EP 179 - Jakob Angele - CEO APAC at foodpanda - It’s Such a Complicated Optimization Problem

The Asia Tech Podcast really appreciated the conversation we had with Jakob Angele, the CEO APAC at foodpanda.  Jakob has been with foodpanda since its earliest days and his insights reflect a deeply embedded knowledge of the company.  You can tell in his voice that he really cares about this company and its mission.

Some of the topics Jakob discussed:

• Studying physics at university
• Working at McKinsey & Company and what it taught him about management
• Decision Making, Stakeholder Management, Conceptual Frameworks, Perfectionism, and Clean Communication
• The pros and cons of moving to a startup from a consulting company
• Joining foodpanda during its earliest days (when no investor wanted to invest)
• How the foodpanda business model is very technology-intensive
• Business growth was slow at the beginning as consumers and restaurants did not see the value
• Getting purchased by Delivery Hero in 2016
• Managing through hyper-growth
• Southeast Asia's regional diversity and market inconsistencies
• Hyper-localization in Asia and hyper-decentralized management

Other titles we considered for this episode:

1. It's Like a Very Fragile System
2. The First Thing You Always Do Is Prioritize
3. You Have a Fire In the Opposite Corner of the Room
4. We Can Still Run Lightning Fast
5. The Willingness To Make Decisions Fast
6. How Can We Help Develop the Ecosystem?
7. Everybody Consumes Food 120 Times Per Month