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With over 450 investments in early-stage startups, Marvin Liao is one of the most active investors in the world,

In the podcast, we talk about how you recalibrate as a founder to see if you're on track. Marvin often sees with his portfolio companies that founders assume too much that it only affects others and don't want to perceive that the market situation affects them too...

What you learn:

In what ways are people currently investing differently? Who is currently getting money??

Why is it super important to get outside help in tough times?

How do I communicate to my...

Mike Janke has built Datatribe, one of the best data science and cyber security venture studios globally.... His experience with Special Forces helped him build the company - but how? We talk about team leadership, growth stage, when your Head of or VPs shouldn't grow with the company and how to teach them to go easy on themselves.

What you'll learn:

How good team building works and whether you always have to herd experts.

If you are planning an exit - how should you prepare your team and business for it?

Why do they say companies are bought and not...

Jon Dishotsky has raised 50 million himself from top investors like Y Combinator or Index Ventures, meanwhile, he is an investor at Giant Ventures and thus works on the other side. In the podcast, we talk about the phase between Seed and Series A, a good pitch deck, how to properly ask for intros, and much more.

What you'll learn:

Why you should always give context when asking someone for help as a founder: in- and the role a like-minded trusted network plays in this.

What is important in a convincing pitch deck?

How to present yourself and your company...

Sophia Bendz is a general partner at Cherry Ventures. Sophia joined Cherry from Atomico, where she was also a Partner and built the firm's well-known Angel program. Sophia's passion is supporting early-stage companies, an interest she has discovered in over 40 angel investments in Europe and North America. 

Sophia was also Global Marketing Director at Spotify for seven years, taking the audio platform from a Swedish apartment-based startup to an international player with hundreds of millions of users and 3000+ employees.

We talk about anecdotes from her early days at Spotify, building a global brand in the consumer space, her...

Cal Henderson and his team wanted to improve ways to connect online. The result was a lot of bad decisions - and finally, Flickr and later Slack.

Where did the courage come from to build something from the failed pile to such successful companies?

What you learn:

When was the right moment for Cal to walk away from Flickr, and how that led to the idea for Slack

What strategies have been established for a small company to make software popular in the B2B space?

What role do blockchain, crypto, AI, and other technologies Play in the future - and...

Ryan Breslow looks back on many successful founding years: Bolt (11 billion dollar valuation), Eco (Unicorn), and now love.com. He gained plenty of experience on the road to success, which he now shares with you. He talks to Fabian about the influence of Silicon Valley, the importance of setbacks, his biggest mistake, and the perfect company culture.

What you'll learn:

What mindset & skillset do you need to start a stable business outside the flourishing ecosystem?

Can a successful business be built entirely remotely?

How do you achieve the optimal product-market fit & what tips does Ryan have for early-stage...

Blinkist is now globally known, has been profitable since last year, and seems at first glance to have been a stroke of genius. Behind it, however, is a process of many years that the founders have thought out and followed.

They also built their company based on holacracy. What are the pros and cons of scaling with flat hierarchies?

What you learn:

Why is it good if "the one idea" needs a little more time to mature?

What challenges do pretty much all founders face along the way & how can you prepare for them?

Why can brainstorming with like-minded...

Entrepreneurs and startups make decisions all the time - but what if you realize your decision was wrong?

Daniel Weinand (formerly Co-Founder of Shopify) joined me at START Summit to answer questions about making important decisions:

- What makes good decisions?

- How do I assess risk when making important decisions?

- How do I react to changing circumstances after I've already made a decision?

- How do I evaluate the quality of my decisions?

This much up front: you won't make a good decision without information and advance work.

Chapters:

00:54 Introduction of the Fireside Chat

02:06 Short introduction...

Ijad Madisch has turned the world of science upside down: Through his platform ResearchGate, he offers scientists the opportunity to exchange information about things that have not worked. With his concept, he convinced Bill Gates, Peter Thiel and Benchmark Capital, among others, as investors. He tells Fabian live at Stage Two how he doesn't lose focus despite his success and why work-life balance is of considerable importance to him.

What you learn:

How does Ijad manage to grow along with his tasks and develop personally fast enough? 

Why was a social platform for scientists absolutely necessary?

How does Ijad achieve...

How do I create a diverse recruiting process and avoid toxic investors?

Monika Liikamaa is the founder of the Finnish fintech startup Enfuce. There are currently more than 100 people working for Enfuce and more than 60 million euros have been invested in the startup.

We talk about:

- How you promote diversity in your team

- why diversity has a positive impact on your startup

- what to look for in the application process when your CV is not the deciding factor

- what toxic characteristics you need to recognize in your investors early on

MONIKA LIIKAMAA

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/monikaliikamaa/...