SPEAK LIKE A CEO

Franziska Teubert is working to promote innovative entrepreneurship across Germany. As the Managing Director for Communication and Partner Management at the Bundesverband Deutsche Startups, she acts as a point of communication between startups and politicians. On this week's episode, Lena and Franziska had a great conversation about internal and external communications styles and the upcoming German Start-up Awards. She also shared her number one tip for management: listen! Enjoy the episode!

Co-working spaces are everywhere, usually aiming to provide both a workspace and a community for founders, freelancers, techies and creatives. Madeleine Gummer von Mohl and her space, Betahaus, have been at the centre of the movement in Berlin since 2009, constantly growing and adapting to meet the needs of their members. This week, Madeleine spoke to us about honest communication strategies, the importance of speaking face-to-face, and how breakfast and coffee can lead to great businesses.

Mathias Klenk is working to give people ownership over their own data. After facing their own identity verification problems, Mathias and his co-founders developed their engine, Passbase, from a few friends in a tiny San Francisco apartment to a company that straddles two continents. In this episode, he talks to us about communicating across time zones, creating an environment that encourages feedback, and one very important trip to Burning Man.

Dr. Nakeema Stefflbauer has spent the better part of the last two decades helping make tech more accessible for women across the world. She is the founder and CEO of FrauenLoop, a Berlin-based non-profit organisation that offers classes in web development, data science, machine learning and network security to marginalised immigrant and refugee women. In today’s episode she tells us all of her secrets to master the art of persuasion and shares her unique take on how learning a new language can become a key problem-solving tool.

Stephan Bayer, the Founder & CEO of Sofatutor, is on a mission to make learning fun. Sofatutor is the leading EdTech company in Germany, counting over 1 million users across 3 countries, offering video lessons and interactive practice problems. What distinguishes Sofatutor, is their use of creative visuals and narrative elements to facilitate the learning process of a variety of subjects, from maths and biology to languages and music. Through his expert use of storytelling as a teaching tool, Stephan was able to build an incredibly loyal customer base of parents and children alike. He shared with us his secrets to break down complex problems and provide clarity on difficult subjects through the use of narrative tropes. Storytelling is Stephan’s superpower and he is a true expert in using it to make learning playful, fun and memorable.

Tomer Dean, the CEO and co-founder of Bllush, is changing the way that companies advertise fashion. Bllush is a tech company that enables fashion e-commerce stores to embed photos from micro-influencers onto their website. In partnership with Instagram, his company has found a way to harness the potential of micro-influencers for online retail. It can now be seen on the sites of retailers such as Otto Group and Zalando. Tomer is incredibly passionate about the use of social media as an advertising tool. During our chat, he shared a lot of great tips for approaching potential clients and writing persuasive emails. Communication is certainly one of Tomer’s strength, especially when it comes to making your client the focus of every interaction.

Pia Poppenreiter is an entrepreneur and a fierce businesswoman, turning the world of online dating on its head and challenging the status quo. She is the founder and former CEO of Ohlala, a website that enables men to go on paid dates with women, aiming at reinventing the way people meet. Known for the hashtag #EscortScandal, Ohlala has caused waves in Germany on its mission to legitimize sex work and fight prejudice on the subject. Pia is a strong believer in the importance of educating people around the issue of sex work. During our chat, recorded earlier this year, she told us all about carving out your own space in a saturated market, guerrilla marketing and of course managing an international PR scandal. This was definitely an insightful conversation about how to have difficult conversations and truly own what you’re doing.

Lubomila Jordanova has found the perfect balance between two purposes: building a thriving business and fighting climate change. She is the CEO and founder of Plan A, the first data-driven action platform working to combat climate change while challenging the common single-way association between business and profit. Through her company, she demonstrates how to use communications to show people that it is possible to connect purpose and business.  In this week’s episode, Lubomila tells us all about the right communication to transmit the urgency of action against climate change and make people understand their incredible capacity for change. Through her powerful communication style, she is able to prove that it is possible to make audiences understand how much their voice actually matters.

Oliver's new book is out! For a special bonus episode, Oliver and Lena go behind the scenes to discuss Oliver's new book - Mastering Communications. Discover what it takes for CEOs and Executives to build a great reputation in the digital age in this extended podcast. Enjoy!

Katharina Kurz has been working on giving German beer a new contemporary look. BRLO is one of the most well-known and beloved breweries in Berlin, to the point that it has now become synonymous with the food and drink scene of the city. Since it’s creation, BRLO has collaborated with award-winning musicians and actors and has been making its way through a huge number of bars and events.In this week’s episode, Katharina shares with us how she built and developed a unique brand with very little marketing budget. We explore the challenge of developing a craft beer brand in Germany where the market is very well established. Katharina also lets us in on the secret behind the name BRLO and whether it really is as fun to work at a brewery as it looks. Spoiler: it is!