Meet Romain! Founder and CEO of Uzufly, a Swiss startup that produces ultra-photorealistic 3D digital models of infrastructure and urban projects to enhance the planning phase. Uzufly just turned one, so Romain and I used the occasion to talk about the past year and reflect on the startup's development so far. Enjoy!
00:00 - Intro & Welcome 01:00 - Rapid Fire Questions 04:10 - What is Uzufly? How did your entrepreneurial journey start? 09:35 - What problem are you addressing in the market with Uzufly? 13:58 - What are the challenges when you try to establish yourself in the market as a young startup? 16:25 - Are you in contact with other startups in Switzerland to support each other? What are you learning from each other? 19:00 - What difficulties did you face during this past year? 26:45 - How did your experience at a VC prepare you for founding your own business? 32:10 - How do you feel about failure? 34:50 - You seem like someone who is naturally resilient, visionary, confident or did you have to learn these character traits? Do you think that these are traits that can be learned? 38:00 - What is your vision for Uzufly in the future? 41:55 - Romain's message for fellow entrepreneurs
Connect with Romain: https://www.linkedin.com/in/romainkirchhoff/
Connect with Melissa: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissaoppermann/ or https://www.instagram.com/melissa.oppermann/
Learn more about Uzufly at: https://www.uzufly.com/
Learn more about WalkingTheTalk at: https://walkingthetalk.io/
Meet Gianmarco! Co-founder of Nai Nami, a social enterprise in Nairobi, Kenya that offers guided tours through downtown Nairobi through the eyes of former streetchildren. Gianmarco beautifully described the tour as a "fun, sad, exciting, dramatic, frustrating, everything all-in-one experience. It's a 3-hour movie with ups and downs." This is the story of a truly unique venture that has changed the life of these former streetchildren forever. Enjoy!
00:00 - Rapid Fire Questions
03:40 - Introduction Gianmarco and the social enterprise Nai Nami
06:28 - What does it mean to be a streetchild in Nairobi? What does it mean to be a former streetchild who is now in their 20s or 30s?
10:20 - Who came up with the idea to start this "guided tour through the eyes of a former streetchild" business? Gianmarco acted as a catalyst to co-create Nai Nami
14:40 - How were you able to build a relationship and trust with the original three guides (Kissmart, Cheddaz, and Donga)
18:40 - Embracing the skills they acquired on the streets, but for a different purpose now: Sharing stories
19:55 - First company ever and in Nairobi: How did you know how everything worked and what you needed to do (e.g. registering the company etc.)?
23:10 - Creating a strong advisory board and partnerships (spoiler alert: my former guest Manuel Eppert is one of the advisors :-))
28:23 - Innovation at Nai Nami when Covid-19 hit: Guided online tours
33:10 - NGO vs. for-profit business - why choose one over the other in this situation?
39:15 - Giving back - now the guides are role models to current streetchildren
40:40 - Why is it important to show the world this perspective, that of former streetchildren, on Nairobi?
43:43 - Advice for aspiring entrepreneurs
Find Gianmarco and Nai Nami online:
Website: https://nai-nami.com/
Instagram: @nai.nami
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd7jBKcOA53X8Kw4k5pXfkw
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gianmarco-marinello/
Find Melissa and WalkingTheTalk online:
Website: https://www.walkingthetalk.io/
Instagram: @walkingthetalk.io
TikTok:@walkingthetalk.io
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG14T8egUwJt7e_ZSQZ0SYw
Meet Manuel! Co-founder and managing partner at Alvicus, a Swiss company that helps startups and other companies grow and tackle important challenges. We had a super fun and insightful conversation about his entrepreneurial journey, his business and so much more. Enjoy!
00:00 - Rapid Fire Questions
04:10 - Intro to Manuel & Alvicus
12:45 - Future-oriented approach: Growth strategies, segment strategy, next generation topic, female clients - What is this approach about? Why do you follow this approach in the first place?
20:00 - Are you the right guy to sell to women? Do people ever give you "the look" for it?
26:50 - Growth strategies for Alvicus - how to scale a consulting business?
33:50 - Consulting work for a social enterprise in Africa
42:16 - Advice for aspiring entrepreneurs
Learn more about Alvicus at https://www.alvicus.com/
Learn more about WalkingTheTalk at https://www.walkingthetalk.io/
Connect with Manuel on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/manueleppert/
Connect with Melissa on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissaoppermann/
Meet Afonso! One of three co-founders of RAIZE, a Portuguese fintech startup. RAIZE is one of the largest peer-to-peer lending marketplaces in Portugal and Iberia.
00:00 - Intro & Rapid Fire Questions
04:00 - DId you plan to build your own company? Who had the initial idea? Were you ever scared about whether or not this is going to work?
08:50 - What difficulties did you face building RAIZE? How did you know to overcome them?
app or no app... that's the question
18:50 - Speaking of tech: Are you a techie?
21:15 - What have been / are your everyday activities in the business? What does your day-to-day role look like? Are you enjoying what you are doing?
24:55 - What's next? Are you thinking about moving on from RAIZE to another project or a new company? How is your long-term plan related to your choice of financing for RAIZE?
30:35 - What are the main benefits for RAIZE as a listed company?
31:25 - Exploring the Portuguese fintech ecosystem and RAIZE's position in it
38:10 - Afonso's advice for aspiring entrepreneurs
Learn more about RAIZE at https://www.raize.pt/
Learn more about WalkingTheTalk at https://www.walkingthetalk.io/
Connect with Afonso on LinkedIn https://pt.linkedin.com/in/afonsoeca
Connect with Melissa on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissaoppermann/
Meet Ana - Founder and managing partner at GetFundedTools! GFT is helping impact-positive startups to raise money through clear business value communication in Pitch Decks, pitches and investor communication. Anastasia is a host in Impact Club, where they connect impact investors with impact entrepreneurs. Also, Ana is a mentor in 500Startups, an international speaker, ex-CEO of Silicon Valley startups. Anastasia helped raise more than $30M. She is also famous in the venture community for her #StartupTiktoks. Enjoy!
00:00 - Welcome & Rapid Fire Questions
03:35 - The Origin of GetFundedTools: Mission to help founders, reach out to investors, with the right communication
07:30 - How serendipity brought Ana into the start-up space in the first place: How did she build credibility as a founder and fundraising expert?
18:36 - Content creation Webinars, TikTok Investor videos - Using Edutainment to show founders in a fun way how they can communicate better with investors. Provide as much value as possible to as many people as possible.
23:56 - Are founders open to receiving support? Are they usually aware of the fact they might need it? Some insights from Ana's experience
35:40 - Ana's message to aspiring entrepreneurs
Learn more about Ana or GetFundedTools on www.getfundedtools.com or connect on LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/anastasiagreen
Learn more about Melissa or WalkingTheTalk on www.walkingthetalk.io or connect on LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/melissaoppermann
Meet Nuno! Founder and one of four partners at CR Ventures (Clinical Research Ventures). This week's guest is a scientist, but also an entrepreneur, investor, professor and even lobbyist at times. He has been building all kinds of science-based ventures, turning scientific knowledge into economic or social value. He truly enjoys the uncertainty of doing things that have not been done before, which is something I find fascinating!
00:00 - Intro & Rapid Fire Questions
07:30 - Bridging the gap between science and business: How do you decide what projects to pursue? What are you looking for in a project? What is it like to enter the world of business as a scientist?
21:37 - Not everyone enjoys the high risk of binary fields: How do you handle projects that did not work out? Was there a key moment, when you knew that it was not going to work?
27:00 - Scientist, entrepreneur, investor, professor, lobbyist: Which one role is most prominent these days? What does your day-to-day look like in that role?
36:40 - A special VC fund: CR Ventures - What do you invest in? What is unique about your fund?
45:10 - Nuno's message to aspiring entrepreneurs
Learn more about CR Ventures at www.cr-ventures.com or connect with Nuno on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/nunoarantesoliveira/
Learn more about WalkingTheTalk at www.walkingthetalk.io or connect with Melissa on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/melissaoppermann/
Meet Jaspar! Product Marketing Manager at Eggplant, a software startup from London in the UK. Serendipity brought Jaspar to the startup world, where he has had various roles as early employee for 6 tech startups across multiple countries. I invited Jaspar because he has a truly unique perspective on the startup world and so many fascinating insights to share. And he is so fun to talk to. We had quite a lot of fun creating this episode, I guess that's why it turned out a little bit longer than others. Enjoy!
00:00 - Intro & Some background Product Marketing
04:45 - Breaking the ice: Random Questions
09:50 - Currently working for tech startup #6 - Why be an early employee at early stage startups? What are some of the (overlooked?! undervalued?!) advantages of NOT being the founder? What impact can you have in an early startup compared to a corporate company?
16:30 - Unique impact and experience in an early stage startup: Having a conference room named after yourself and being acquired by your favorite role model company
22:00 - If you cannot explain your business model and how you make money clearly, then it ain't happening (Exception: You admit that you haven't figured it out yet, that's fine)
28:58 - A certain level of delusion can be quite helpful in the startup field. But not so much that you don't listen to the doubters.
35:30 - People should not think of it as "unicorn or bust": Attaching more value to lifestyle businesses
48:02 - Disaster stories
51:30 - Jaspar's advice for anybody wanting to enter the start-up ecosystem
Learn more about Jaspar on his website https://jasparcasey.com/ and connect with him on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasparcasey/
Learn more about WalkingTheTalk at walkingthetalk.io and connect with Melissa on LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/melissaoppermann You can contact me via the contact form at the bottom of my website. Looking forward to hearing from you!
Meet Alex! Co-founder of Raise Nutrition, an e-commerce food startup selling a nootropics-based "Brain Bar" to improve people's cognitive skills and brain health. After attending a coding bootcamp together, Alex and his new friend Sam knew that they wanted to create a startup together. So they had this crazy idea to put their friendship to a stress test first and go backpacking in India together (silence retreat included!) in April 2020. Back in Berlin they got to work right away, mixing ingredients in the basement like Walter White in Breaking Bad to create the perfect "Brain Bar". Enjoy! 00:00 - Welcome & Ice Breaker & Intro Raise Nutrion 07:20 - The origin of the "Brain Bar" and initial consumer reactions 11:35 - How to ensure you choose the right co-founder? Go on a 1-month backpacking trip to India and do a silence retreat together. If you can still stand each other after that, you are good to go! 21:45 - The project was stopped late 2020. What happened between the summer and then? Was it a mutual decision between Alex and Sam? What were the main reasons behind the decision? What would you do differently next time? 31:40 - Creating his own blog (alexvacca.com) to share learnings, document his entrepreneurial journey and learn 38:00 - Alex's advice for aspiring founders Learn more about Alex and check out his blog at www.alexvacca.com, where you also find his contact details. Connect with him on LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/alex-vacca/ Learn more about WalkingTheTalk at walkingthetalk.io and connect with Melissa on LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/melissaoppermann You can contact me via the contact form at the bottom of my website. Looking forward to hearing from you!
Meet Robin, co-founder and CEO of ManyRequests, a SaaS company in Singapore that provides client portal software for freelancers and agencies. Robin has created several successful companies (StudentFlatMaastricht, ManyPixels and ManyRequests) across three countries and two continents. A truly unique and on top of that very international entrepreneurial journey. Enjoy!
00:00 - Welcome & Intro ManyRequests
01:40 - Starting your own business in South East Asia
04:30 - From Maastricht (Yay Maastricht!) in the Netherlands to Jakarta in Indonesia to Singapore and Bangkok in Thailand
08:45 - Sounds like the perfect plan... or not? Some learnings
12:00 - Let's talk about risk!
15:38 - Cravings for transparency and authenticity
18:45 - The decision to create the next company - moving on from ManyPixels to ManyRequests
24:35 - Raising venture capital from Earnest Capital - a different kind of deal compared to other VCs
34:30 - Looking towards the future: What's next?
37:15 - Robin's advice for aspiring entrepreneurs
If you want to learn more about ManyRequests, you can visit their website at www.manyrequests.com, connect with Robin on LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/robinvanderheyden/ or Twitter www.twitter.com/vinrob (@Vinrob). Also make sure to check out Robin's Facebook Group Productize Community at https://www.facebook.com/groups/192719694795609
If you want to learn more about WalkingTheTalk, you can visit the website at www.walkingthetalk.io, connect with Melissa on LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/melissaoppermann/ or get in touch via the contact form at the bottom of the WalkingTheTalk website. I am looking forward to hearing from you!
Meet Bernardo, founder and CEO of Oceano Fresco, a Portuguese startup in the shellfish aquaculture sector. Oceano Fresco is a science-driven venture with the mission to feed the world with healthy, tasty, and sustainable food, clams to be more specific. Bernardo has a business background (just like me) and been wanting to become an entrepreneur for a long time, so it was fascinating to talk about his journey as he entered the world of science and to hear all about the "craziness of being an entrepreneur". Enjoy!
00:00 - Welcome & Intro Oceano Fresco
01:50 - Bernardo's experiences as he entered the world of science
07:20 - About sea conferences and planting the seed for a startup (quite literally)
12:35 - Being comfortable with failure, ambiguity and the unique characteristics of scientific (vs. digital) ventures
18:50 - The origin of Bernardo's wish to become an entrepreneur and how his previous entrepreneurial endeavors have shaped him
23:35 - How to become comfortable talking about your ideas - some thoughts
31:43 - Bernardo's advice for aspiring entrepreneurs
If you want to learn more about Oceano Fresco, you can visit their website at www.oceano-fresco.pt, connect with Bernardo on LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/bernardoferreiradecarvalho/ or write him an email to bernardo.carvalho@oceano-fresco.pt
If you want to learn more about WalkingTheTalk, you can visit the website at www.walkingthetalk.io, connect with Melissa on LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/melissaoppermann/ or get in touch via the contact form at the bottom of the WalkingTheTalk website. I am looking forward to hearing from you!
In order to kick of the English podcast episodes, I thought I take a moment to sit down and tell you a little something about WalkingTheTalk. Enjoy!
If you have a specific topic that you are particularly interested in or you are an entrepreneur who has an interesting story to tell, send me a message. I am looking forward to hearing from you! You can use the contact form on the WalkingTheTalk website or write an email to melissa(at)walkingthetalk.de