Mostly Awesome

Veronika Riederle is the Founder and CEO of Demodesk, an intelligent meeting platform for remote sales that was supported by Y-Combinator. Veronika studied in Munich and New York and is an alumna of the CDTM. After graduating, she spent five years in consulting at Bain & Company before starting her own company. 2:31 Veronika's career choices: In the beginning, Veronika talks about why she initially decided to go into consulting and what she learned from that experience. She also shares her thoughts on the impact you can have in consulting vs. entrepreneurship. 15:07 Veronika's founding experience: Veronika explains how she started with the right person at the right time and tells us how she assembled a great team that shares their company values. 24:09 Women in Leadership: Veronika shares why she thinks we need more successful role models for young women and how she manages to be a founder and have a family at the same time.

Dan Ram is a speaker, motivational coach and event host. He has hosted some of the biggest innovation and tech events, such as Bits & Pretzels, and has delivered 5 Ted Talks on a variety of topics, from motivational tips to the power of diversity. Before finding his passion as a host, Dan worked in many different jobs, including for the UN, as an entrepreneur, consultant, and voice-over artist. Dan grew up traveling the world as the son of an Indian diplomat, who made his way out of India’s lowest caste. 2:10 Dan’s winded career path: To get started, Dan talks about how he became a fulfilled host, after pursuing, in his words "nine or ten wildly different careers”. He shares his parents’ incredible journey of working themselves out of poverty despite India’s strict caste system and how it motivated him to go into personal development. Dan also explains how he learned to embrace the idea of being a generalist rather than the expert he wanted to be. 31:06 Dan’s motivational tips and views Dan talks about the power of routines and how he structures his day. He also shares the concept of his 4G-Mondays (goals, gym, god, gratitude). 40:15 Dan’s toolbox Last but not least, Dan shares his toolbox, including his favorite book and app and explains why he believes that the most inspiring innovator is yourself.

Anna Alex is the co-founder and COO of Planetly, a tech startup on a mission to help build a carbon neutral economy. Previously, she co-founded Outfittery, Europe's leading online personal shopping service for men. For her achievements, she was named one of the young elite top 40 under 40. 2:43 Anna's journey into entrepreneurship: In the beginning, Anna talks about how she got interested in the startup scene, what she learned during her time at Rocket Internet, and why she would not recommend going into consulting or VC as a graduate if you want to become a founder. She also tells us why she moved on from Outfittery and what "mistake" she made, that helped her in her next endeavor. 17:46 Anna's second startup Planetly: Anna shares why she founded a startup focused on tackling the climate crisis and how it unites purpose and profit. She also tells us what purpose means for her and how she thinks people can make a positive impact in many fields including the food industry, agriculture, and politics. 29:53 Anna's opinion on female entrepreneurship: Anna talks about her involvement in promoting female entrepreneurship and how being a female founder can be an advantage in this male-dominated space. She also explains why she believes it is important for female founders to be bolder when raising money from investors.

Nino Ulsamer is a serial entrepreneur and currently CTO of StashAway in Singapore, a digital wealth management platform that personalizes financial planning and portfolio management. He has founded seven times on three different continents, out of which two companies have already become a great success. 03:52 Nino's early career and his decision to become a founder: In the beginning, Nino talks about his personal journey of becoming a founder, how CDTM impacted his decision, and why he chose entrepreneurship over consulting. We also learn from Nino what he enjoys most about being an entrepreneur and why he thinks every founder needs grit and curiosity to succeed. 14:43 Nino's international experience: Having spent four years in Russia building the e-commerce platform Westwing for the German investor Rocket Internet, Nino shares what cultural difficulties he encountered while living there and leading a 150-employee company, with most of the business conducted in Russian. 24:19 Nino's current startup StashAway: Nino tells us why he moved on to found StashAway in Singapore and how he met his co-founders abroad. He also touches on how he overcame doubts after his first startups failed. 34:31 Nino's toolbox: In the end, we get insights into Nino's toolbox, including his favorite podcast and morning routine, and he reveals why he believes everyone has an innovator inside of him or her.

Welcome to Season 2 of Mostly Awesome with our new hosts Lisa and Tim! We are again talking to inspiring innovators from the world of entrepreneurship and technology to give you unique insights into their personal journeys, motivation, and opinions. Listen to our teaser to meet our new hosts and get a sneak peek at our awesome lineup of guests. As usual, we will be launching new episodes bi-weekly, starting on Wednesday 24th of March. We are looking forward to your feedback to podcast@cdtm.de. Follow our channel to never miss an episode!

Carsten Maschmeyer ist erfolgreicher Gründer, Investor, Bestsellerautor und Juror in der TV-Show "Die Höhle der Löwen". Als Jäger nach den besten unternehmerischen Ideen auf dem Markt hat Carsten Maschmeyer mit seiner gleichnamigen Maschmeyer Group – einem Kollektiv von mehreren Investmentfonds – bis dato in über 85 Unternehmen investiert. Carsten spricht darüber, was ihn in den Anfängen seiner von Armut geprägten Kindheit angetrieben hat, wie sich seine Wahrnehmung von Reichtum im Laufe der Jahre verändert hat und warum er damals sein Medizinstudium abgebrochen hat. Wir sprechen auch über seine aktuellen Wünsche und Visionen, die Bedeutung seiner Medienpräsenz, seine Investor-Philosophie und was wir in Deutschland von unseren transatlantischen Nachbarn in Puncto Gründen lernen können. Zu guter Letzt erhalten wir Einblicke in seine Toolbox.

Laura Lewandowski is a Top 30 under 30 journalist, columnist (Business Insider), podcast host (Innovator Sessions by Red Bull), and co-founder of the "The Meet Your Mentor” YouTube series, featuring leaders such as Jay Shetty, Nico Rosberg, Toni Garrn or Sophia Amoruso. On top, she consults companies on storytelling such as Facebook, Uber, or Google. In this episode, Laura talks about how she initiates, develops, and starts successful formats, and projects with top companies such as an “African experience dinner” for Google. She tells us about how to combat creative blocks and what makes great stories. Diving into the topic of productivity, we learn about her take on the law of attraction, essentialism, the zero inbox principles, and weekly reflection check-ins. Last but not least, we get insights into her favorite tools: books, podcasts, apps, and newsletters!

Klaus Diepold is a professor for data processing at the department for electrical and computer engineering at TUM, Former TUM’s Senior Vice President for Diversity and Talent Management, focusing on machine learning and moral machines, and a member of the board of directors at CDTM. In this episode, Prof. Diepold talks about how he ended up in academia after several positions as CTO in various tech-companies and what biases and problems he sees in the peer-review process and competition among professors. He tells us about his initiated web series “Technically Single,” aired nationwide on Sixx.de and Maxdome, to rewire the societal perception of STEM fields. Diving into the topic of diversity, Prof. Diepold shares his opinion on the underlying mechanisms of the gender gap and his opinion on a female quota within corporate and academic institutions.

Katharina Mayer is the Founder and CEO of the social start-up Kuchentratsch. Translated the company name means „Cake Tittle-Tattle“ and this gives a hint what the mission behind the social start-up is all about: preventing the feeling of social isolation and poverty of the elderly by providing grandmas and grandpas with a place in Munich to get together, pursue their passion for baking, and top up their pension. In 2018 Katharina made a successful deal in the German version of shark tank called “Die Höhle der Löwen” where she convinced two lions aka investors of her social startup. In this episode, Katharina talks about how she initially came up with the idea for Kuchentratsch and why she discontinued her career in developmental work. We learn about her efficient leadership style managing three generations of employees under one roof (spanning from young students to grandmas and grandpas in their 80’s). She tells us about how she dealt with the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic and how she went from product idea to ready-to-buy baking mixes within only a few months! Also, Katharina shares what life lessons her elderly bakers taught her. As every guest, Katharina reveals her toolbox, namely her favorite books, podcasts, inspiring thought leaders, and must-read newsletters.

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