from us about founders, startups in Bavaria, Austria & Switzerland at www.bitsandpretzels.com. Signup for our media newsletter to get the next episode of this podcast delivered right to your inbox: www.bitsandpretzels.com/media-signup. Hosts: Britta Weddeling (@bweddeling), Editor-in-Chief of Bits & Pretzels (@bitsandpretzels) Featuring: Stewart Butterfield (@stewart), Founder & CEO of Slack Follow us: Twitter: @bitsandpretzels Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bits-&-pretzels If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review. You can also send us feedback at podcast@bitsandpretzels.com. Production: professional-podcasts.com (Regina Körner, Migo Fecke), Sophie Dechansreiter & Dina Zhakupova.

This week's podcast guest is one of the most influential women in the international automotive industry: Hildegard Wortmann, Member of the Board of Management for Sales and Marketing at AUDI AG and a leading expert in brand creation as well as crisis communication. In conversation with Bits & Pretzels Editor-In-Chief Britta Weddeling, Hildegard Wortmann shares a rare glimpse into her playbook on developing and maintaining a brand using the personal narrative of the company as well as how to communicate in a crisis. From 1) why you should start communicating in a crisis even if you don't have all the answers yet to 2) what to do to keep your brand relevant & interesting over time and 3) how to handle rough times, such as the Dieselgate, and learn from mistakes as an automotive brand. The powerful executive who's the first woman ever on the board of an automotive company, draws her deep expertise from her years in leading marketing roles in the industry – at Unilever and BMW, where she completely revamped the MINI brand in the early 2000s - turning the MINI into one of the most popular cars in the world today. And we've talked to Hildegard Wortmann just days after our Bits & Pretzels Networking Week in October. More to explore: Stay updated on news & insights from us about founders, startups in Bavaria, Austria & Switzerland at www.bitsandpretzels.com. Signup for our media newsletter to get the next episode of this podcast delivered right to your inbox: www.bitsandpretzels.com/media-signup. Hosts: Britta Weddeling (@bweddeling), Editor-in-Chief of Bits & Pretzels (@bitsandpretzels) Featuring: Hildegard Wortmann, Member of the Board of Management for Sales and Marketing at Audi Follow us: Twitter: @bitsandpretzels Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bits-&-pretzels If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review. You can also send us feedback at podcast@bitsandpretzels.com. Production: professional-podcasts.com (Regina Körner, Migo Fecke), Sophie Dechansreiter & Dina Zhakupova.

This week on the show is Arianna Huffington, the co-founder of the Huffington Post, that won her her the Pulitzer Prize, entrepreneurial role model as well as founder & CEO of Thrive Global. The now 70-years old media mogul has a lot to share from her outstanding career for founders, especially for those of you who are working non-stop during the current pandemic! In conversation with Bits & Pretzels Editor-in-Chief Britta Weddeling during our Bits & Pretzels Networking Week Arianna explains how crucial downtime and self-care are for long-term success and shares first steps towards becoming a better leader. She is convinced that too much stress and lack of sleep lead to bad decisions and to failure in business in the end. This is what you gonna learn today: 1) How to find out what's urgent and what you can delegate as CEO, 2) how to motivate your team even in a crisis and 3) what micro steps entrepreneurs can use right away to be more focused and calm. More to explore: Stay updated on news & insights from us about founders, startups in Bavaria, Austria & Switzerland at www.bitsandpretzels.com. Signup for our media newsletter to get the next episode of this podcast delivered right to your inbox: www.bitsandpretzels.com/media-signup. Hosts: Britta Weddeling (@bweddeling), Editor-in-Chief of Bits & Pretzels (@bitsandpretzels) Featuring: Arianna Huffington (@ariannahuff), Founder of Huffington Post (@HuffPost), Co-Founder & CEO Thrive Global (@thrive) Follow us: Twitter: @bitsandpretzels Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bits-&-pretzels If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review. You can also send us feedback at podcast@bitsandpretzels.com. Production: professional-podcasts.com (Regina Körner, Migo Fecke), Sophie Dechansreiter & Dina Zhakupova.

This week on the podcast Bits & Pretzels Editor-in-Chief Britta Weddeling welcomes entrepreneurial superstar Eric Ries, author of New York Times bestseller The Lean Startup, a must have bible for all founders, and initiator of alternative Long-Term-Stock Exchange (LTSE). Eric's Lean Startup method has been credited by numerous entrepreneurs for their success and now he shares his most important advice from his decades of experience as serial entrepreneur, startup advisor and investor. Most importantly, he argues that operating with a long-term philosophy is necessary for sustained growth and that the current public capital market system does only serve short-term needs. That's why Eric launched the LTSE with the support of powerful Silicon Valley entrepreneurs including Netscape co-founder and VC Marc Andreessen, to support company builders and investors who are taking the lead to sustainable growth as he believes that entrepreneurship is the driving force for changing our future. And on the show he points out what mindset is helpful to deal with uncertainties not limited to the current coronavirus crisis: From 1) what personality trait is essential for founders and 2) how to apply the lean methodology to philanthropy to 3) how founders can use a recession to grow their business. More to explore: Stay updated on news & insights from us about founders, startups in Bavaria, Austria & Switzerland at www.bitsandpretzels.com. Signup for our media newsletter to get the next episode of this podcast delivered right to your inbox: www.bitsandpretzels.com/media-signup. Hosts: Britta Weddeling (@bweddeling), Editor-in-Chief of Bits & Pretzels (@bitsandpretzels) Featuring: Eric Ries (@ericries), CEO of LTSE and Author of The Lean Startup. Follow us: Twitter: @bitsandpretzels Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bits-&-pretzels If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review. You can also send us feedback at podcast@bitsandpretzels.com. Production: professional-podcasts.com (Regina Körner, Migo Fecke), Dina Zhakupova.

Our podcast guest this week is one of the leading voices of the French startup ecosystem: Roxanne Varza, the Director of Station F, one of the largest startup campuses in the world that opened its doors in 2017 and is located in the heart of Paris. Over 1000 startups are currently at home at Station F. In this week's show she provided an insight into how she sees the current startup situation and why a crisis always presents new opportunities for entrepreneurs and what areas especially could unfold a lot of potential moving forward. And with a very diverse background in the startup scene she has many learnings to share with entrepreneurs: From 1) how founders can turn around their products during a crisis to serve the current need of a society and 2) how to surround yourself with a team that will help you grow and come up with innovative ideas to 3) the importance of constantly learning and discovering new ecosystems and gaining therefore new perspectives for founders. More to explore: Stay updated on news & insights from us about founders, startups in Bavaria, Austria & Switzerland at www.bitsandpretzels.com. Signup for our media newsletter to get the next episode of this podcast delivered right to your inbox: www.bitsandpretzels.com/media-signup. Hosts: Britta Weddeling (@bweddeling), Editor-in-Chief of Bits & Pretzels (@bitsandpretzels) Featuring: Roxanne Varza (@roxannevarza), Director at Station F. Follow us: Twitter: @bitsandpretzels Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bits-&-pretzels If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review. You can also send us feedback at podcast@bitsandpretzels.com. Production: professional-podcasts.com (Regina Körner, Migo Fecke) & Dina Zhakupova.

This week's podcast has a very international setup with two guests joining us from different sides of the world: Sarah Cannon is dialing in from New York City and Martin Mignot from his home in London. They are both partners at Index Ventures, one of the biggest Venture Capital firms that invested in Dropbox, Deliveroo, Skype and Slack - just to name a few. With over 10 billion euro under the current management, their fund oversees a portfolio of 160 companies from the US and Europe. Started as a European based firm themselves Index Ventures has been in the US for almost a decade now and successfully operates with dual headquarters located in San Francisco and London. Sarah and Martin have helped numerous companies make that move as well and gathered enough knowledge on expanding a business across the Atlantic. They share how the mentality of founders has changed over the last couple of years in regard to expanding to the US market and why a lot of European startups are choosing to win the US remotely. And with a lot of experience helping startups all over the world grow and expand, they both had a few advices up their sleeve for founders: from 1) how to build a reliable communication and maintain a culture within an international team to 2) how to navigate different regulation across the world and 3) how the landscape of investment changed during Covid-19 as well as how founders can benefit. More to explore: Stay updated on news & insights from us about founders, startups in Bavaria, Austria & Switzerland at www.bitsandpretzels.com. Signup for our media newsletter to get the next episode of this podcast delivered right to your inbox: www.bitsandpretzels.com/media-signup. Hosts: Britta Weddeling (@bweddeling), Editor-in-Chief of Bits & Pretzels (@bitsandpretzels) Featuring: Sarah Cannon (@SarahRCannon) & Martin Mignot (@martinmignot), Partners at Index Ventures. Follow us: Twitter: @bitsandpretzels Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bits-&-pretzels If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review. You can also send us feedback at podcast@bitsandpretzels.com. Production: professional-podcasts.com (Regina Körner, Migo Fecke) & Dina Zhakupova.

At a point when most people make plans for their retirement, our podcast guest this week wrote a business plan to start her own bank: Anne Boden, the CEO and founder of Starling Bank, who has built a name for herself building one of UK's standout digital banks, drawing on her experience in the financial heartlands for more than 30 years building and running global banking and payments businesses as part of RBS and Lloyds among other things. The banker and technologist is the prime example and embodiment of the famous saying it's never too late to break new ground. And in this week's episode the exceptional founder shares her learnings from making her way up to the top in the Fintech world: 1) From how to build a challenger bank from scratch and 2) why she is not threatened by the established big banks to 3) how to diversify your revenue streams to make your business profitable. But her wisdom goes far beyond just the Fintech world and offers founders from all sectors a glimpse into her way of navigating the experience of being a founder especially as a woman in a very male dominated entrepreneurial environment. Despite having had a 30-years career in the global banking and payment business earlier to founding Starling Bank, Anne had to face the same challenges as every other founder specifically when asking for funding. So her advice to younger entrepreneurs is to keep pushing: “Keep knocking on those doors!” And one thing she would recommend every founder is to have lots of drive and ambition: “If I aim for something really awesome, really ambitious - even failure would be a success”, she told Bits & Pretzels Editor-In-Chief Britta Weddeling. More to explore: Stay updated on news & insights from us about founders, startups in Bavaria, Austria & Switzerland at www.bitsandpretzels.com. Signup for our media newsletter to get the next episode of this podcast delivered right to your inbox: www.bitsandpretzels.com/media-signup. Hosts: Britta Weddeling (@bweddeling), Editor-in-Chief of Bits & Pretzels (@bitsandpretzels) Featuring: Anne Boden (@AnneBoden), CEO & founder of Starling Bank Follow us: Twitter: @bitsandpretzels Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bits-&-pretzels If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review. You can also send us feedback at podcast@bitsandpretzels.com. Production: professional-podcasts.com (Regina Körner, Migo Fecke), Sophie Dechansreiter & Dina Zhakupova.

Our podcast guest this week is an overall legend and a true loyal Bavarian at heart who became a well-known name even outside the basketball court: The NBA superstar Dirk Nowitzki joined the Bits & Pretzels Networking Week live from his home in Dallas, Texas where he offered insights into how his career in basketball helped him grow as a person, accept any challenge that life might throw at him and the importance of staying humble by giving back to the community. He also shared how his mentality of always trying to improve and never be satisfied is also transferable to the business world and how especially young entrepreneurs can benefit from this mindset. And even after retiring from professional basketball just last year, Dirk Nowitzki has kept his “don't put a ceiling on your limit” attitude up and is now venturing into the entrepreneurial universe by dipping his feet into investing - a world he is excited to explore further. As an investor Dirk Nowitzki is looking for all kinds of startups like a cyber defense company for example and is definitely not limited to just sports related startups. During his conversation with the Bits & Pretzels Editor-In-Chief Britta Weddeling, Dirk Nowitzki shared some of the biggest lessons he sometimes had to learn the hard way and can be beneficial to all aspects of life: 1) utilize your failures as motivation and as stepping stones to your personal success, 2) have someone in your life who will guide you by taking on the mentor role and of course, 3) never be satisfied with the result, always try to improve, learn more and work even harder! More to explore: Stay updated on news & insights from us about founders, startups in Bavaria, Austria & Switzerland at www.bitsandpretzels.com. Signup for our media newsletter to get the next episode of this podcast delivered right to your inbox: www.bitsandpretzels.com/media-signup. Hosts: Britta Weddeling (@bweddeling), Editor-in-Chief of Bits & Pretzels (@bitsandpretzels) Featuring: Dirk Nowitzki (@swish41), former professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks. Follow us: Twitter: @bitsandpretzels Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bits-&-pretzels If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review. You can also send us feedback at podcast@bitsandpretzels.com. Production: professional-podcasts.com (Regina Körner, Migo Fecke), Sophie Dechansreiter & Dina Zhakupova.

This week's podcast guest has shaped the legend of Google, served in the epicenter of Silicon Valley for almost 20 years and led Google's expansion into all aspects of our lives: Eric Schmidt, the former Google Inc. CEO & executive chairman. And in our show he's offering a rare look inside his playbook – from how to systematically harness world-changing ideas to establishing a culture of agility and excellence in your startup. For this conversation that we recorded during our Bits & Pretzels Networking Week the Google billionaire joined us live from his apartment in New York and he shared the key learnings that have helped him building his impressive career in tech: from 1) why founders should try building smaller businesses that can be linked together, rather than focussing on one big project, to 2) the one skill every entrepreneur should acquire right now and 3) what European startups can do to catch up with Silicon Valley. Because, as Schmidt points out, creativity and quality of talent in Europe is “exceptional”, the challenge lies more in the restrictions and rules founders face set by the European laws regarding privacy for example. Another problem he sees is the underfunding of universities and especially the graduate programmes as that where the talent is usually coming from. More to explore: Stay updated on news & insights from us about founders, startups in Bavaria, Austria & Switzerland at www.bitsandpretzels.com. Signup for our media newsletter to get the next episode of this podcast delivered right to your inbox: www.bitsandpretzels.com/media-signup. Hosts: Britta Weddeling (@bweddeling), Editor-in-Chief of Bits & Pretzels (@bitsandpretzels) Featuring: Eric Schmidt (@ericschmidt), former Executive Chairman & CEO Google and founder of Schmidt Foundation Follow us: Twitter: @bitsandpretzels Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bits-&-pretzels If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review. You can also send us feedback at podcast@bitsandpretzels.com. Production: professional-podcasts.com (Regina Körner, Migo Fecke), Sophie Dechansreiter & Dina Zhakupova.

In this episode Britta Weddeling, editor-in-chief at Bits & Pretzels, welcomes Max Wittrock! He is the co-founder of German breakfast cereals brand mymuesli, which was one of the first companies to allow customers to create their own breakfast cereals. In this podcast Max shares best practises from his 14 years experience in the startup ecosystem including his ABC for product market fit for founders – from finding the right idea for your startup to testing and proving your business thesis in the markets. More to explore: Stay updated on news & insights from us about founders, startups in Bavaria, Austria & Switzerland at www.bitsandpretzels.com. Signup for our media newsletter to get the next episode of this podcast delivered right to your inbox: www.bitsandpretzels.com/media-signup. Hosts: Britta Weddeling (@bweddeling), Editor-in-Chief of Bits & Pretzels (@bitsandpretzels) Featuring: Max Wittrock (@maxwittrock), founder of mymuesli (@mymuesli) Follow us: Twitter: @bitsandpretzels Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bits-&-pretzels If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review. You can also send us feedback at podcast@bitsandpretzels.com. Production: professional-podcasts.com (Regina Körner, Migo Fecke), Sophie Dechansreiter & Dina Zhakupova.

Would you like to send your pitch deck to the personal email address of Mattias Ljungman, the co-founder of $2.7 billion VC firm Atomico and who just started a new fund with Moonfire Ventures? In this week's podcast Mattias shares his email address as well as what he is looking for in an investor. The Swedish-born VC is one of the household names in the global investor community, after co-founding the European VC firm Atomico together with Skype founder Niklas Zennström. Mattias has been involved with numerous exits and substantial investments in companies including the Stockholm based banking company Klarna, which has just raised $650 million at a post-money valuation of $10.65 billion – and has worked closely with companies on their global expansion. AND – not that we at Bits & Pretzels didn't know – but Mattias sees Europe on the verge of a tech investment breakthrough that is likely to continue unfolding even during the pandemic because today more than ever, it doesn't really matter where you start your company as a founder. More to explore: Stay updated on news & insights from us about founders, startups in Bavaria, Austria & Switzerland at www.bitsandpretzels.com. Signup for our media newsletter to get the next episode of this podcast delivered right to your inbox: www.bitsandpretzels.com/media-signup. Hosts: Britta Weddeling (@bweddeling), Editor-in-Chief of Bits & Pretzels (@bitsandpretzels) Featuring: Mattias Ljungman (@Ljungman), founder of Moonfire Ventures & co-founder of Atomico Follow us: Twitter: @bitsandpretzels Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bits-&-pretzels If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review. You can also send us feedback at podcast@bitsandpretzels.com. Production: professional-podcasts.com (Regina Körner, Migo Fecke), Hubert Honold & Sophie Dechansreiter.

It's in the genes of entrepreneurs to want to change the status quo – most founders do that by starting companies, creating innovative products and then give back to society or becoming politically involved later – after a successful exit.  But that has to change according to the guest in our show today –  serial entrepreneur, book author and political activist and education advocate Verena Pauser, who's one of the most influential founders in the German entrepreneurial ecosystem and named Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.  Just yesterday Verenas's first book came out – and in this show she shares why founders should transfer what they have learned in their companies to the governmental system, to education and health care – in order to prepare Germany for a digital and sustainable future – and why the time to act is right now: And like always – our guest also talks about the tools that have helped her during her successful career in tech from how delegating everything leads to finding focus to where to find the energy to getting through the tough times as an entrepreneur.  More to explore: Stay updated on news & insights from us about founders, startups in Bavaria, Austria & Switzerland at www.bitsandpretzels.com. Signup for our media newsletter to get the next episode of this podcast delivered right to your inbox: www.bitsandpretzels.com/media-signup. Hosts: Britta Weddeling (@bweddeling), Editor-in-Chief of Bits & Pretzels (@bitsandpretzels) Featuring: Verena Pausder (@VerenaDE), Author of Das Neue Land, Initiator of hackathon #WirfuerSchule & #StayOnBoard, board member Digitale Bildung für Alle e.V., Young Global Leader @WEF Follow us: Twitter: @bitsandpretzels Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bits-&-pretzels If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review. You can also send us feedback at podcast@bitsandpretzels.com. Production: professional-podcasts.com (Regina Körner, Migo Fecke), Hubert Honold & Sophie Dechansreiter.

You are a female founder looking for new cash? And you want to learn the exclusive insights and tricks of an experienced investor to make it in the (unfortunately) still male-dominated startup world? Or maybe you are a male founder and you just lost one of your best female executives and you realize you need to turn around your company's culture sooner or later? This podcast might hold the answer to your questions! 
In this week's episode Bits & Pretzels Editor-in-Chief Britta Weddeling talks to the experienced entrepreneur and investor Gesa Miczaika, who is the co-founder of capital firm Auxxo, as well as a Board Member of the German Startups Association. In our conversation Gesa explains how to network for success as a female founder, how to pitch in front of an all-male investor audience as well as how to create more diversity within your company for better financial results. Because – after what happened in scandal-ridden firms such as Wirecard with an all-male leadership and N26 that made headlines with an internal rebellion against its management – the investor's convinced that gender equality is more than ever key to the future of your company: "If there would have been females investing in those companies, things would have been a little bit different." More to explore: Stay updated on news & insights from us about founders, startups in Bavaria, Austria & Switzerland at www.bitsandpretzels.com. Stay up to date and signup for our media newsletter to get the next episode of this podcast delivered right to your inbox: www.bitsandpretzels.com/media-signup. Hosts: Britta Weddeling (@bweddeling), Editor-in-Chief of Bits & Pretzels (@bitsandpretzels) Featuring: Gesa Miczaicka, Co-founder & co-founder of capital firm Auxxo Follow us: Twitter: @bitsandpretzels Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bits-&-pretzels Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bitsandpretzels/ Production: professional-podcasts.com (Regina Körner, Migo Fecke), Sophie Dechansreiter If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review. You can also send us feedback directly at podcast@bitsandpretzels.com.

Famously joining the index of Germany's 30 largest companies by market capitalization & valuation — was REALLY just the first step for Niklas Östberg, the co-founder and CEO of Berlin headquartered Delivery Hero. The entrepreneur who co-started the online food delivery platform that's more valuable now than Deutsche Bank, has much higher ambitions, as he discloses in this week's episode of our Bits & Pretzels podcast. Here's what's in this show for you: The leader of the global player in the $100 billion market of food delivery shares 1) best practices about managing a global logistics business in a pandemic, 2) how he turned a local service into a global platform for lunch and more & 3) the secrets of keeping big tech rivals, namely Amazon & Google, who dominate most digital businesses in Europe, on arms-length (for now). And you've got a chance to personally meet Niklas at our Bits & Pretzels Networking Week (Sept 27th to Oct 2nd 2020) along with other world-class startup leaders. Register here to join: https://www.bitsandpretzels.com/application-page. More to explore: Stay updated on news & insights from us about founders, startups in Bavaria, Austria & Switzerland at www.bitsandpretzels.com. Stay up to date and signup for our media newsletter to get the next episode of this podcast delivered right to your inbox: www.bitsandpretzels.com/media-signup. Hosts: Britta Weddeling (@bweddeling), Editor-in-Chief of Bits & Pretzels (@bitsandpretzels) Featuring: Niklas Östberg (@niklasoestberg), Co-founder & CEO of Delivery Hero (@deliveryherocom) Follow us: Twitter: @bitsandpretzels Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bits-&-pretzels If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review. You can also send us feedback at podcast@bitsandpretzels.com. Production: professional-podcasts.com (Regina Körner, Migo Fecke), Sophie Dechansreiter

€170 million for European deep tech startups: Serial entrepreneur Florian Leibert shares the masterplan for the new fund called 468 Capital that he set up with former Rocket Internet executives Alexander Kudlich & Ludwig Ensthaler in this week's conversation with Bits & Pretzels' Editor-in-Chief Britta Weddeling. Florian has 10+ years career in Silicon Valley, as the co-founder of California based cloud container company Mesosphere that secured funding of more than $250 million, and alumnus of Airbnb and Twitter. In this podcast he's providing a rare glimpse into what he and his 2 partners are up to –  how the team secured the million Euros funds to bridge the innovation gap between Europe and the US despite the economic uncertainty caused by the Covid-19 pandemic – and why he thinks the time to act for European tech founders is right now. More to explore: Stay updated on news & insights from us about founders, startups in Bavaria, Austria & Switzerland at www.bitsandpretzels.com. Signup for our media newsletter to get the next episode of this podcast delivered right to your inbox: www.bitsandpretzels.com/media-signup. Hosts: Britta Weddeling (@bweddeling), Editor-in-Chief of Bits & Pretzels (@bitsandpretzels) Featuring: Florian Leibert (@flo), General Partner at 468 Capital (@468Capital), founder of Mesosphere (@mesosphere). Former Tech Lead at Airbnb (@airbnb) and Twitter (@twitter) Follow us: Twitter: @bitsandpretzels Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bits-&-pretzels If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review. You can also send us feedback at podcast@bitsandpretzels.com. Production: professional-podcasts.com (Regina Körner, Migo Fecke), Sophie Dechansreiter

In this episode, Bits & Pretzels' Editor-in-Chief Britta Weddeling talks to one of the most successful cloud communication entrepreneurs in the tech world, Jeff Lawson, the co-founder & CEO of $8.5 billion firm Twilio. Get insights into 1) how he has launch a million dollar company within just six weeks, 2) how your customers lead you the way to build better products and 3) why you have to push ownership & responsibility in your startup to get better results. Because Jeff himself successfully did all of the above to climb the ladder in Silicon Valley. Today, his company Twilio is used by millions of developers around the world and big tech companies including Airbnb and Uber. Twilio allows software engineers to programmatically make and receive phone calls, send and receive text messages, and perform other communication functions using its web service APIs. The company is getting a boost from the pandemic as its customers both old and new scramble to update their operations for a new digital age. Shares of Twilio are up over 160% so far in 2020.  More to explore: Stay updated on news & insights from us about founders, startups in Bavaria, Austria & Switzerland at www.bitsandpretzels.com. Signup for our media newsletter to get the next episode of this podcast delivered right to your inbox: www.bitsandpretzels.com/media-signup. Hosts: Britta Weddeling (@bweddeling), Editor-in-Chief of Bits & Pretzels (@bitsandpretzels) Featuring: Jeff Lawson (@jeffiel), founder of Twilio (@twilio). Former Amazon (@amazon) executive Follow us: Twitter: @bitsandpretzels Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bits-&-pretzels If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review. You can also send us feedback at podcast@bitsandpretzels.com. Production: professional-podcasts.com (Regina Körner, Migo Fecke), Sophie Dechansreiter

In this episode Bits & Pretzels Editor-in-Chief Britta Weddeling talks to Taavet Hinrikus, the co-founder of London headquartered borderless cash company Transferwise, who's a tech pioneer, an investor and business angel, just days after his company announced a 43 percent valuation jump to a valuation of 5 billion dollars after a secondary share sale. In 2003, Taavet was the first employee at Voice-over-IP platform Skype, before he decided launching Transferwise in 2011 to provide cheap cross-border transfers. In this podcast Taavet explains why he left Skype to become a founder himself and what rules have guided him since – while building Transferwise from a niche into a global platform – now serving 8 million customers, processing around 4 billion in cross-border payments each month across 54 currencies and why today you can build a global player from anywhere in the world. More to explore: Stay updated on news & insights from us about founders, startups in Bavaria, Austria & Switzerland at www.bitsandpretzels.com. Signup for our media newsletter to get the next episode of this podcast delivered right to your inbox: www.bitsandpretzels.com/media-signup. Host: Britta Weddeling (@bweddeling), Editor-in-Chief of Bits & Pretzels (@bitsandpretzels) Featuring: Taavet Hinrikus (@taavet), co-founder & chairman of TransferWise (@TransferWise), previously built Skype (@Skype) as 1st employee Follow us: Twitter: @bitsandpretzels Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bits-&-pretzels If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review & tell your friends about us! You can also send us feedback at podcast@bitsandpretzels.com. Production: professional-podcasts.com (Regina Körner, Migo Fecke), Hubert Honold & Sophie Dechansreiter.

In this week's episode Britta Weddeling, Bits & Pretzels' editor in chief, talks to Hendrik Brandis, co-founder and partner at Earlybird, a venture capital firm focused on European technology companies. Hendrik has been investing in startups for 23 years and recently made his largest exit ever when Turkish game developer Peak Games sold to Zynga for 1.8 billion dollar. The experienced investor explains why the next big wave of startup innovation is happening in the deep tech space, meaning companies funded based on a scientific breakthrough & likely to change the world, such as AI, space, biotech or quantum computing. The aerospace engineer turned VC also talks about why space is becoming the next mega platform for services & new technologies, e.g. with satellites providing 5G internet connection or Voice-over-IP broadband – and why Munich is the place to be for entrepreneurs right now. More to explore: Stay updated on news & insights from us about founders, startups in Bavaria, Austria & Switzerland at www.bitsandpretzels.com. Signup for our media newsletter to get the next episode of this podcast delivered right to your inbox: www.bitsandpretzels.com/media-signup. Host: Britta Weddeling (@bweddeling), Editor-in-Chief of Bits & Pretzels (@bitsandpretzels) Featuring: Hendrik Brandis, co-founder and Partner Earlybird Venture Capital (@EarlybirdVC) Follow us: Twitter: @bitsandpretzels Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bits-&-pretzels If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review & tell your friends about us! You can also send us feedback at podcast@bitsandpretzels.com. Production: professional-podcasts.com (Regina Körner, Migo Fecke), Hubert Honold & Sophie Dechansreiter.

In this week's episode, Britta Weddeling, Editor-in-Chief of Bits & Pretzels, talks with Aaron Levie, the CEO and co-founder of cloud computer pioneer Box and one of the most successful and outspoken innovators in the enterprise software business who revolutionized the collaborative office environment. Levie is a true cloud pioneer: He has started his company 15 years ago at the age of 19 and famously cold-pitched his idea to Marc Cuban – while still an undergrad in the dorm room – and has matured from those early days into a public company executive, who has guided his employees, customers and investors through various ups and downs – from taking his company to a 1.6 billion dollars IPO to fighting for market share with big incumbents such as Microsoft & Google. This show is all about what Levie has learned on the way – from pivoting his product when the market demands it – to why startup is a state of mind (even though Box is not necessarily a startup any more) to how to stay sane as a founder In difficult situations such as today. More to explore: Stay updated on news & insights from us about founders, startups in Bavaria, Austria & Switzerland at www.bitsandpretzels.com. Signup for our media newsletter to get the next episode of this podcast delivered right to your inbox: www.bitsandpretzels.com/media-signup. Hosts: Britta Weddeling (@bweddeling), Editor-in-Chief of Bits & Pretzels (@bitsandpretzels) Featuring: Aaron Levie (@levie), co-founder and CEO Box (@Box) Follow us: Twitter: @bitsandpretzels Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bits-&-pretzels If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review & tell your friends about us! You can also send us feedback at podcast@bitsandpretzels.com. Production: professional-podcasts.com (Regina Körner, Migo Fecke), Hubert Honold & Sophie Dechansreiter.

Remember what it feels like to be focused and productive? It has been a while? Well, you're not alone! Many of us feel exhausted and overwhelmed due to the economic situation caused by Covid-19 and the many uncertainties ahead in business and in private life. Today's podcast guest is here to help: Listen to Arianna Huffington, the co-founder of the Huffington Post and founder of behavior change company Thrive Global in conversation with Bits & Pretzels' Editor-in-Chief Britta Weddeling. In this podcast Arianna shares what has helped her – a serial entrepreneur, bestselling author and fearless business person while building her amazing career – from starting the news aggregator Huffington Post that won her the Pulitzer Prize, fast forward to today – where she's leading Thrive Global focussing on helping entrepreneurs to deal with workplace stress. The company leader shares her secrets of how we can all manage pressure and anxiety better with what she calls „micro steps“ — small adjustments to our lives to help us to sleep & relax better to end up being more focussed when we are all entering the new normal. More to explore: Stay updated on news & insights from us about founders, startups in Bavaria, Austria & Switzerland at www.bitsandpretzels.com. Signup for our media newsletter to get the next episode of this podcast delivered right to your inbox: www.bitsandpretzels.com/media-signup. Hosts: Britta Weddeling (@bweddeling), Editor-in-Chief of Bits & Pretzels (@bitsandpretzels) Featuring: Arianna Huffington (@ariannahuff), Founder of Huffington Post (@HuffPost), Co-Founder & CEO Thrive Global (@thrive) Follow us: Twitter: @bitsandpretzels Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bits-&-pretzels If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review. You can also send us feedback at podcast@bitsandpretzels.com. Production: professional-podcasts.com (Regina Körner, Migo Fecke), Hubert Honold & Sophie Dechansreiter.

Open your ears and listen to the future with us! This episode of the Bits & Pretzels podcast is about what entrepreneurs can expect as we look towards a post-pandemic world and how founders can prepare. Britta Weddeling, our Editor-in-chief, is talking to Amy Webb, a quantitative futurist and professor of strategic foresight at the NYU Stern School of Business and founder of the Future Today Institute where she advises the world's leading Fortune 100 companies. Her annual Tech Trends Report fills the halls of major tech events such as South by Southwest in Austin. At the moment she is in New York, where she collects data, trends and new technologies that will shape the future. More to explore: Stay updated on news & insights from us about founders, startups in Bavaria, Austria & Switzerland at www.bitsandpretzels.com. Signup for our media newsletter to get the next episode of this podcast delivered right to your inbox: www.bitsandpretzels.com/media-signup. Hosts: Britta Weddeling (@bweddeling), Editor-in-Chief of Bits & Pretzels (@bitsandpretzels) Featuring: Amy Webb (@amywebb) Quantitative Futurist. Trends+strategy FTI (@FTI), Author of "The Big Nine" and "Signals Are Talking", Prof NYUStern (@NYUStern) Follow us: Twitter: @bitsandpretzels Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bits-&-pretzels If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review. You can also send us feedback at podcast@bitsandpretzels.com. Production: professional-podcasts.com (Regina Körner, Migo Fecke), Hubert Honold.

Today Bits & Pretzels Editor-in-Chief Britta Weddeling talks to Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski who has created a revolution in online shopping as well as Europe's most valuable fintech with 85 million customers, 205 000 online merchants in 17 countries and 2700 employees. And now the Klarna co-founder is out to beat Amazon with a new shopping tool that he announces exclusively in our podcast and that aims to offer brands and their customers the same level of convenience and benefits that exist on a platform like Amazon. In our conversation Sebastian talks about why he's not afraid of the big technology giants as well as about how Klarna rose from being a local under-dog to an international scale-up threatening traditional banks with its 'buy now, pay later' promise. And – like always – our guest shares what other entrepreneurs can learn from his way up to the top of the fintech world and his thoughts about his responsibilities as a leader in tech. More to explore: Stay updated on news & insights from us about founders, startups in Bavaria, Austria & Switzerland at www.bitsandpretzels.com. Signup for our media newsletter to get the next episode of this podcast delivered right to your inbox: www.bitsandpretzels.com/media-signup. Hosts: Britta Weddeling (@bweddeling), Editor-in-Chief of Bits & Pretzels (@bitsandpretzels) Featuring: Sebastian Siemiatkowski (@klarnaseb), co-founder & CEO Klarna (@Klarna) Follow us: Twitter: @bitsandpretzels Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bits-&-pretzels If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review. You can also send us feedback at podcast@bitsandpretzels.com. Production: professional-podcasts.com (Regina Körner, Migo Fecke), Hubert Honold.

Today Britta Weddeling, Editor-in-chief of Bits & Pretzels, talks with Christoph Hornung, co-founder of legendary German startup accelerator Rocket Internet, who recently joint London-based VC firm Draper Esprit as an investment director. The company is one of the leading VCs in Europe with investments in N26, Revolut & Transferwise among others & a focus on series B, C and later stage companies. In the conversation Christoph shares his view on why although the coronavirus pandemic already has lead to a huge economic slowdown, it is also providing a breeding ground to innovation and disruptive tech – and who could be among the "Covid-19 unicorns" moving forward. Christoph has sat on both sides of the startup table before. Eight years ago, when he co-founded Rocket Internet in Berlin, he helped kick-starting the startup ecosystem in Germany. From his own experience as investor and entrepreneur he shares what founders can do every step of the way – from the early days to the later stage to right before the exit to improve their performance – and why the time for actions is now. More to explore: Stay updated on news & insights from us about founders, startups in Bavaria, Austria & Switzerland at www.bitsandpretzels.com. Signup for our media newsletter to get the next episode of this podcast delivered right to your inbox: www.bitsandpretzels.com/media-signup. Hosts: Britta Weddeling (@bweddeling), Editor-in-Chief of Bits & Pretzels (@bitsandpretzels) Featuring: Christoph Hornung (@MrChrisHornung), investment director at Draper Esprit (@DraperEsprit) Follow us: Twitter: @bitsandpretzels Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bits-&-pretzels If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review. You can also send us feedback at podcast@bitsandpretzels.com. Production: professional-podcasts.com (Regina Körner, Migo Fecke), Hubert Honold.

Welcome to the first interstellar episode of the Bits & Pretzels podcast! After with SpaceX for the first time in history a private company successfully sent two US astronauts to the International Space Station, the stars of space-gazing entrepreneurs like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and many more have risen: among them Will Marshall, the co-founder and CEO of San Francisco-Berlin based startup Planet, which has built the largest fleet of satellites the world has ever seen. Each of the minisats covers an image of more than 2 million square kilometers per day & has just the seize of a wine bottle (Planet calls them "doves"). So that's more than the area of Germany. Will works closely with Elon Musk, and his satellite images serve governments, researchers and farmers. In conversation with Bits & Pretzels' Editor-in-Chief Britta Weddeling he shares how he has built his space company and about his vision to index the world like Google has indexed the internet to make it searchable. More to explore: Get the latest as well as exclusive news on founders, startups & technologies in Bavaria, Austria & Switzerland as well as hands-on advice on how to deal with the Covid-19 crisis as a startup at www.bitsandpretzels.com. Signup for our media newsletter to get the next episode of this podcast delivered right to your inbox: www.bitsandpretzels.com/media-signup. Hosts: Britta Weddeling (@bweddeling), Editor-in-Chief of Bits & Pretzels (@bitsandpretzels) Featuring: Will Marshall (@Will4Planet), co-founder & CEO of Planet Labs (@planetlabs) Follow us: Twitter: @bitsandpretzels Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bits-&-pretzels If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review. You can also send us feedback at podcast@bitsandpretzels.com. Production: professional-podcasts.com (Regina Körner, Migo Fecke), Hubert Honold.

In conversation with Bits & Pretzels' Britta Weddeling London-based top VC Brent Hoberman, one of the most influential entrepreneurs in European tech, shares his secrets of how founders can grow their startup during the current COVID-19 crisis, where to raise funds now as an early stage startup & what kind of companies & "founder DNA" he's looking for nowadays as an investor. Hoberman, who cofounded travel booking website Lastminute.com in 1998 and sold it seven years later for over $1 billion, also explained how he went from running the first European unicorn in the UK to becoming a mentor to the next generation of founders, as the co-founder and Executive Chairman of Founders Forum, an invite-only networking conference for top global disruptors, with Founders Factory, a global tech startup accelerator & UK-based Firstminute Capital, a unicorn-founder-backed seed fund with a 100 million global reach. More to explore: Get the latest as well as exclusive news on founders, startups & technologies in Bavaria, Austria & Switzerland as well as hands-on advice on how to deal with the Covid-19 crisis as a startup at www.bitsandpretzels.com. Signup for our media newsletter to get the next episode of this podcast delivered right to your inbox: www.bitsandpretzels.com/media-signup. Hosts: Britta Weddeling (@bweddeling), Editor-in-Chief of Bits & Pretzels (@bitsandpretzels) Featuring: Brent Hoberman, co-founder Foundersfactory (@foundersfactory), Founders Forum (@Founders_Forum), LastMinute.com (@lastminute_com), First Minute Cap (@firstminutecap) More to explore: Visit our website: https://www.bitsandpretzels.com/podcast Follow us: Twitter: @bitsandpretzels Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bits-&-pretzels If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review. You can also send us feedback at podcast@bitsandpretzels.com. Production: professional-podcasts.com (Regina Körner, Migo Fecke), Hubert Honold.

"We're going to have to redesign everything” – says Amol Sarva, the Knotel workspace CEO and serial entrepreneur from New York in conversation with Bit & Pretzels' Britta Weddeling. Last year Amol raised $400 million for his company, but today business as usual is over due to coronavirus. Knotel struggles to pay rent at several of its New York City locations. The firm had to lay off nearly half of its staff, and nearly one-third of its tenants have requested some form of rent relief. In this episode Amol talks about the principles of leading a company through a business shutdown and shares rare & personal insights into what he has learned in his 20 years as serial entrepreneur who started Virgin Mobile, the Peek smartphone & Halo Neuroscience about survival & resilience. To get new podcast episodes delivered right into your inbox describe to our media newsletter here www.bitsandpretzels.com/media-signup. Hosts: Britta Weddeling (@bweddeling), Editor-in-Chief of Bits & Pretzels (@bitsandpretzels) Featuring: Amol Sarva (@amol), founder Knotel (@Knotel), Halo Neuroscience (@HaloNeuro) Peek and Virgin Mobile More to explore: Visit our website: https://www.bitsandpretzels.com/podcast Follow us: Twitter: @bitsandpretzels Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bits-&-pretzels If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review. You can also send us feedback at podcast@bitsandpretzels.com. Production: professional-podcasts.com (Regina Körner, Migo Fecke), Hubert Honold.

Dan Ram is an entrepreneur as well as a master of adaptation and reinvention which are skills every entrepreneur needs today to manage the many uncertainties and headwinds towards the future. As the son of an Indian diplomat Dan had to learn quickly how to transition from one country to another, one culture to another every 2-3 years growing up in 10 countries on 4 continents. On a professional level, he has started multiple companies and more recently has found his calling as an MC at more than 100 tech conferences around the world, including Bits & Pretzels. In this episode of our podcast, Dan Ram will share 5 practical hacks for navigating change and how to not just survive but thrive during this transition season. To get new podcast episodes delivered right into your inbox describe to our media newsletter here www.bitsandpretzels.com/media-signup. Hosts: Britta Weddeling (@bweddeling), Editor-in-Chief of Bits & Pretzels (@bitsandpretzels) Featuring: Dan Ram, Bits & Pretzels host & Global MC (@iamdanram) More to explore: Visit our website: https://www.bitsandpretzels.com/podcast Follow us: Twitter: @bitsandpretzels Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bits-&-pretzels If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review. You can also send us feedback at podcast@bitsandpretzels.com. Production: professional-podcasts.com (Regina Körner, Migo Fecke), Hubert Honold.

Before the age of 28, Michele Romanow already started 3 companies. She's on TV regularly as one of the Dragon's on CBC's Dragon's Den, the Canadian equivalent to ABC's Shark Tank. And she was named as Canada's Top 100 Most Powerful Women. And in this episode Michele talks with Britta about why she co-founded Clearbanc that is completely revamping the VC game. The rising star in venture capital in Silicon Valley funds startups through equity-free investments with the promise of being specifically founder friendly. Clearbanc made big noise with 1 billion dollars in investments only last year into almost 2200 startups so far. In the episode Michele talks about why we need more female VCs to get more female founders and how she leads her company with her co-founder who is also her partner in the couples' private life. To get new podcast episodes delivered right into your inbox describe to our media newsletter here www.bitsandpretzels.com/media-signup. Hosts: Britta Weddeling (@bweddeling), Editor-in-Chief of Bits & Pretzels (@bitsandpretzels) Featuring: Michele Romanow (@MicheleRomanow), co-founder Clearbanc (@clearbanc), cast member of CBC´s dragons´ den (@cbcdragon) More to explore: Visit our website: https://www.bitsandpretzels.com/podcast Follow us: Twitter: @bitsandpretzels Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bits-&-pretzels If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review. You can also send us feedback at podcast@bitsandpretzels.com. Production: professional-podcasts.com (Regina Körner, Migo Fecke), Hubert Honold.

In this podcast episode, you'll hear from one of the leading female executives in the business world: Angela Ahrendts, the longtime Head of Retail at Apple where she became the highest-paid executive and made double of what CEO Tim Cook made. Before that, she was CEO at British luxury fashion label Burberry. In conversation with Bits & Pretzels' Britta Weddeling Angela spoke about the leading principles that have shaped her career and how she rose from a small town in Indiana to the top of Silicon Valley and what advice she has for entrepreneurs in the current crisis.During Corona, which forces all founders to adapt quickly, Angela's ideas around leadership and intuition could give guidance of how to deal with the current uncertainties and specifically about what role your gut feeling can play in moving forward.  We've met Angela just days before the lockdown in Silicon Valley, in the Cordevalle Golf Club, a private golf course and spa resort, located southeast of where you drive through a huge iron gate all along well trimmed green grass before you enter an impressive wooden lobby and are greeted by a hostess. Even in this luxury environment Angela stands out. The room for the podcast conversation that overlooked the whole golf course was booked under her maiden name for privacy reasons  … To get new podcast episodes delivered right into your inbox describe to our media newsletter here www.bitsandpretzels.com/media-signup Hosts: Britta Weddeling (@bweddeling), Editor-in-Chief of Bits & Pretzels (@bitsandpretzels) Featuring: Angela Ahrendts (@AngelaAhrendts), former SVP Apple Retail (@Apple), CEO Burberry (@Burberry) More to explore: Visit our website: https://www.bitsandpretzels.com/podcast Follow us: Twitter: @bitsandpretzels Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bits-&-pretzels If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review. You can also send us feedback at podcast@bitsandpretzels.com. Production: professional-podcasts.com (Regina Körner, Migo Fecke), Hubert Honold.

It started as a truly European effort to create tracking apps to help break Covid-19 infection chains and to ease lockdown restrictions: the Pan-European Privacy-Preserving Proximity Tracing (PEPP-PT) consortium, an alliance once of around 130 European computer scientists that launched last month with the aim of developing apps that would follow strict privacy rules. However, instead of being launched any day now, a number of prestigious supporters have withdrawn from the PEPP-PT project over the last few days after criticism about a lack of transparency and data protection. In this episode the frontman of the initiative, Chris Boos, the founder of Arago and something like the godfather of AI in Germany, answers his critics  & talks about how he aims to restore confidence in the technology and how he plans to proceed now.   Hosts: Britta Weddeling (@bweddeling), Editor-in-Chief of Bits & Pretzels (@bitsandpretzels) Featuring: Chris Boos (@boosc), founder arago (@aragoGmbH) and PEPP-PT member (@PeppPt) More to explore: Visit our website: https://www.bitsandpretzels.com/podcast Follow us: Twitter: @bitsandpretzels Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bits-&-pretzels If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review. You can also send us feedback directly at podcast@bitsandpretzels.com. Production: professional-podcasts.com (Regina Körner, Migo Fecke), Hubert Honold.

Ijad Madisch, founder and CEO of ResearchGates, is the latest guest in the Bits & Pretzels podcast. The 39 years-old entrepreneur built ResearchGate, a network that allows its 16 million members to exchange medical research data. In today's show the medical doctor and virologist talks about how he created a new COVID-19 community on his platform and where he thinks the current research about medications, treatments or a vaccine for the coronavirus stands right now. ResearchGate is backed by Microsoft founder Bill Gates, investment bank Goldman Sachs and Peter Thiel's Founders Fund among others and made its name by making it easier to share scientific findings that haven't gone through peer review yet. Hosts: Britta Weddeling (@bweddeling), Editor-in-Chief of Bits & Pretzels (@bitsandpretzels) Featuring: Ijad Madisch (@IjadMadisch), co-founder ResearchGate (@ResearchGate) More to explore: Visit our website: https://www.bitsandpretzels.com/podcast Follow us: Twitter: @bitsandpretzels Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bits-&-pretzels If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review. You can also send us feedback directly at podcast@bitsandpretzels.com. Production: professional-podcasts.com (Regina Körner, Migo Fecke), Hubert Honold.

You're listening to part two of our Bits & Pretzels Podcast Special regarding how to tackle the Corona crisis. Today, former Formula One World Champion Nico Rosberg shares his insights into how meditation helped him during his career – and could help dealing with the economic uncertainties right now. Hannes Ametsreiter, the CEO of Vodafone Germany shares his insights into the effects the Corona crisis has on the internet economy which he calls "the single biggest digital boost in Germany since ever". And since we got so many questions about the technical set up for our first virtual event, the third part of this podcast will come from us – the Bits & Pretzels team behind the scenes with a conversation about – how we did it. Hosts: Britta Weddeling (@bweddeling), Editor-in-Chief of Bits & Pretzels (@bitsandpretzels) Featuring: Nico Rosberg (@nico_rosberg), former Formula One World Champion Hannes Ametsreiter (@H_Ametsreiter), CEO Vodafone Germany (@vodafone_de) More to explore: Visit our website: https://www.bitsandpretzels.com/podcast Follow us: Twitter: @bitsandpretzels Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bits-&-pretzels If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review. You can also send us feedback directly at podcast@bitsandpretzels.com. Production: professional-podcasts.com (Regina Körner, Migo Fecke), Hubert Honold.

Todays special episode of the Bits & Pretzels Podcast presents highlights from our first Bits & Pretzels Virtual Founders Breakfast. Actor Kevin Spacey shares his first-hand experience in dealing with uncertainties when your life as you know it comes to a halt. Albert Wenger, managing director at VC firm Union Square Ventures, shares his view on how to use the time of lockdown to rebuild your business. And Lea-Sophie Cramer, the co-founder of Amorelie, the hugely successful erotic lifestyle articles online store, gives her advice on how to overcome the difficult situation caused by Covid-19. Hosts: Britta Weddeling (@bweddeling), Editor-in-Chief of Bits & Pretzels (@bitsandpretzels) Featuring: Albert Wenger (@albertwenger), managing director of Union Square Ventures (@usv), Lea-Sophie Cramer (@meleayou), co-founder Amorelie (@AmorelieDE), Kevin Spacey (@KevinSpacey) More to explore: Visit our website: https://www.bitsandpretzels.com/podcast Follow us: Twitter: @bitsandpretzels Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bits-&-pretzels If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review. You can also send us feedback directly at podcast@bitsandpretzels.com. Production: professional-podcasts.com (Regina Körner, Migo Fecke), Hubert Honold.

Here's how to emerge even stronger from the actual crisis around Covid-19: Call you investor. Call your clients. And get yourself a better deal. Sounds counterintuitive to you? Listen to the new Bits & Pretzels Podcast feat. Matthias Schranner, an FBI-trained negotiator who started his own firm, the Schranner Negotiation Institute, in Zurich with offices in New York and Hong Kong. Matthias actually thinks that now's the best time to negotiate for founders – if you act quickly: “You need to be the first one to call your investors, telling them, I want to negotiate because I want to find a solution for the future.” Matthias consults global organizations like the UN, governments, and political parties. And he has coached hundreds of people - from ambitious juniors to top-level managers - via his books and seminars. So, if you're eager to tune your negotiating skills in order to close the best deal possible - Matthias is the man to listen to. Hosts: Britta Weddeling (@bweddeling), Editor-in-Chief of Bits & Pretzels (@bitsandpretzels) Featuring: Matthias Schranner (@schrannerms), founder and CEO of Schranner Negotiation Institute (https://www.schranner.com) More to explore: Visit our website: https://www.bitsandpretzels.com/podcast Follow us: Twitter: @bitsandpretzels Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bits-&-pretzels If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review. You can also send us feedback directly at podcast@bitsandpretzels.com. Production: professional-podcasts.com (Regina Körner, Migo Fecke), Hubert Honold.

Saeed Amidi, CEO and founder of Plug & Play, a leading international accelerator, shares a surprising positive perspective on the ongoing economic downturn caused by the Corona crisis. Amidi, who heads work with 400 companies and more than 10 000 startups worldwide out of Sunnyvale, explains why now's the time to develop better products and better companies and how founders should push through the crisis, specifically because everybody does work from home (WFH) now: "I believe in hard work and I think right now because of that many people are not traveling and working from home, quite frankly, everybody has more time.” Amidi certainly worries about the negative effects of Corona for founders, specifically for closing deals and raising funds. But he also sees opportunities along the way: "There will be economic crunch, but Google was born during the down cycle, and in these times you have more time to develop a good product, you can hire better people, so I hope there is a positive sign in the future.” Hosts: Britta Weddeling (@bweddeling), Editor-in-Chief of Bits & Pretzels (@bitsandpretzels) Featuring: Saeed Amidi (@SaeedAmidi), founder and CEO of Plug & Play (@PlugandPlayTC) More to explore: Visit our website: https://www.bitsandpretzels.com/podcast Follow us: Twitter: @bitsandpretzels Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bits-&-pretzels If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review. You can also send us feedback directly at podcast@bitsandpretzels.com. Production: Regina Körner, Migo Fecke, Hubert Honold.

Judith Gerlach, Bavaria's first State Minister for Digital Affairs, talks about what needs to be done politically to push for more entrepreneurship and innovation in Germany, including whether we need to establish a Federal Ministry of Digital Affairs. Gerlach also shares her experience of building a ministry from the ground up and the pains and pleasures of life in politics, including her fight against digital dead zones in rural Bavaria. Because of these special circumstances, we're having our conversation in German. Our non-German speaking listeners will find a detailed English summary in our show notes … and please join us again next week! Hosts: Britta Weddeling (@bweddeling), Editor-in-Chief of Bits & Pretzels (@bitsandpretzels) Featuring: Judith Gerlach (@gerlach_judith), Bavarian State Minister for Digital Affairs (https://www.stmd.bayern.de/) More to explore: Visit our website: https://www.bitsandpretzels.com/podcast Follow us: Twitter: @bitsandpretzels Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bits-&-pretzels If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review. You can also send us feedback directly at podcast@bitsandpretzels.com.

Today, Johannes Reck, the co-founder of German travel unicorn GetYourGuide, talks about politics, recruiting talent to Berlin and why customer centricity is the single most important principle within GetYourGuide. He also shares what other entrepreneurs can learn from GetYourGuide's way up to the top of the startup world and why specifically money isn't the key to success. With GetYourGuide Johannes and his co-founder Tao Tao built a globally successful platform that provides travelers experiences. The company sold more than 25 million tickets for trips and raised the whopping sum of half a billion dollars last summer from investors including global players such as Japanese VC firm Softbank. Hosts: Britta Weddeling (@bweddeling), Editor-in-Chief of Bits & Pretzels (@bitsandpretzels) Featuring: Johannes Reck (@JohannesReck), co-founder GetYourGuide (@GetYourGuide) More to explore: Visit our website: https://www.bitsandpretzels.com/podcast Follow us: Twitter: @bitsandpretzels Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bits-&-pretzels If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review. You can also send us feedback directly at podcast@bitsandpretzels.com.

Today Bits & Pretzels Editor-in-chief, Britta Weddeling, is talking to Valentin Stalf, the co-founder of N26. N26 is a story of success. Its valuation of 3.5 billion dollars makes it the most valuable fintech startup in Germany, top 3 in Europe, top 10 worldwide. In the podcast Valentin talks about the next steps for N26, why the challenger bank suddenly pulled the plug just a year into the UK and what other founders can learn from N26's experiences with international expansion, talent and dealing with competitors and customer complaints. Hosts: Britta Weddeling (@bweddeling), Editor-in-Chief of Bits & Pretzels (@bitsandpretzels) Featuring: Valentin Stalf (@valentinstalf), co-founder N26 (@n26) More to explore: Visit our website: https://www.bitsandpretzels.com/podcast Follow us: Twitter: @bitsandpretzels Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bits-&-pretzels If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review. You can also send us feedback directly at podcast@bitsandpretzels.com.

Daniel Krauss, co-founder of German unicorn FlixMobility, shares his experience with the rapid expansion of the transportation unicorn into the international markets & how the team is targeting the downsides of this hyper-growth. The Munich based startup has become Europe's leading provider for long-distance bus travel and is expanding its mobility services worldwide, including into the US. But there is trouble in paradise: "Flix" has to deal with customer complaints and stiff competition as well as strong headwinds from regulators in Germany. Hosts: Britta Weddeling (@bweddeling), Editor-in-Chief of Bits & Pretzels (@bitsandpretzels) Daniel Krauss (@jobsoy), co-founder FlixBus (@FlixBus_DE) More to explore: Visit our website: https://www.bitsandpretzels.com/podcast Follow us: Twitter: @bitsandpretzels Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bits-&-pretzels If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review. You can also send us feedback directly at podcast@bitsandpretzels.com.

Lars Klingbeil, the General Secretary of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), argues that his country needs a change in perspective: "Germans admire Mark Zuckerberg as a great founder, but they don't look at the people in their own country. And if our founders get attention all they get is being mocked.” He also talks about the eroding trust in traditional parties such as his own, the Social Democrats, and how he wants to win back voters who turned from SPD to the neo-Nazi party "Alternative für Deutschland" (AfD) and the upsetting political crisis in the German government after last week a liberal state premier was elected into office with the votes from the AfD. Because of the special circumstances of the ongoing political debate in Germany, we're having our conversation in German. Our non-German speaking listeners can find a detailed English summary in our show notes. Hosts: Britta Weddeling (@bweddeling), Editor-in-Chief of Bits & Pretzels (@bitsandpretzels) Featuring: Lars Klingbeil (@larsklingbeil), SPD-Generalsekretär (@spdde) More to explore: Visit our website: https://www.bitsandpretzels.com/podcast Follow us: Twitter: @bitsandpretzels Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bits-&-pretzels If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review. You can also send us feedback directly at podcast@bitsandpretzels.com.

Margit Wennmachers, has helped many founders to build their brand out of nowhere and helped in reputation management. She is an operating partner at the Silicon Valley based VC firm Andreessen Horowitz, one of the most prestigious investment companies in tech that has backed hundreds of startups, including Facebook, Airbnb, Twitter and Slack. Wired calls her "one of the most talented spin masters in the technology industry". CNN names her "the real queen of Silicon Valley". In this podcast we explore with Margit how founders could model scenarios and set up a crisis process. And we discuss how a PR disaster could actually help to make your company better. Hosts: Britta Weddeling (@bweddeling), Editor-in-Chief of Bits & Pretzels (@bitsandpretzels) Featuring: Margit Wennmachers (@wennmachers), operating partner at Andreessen Horowitz (https://a16z.com/) More to explore: Visit our website: https://www.bitsandpretzels.com/podcast Follow us: Twitter: @bitsandpretzels Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bits-&-pretzels If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review. You can also send us feedback directly at podcast@bitsandpretzels.com.

Maria Ressa, co-founder and CEO of news website Rappler, has been to jail several times, she and her team have been threatened with rape and death. For a month Ressa received 90 hate messages per hour – but she won't stop. In this episode of the Bits & Pretzels podcast Maria tells us about her hard work as a journalist in the Philippines, how she became a true role model in courage and integrity and why she thinks that "democracy as we know it, is dead". Hosts: Britta Weddeling (@bweddeling), Editor-in-Chief of Bits & Pretzels (@bitsandpretzels) Featuring: Maria Ressa (@mariaressa), co-founder & CEO Rappler (@rapplerdotcom) More to explore: Visit our website: https://www.bitsandpretzels.com/podcast Follow us: Twitter: @bitsandpretzels Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bits-&-pretzels If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review. You can also send us feedback directly at podcast@bitsandpretzels.com.

Bastian Nominacher, the co-founder and Co-CEO of Celonis, shares how three Bavarian friends turned a college project into a 2.5 billion dollar company and why his own career started at very humble beginning as a sales manager in a computer shop. He talks about how the entrepreneurs identified their business model, and how he believes Celonis succeeds in always attracting the top talent in this very tight talent market for experts in process mining and artificial intelligence. Hosts: Britta Weddeling (@bweddeling), Editor-in-Chief of Bits & Pretzels (@bitsandpretzels) Featuring: Bastian Nominacher, co-founder Celonis (@celonis) More to explore: Visit our website: https://www.bitsandpretzels.com/podcast Follow us: Twitter: @bitsandpretzels Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bits-&-pretzels If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review. You can also send us feedback directly at podcast@bitsandpretzels.com.

Drew Houston, co-founder of Dropbox, talks about why while building one of the most popular productivity apps on the internet he got really frustrated with his lack of performance as CEO and how being available 24/7 contributes to an "epidemic of burnout". He also talks about his evolution as an entrepreneur, how reading helped him becoming a better CEO and his invention – the "No-Meeting-Wednesday". Houston started Dropbox at the age of 24 while still a student at MIT. He also gives us an insight into his private life, speaks about his “first love” and his hobbies like playing in a 90ies cover band. Hosts: Britta Weddeling (@bweddeling), Editor-in-Chief of Bits & Pretzels (@bitsandpretzels) Featuring: Drew Houston (@drewhouston), co-founder Dropbox https://www.instagram.com/drewhouston/ More to explore: https://www.bitsandpretzels.com/posts/how-dropbox-ceo-drew-houston-fought-his-burnout Visit our website: https://www.bitsandpretzels.com/podcast Follow us: Twitter: @bitsandpretzels Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bits-&-pretzels If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review. You can also send us feedback directly at podcast@bitsandpretzels.com.

Florian Gschwandtner, co-founder and long-time CEO of Runtastic, who sold the fitness-company to Adidas for 220 million Euros in 2015, shares his personal learnings of what founders need to do after their company gets acquired. He talks about how the team kept control after the acquisition ("you need direct board-access") and how he dealt with Adidas decision to remove the name "Runtastic" as part of a larger integration into Adidas' fitness services. Gschwandtner also shares what he looks for as a startup-investor. He is interested in investing in entrepreneurs with long-term business-ideas and a talent for execution ("if the only motivation is getting rich then that's wrong"). He also emphasizes execution over idea ("70 percent execution, 10 percent idea, 20 percent timing"). Hosts: Britta Weddeling (@bweddeling), Editor-in-Chief of Bits & Pretzels (@bitsandpretzels) Featuring: Florian Gschwandtner (@f_gschwandtner), co-founder Runtastic https://www.instagram.com/florian.gschwandtner/ https://www.florian.do/ More to explore: https://www.bitsandpretzels.com/posts/the-runtastic-co-founders-guide-to-the-startup-exit Visit our website: https://www.bitsandpretzels.com/podcast Follow us: Twitter: @bitsandpretzels Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bits-&-pretzels If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review. You can also send us feedback directly at podcast@bitsandpretzels.com.

Chris Barton, co-founder of popular music app Shazam, talks with Bits & Pretzels Editor-in-Chief Britta Weddeling about what he has learned from building Shazam –including what he would do differently next time around. For example, he would not take venture capital again to start a company again, as he shares in the podcast. Barton sees a profound “misalignment“ between founders and investors, because VCs are mostly looking for "Grand Slam wins", whereas in the eyes of an entrepreneur a firm doesn't have to be the world's biggest business to be a success. Hosts: Britta Weddeling (@bweddeling), Editor-in-Chief of Bits & Pretzels (@bitsandpretzels) Featuring: Chris Barton, co-founder Shazam Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cjpbarton More to explore: Visit our website: https://www.bitsandpretzels.com/podcast Follow us: Twitter: @bitsandpretzels Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bits-&-pretzels If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review. You can also send us feedback directly at podcast@bitsandpretzels.com.