The People Factor

Listen to Julius, a serial entrepreneur with an impressive track record of founding 12 companies, successfully exiting two, and learning valuable lessons from the three that were closed down. His passion for entrepreneurship is matched only by his commitment to elevating the SaaS ecosystem in the DACH region through his innovative platform, ARRtist (www.ARRtist.net). As an active angel investor, Julius dedicates his expertise and resources to guide startups towards achieving product-market fit and crafting scalable sales strategies. With a hands-on approach, Julius is always eager to share his wealth of knowledge, drawing from his own experiences, both triumphs, and trials, to empower the next generation of business leaders.Shownotes00:00 - Intro08:00 - Bootstrapping17:30 - Co-Founder24:30 - Building Ecosystems and communitiesLinksJulius Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julius-goellner/Thomas Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-kohler-pplwise/Thomas e-mail: thomas@pplwise.compplwise: https://pplwise.com/

Sarah E. Brown is the VP of Marketing at Sastrify. She’s also an author, Techstars mentor, and ecosystem builder. Her latest book is called Lead Upwards: How Startup Joiners Can Impact New Ventures, Build Amazing Careers, and Inspire Great Teams (Wiley).Shownotes00:00 - Intro06:26 - Passion for leadership10:06 - Role change over time, Marketing, Sales B2B19:56 - Corporate & big scope hires in startups24:41 - How to lead upwards, coaches & mentors29:06 - Series A vs Series B: Cultural changeLinksSarah Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-e-brown/Thomas Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-kohler-pplwise/Thomas e-mail: thomas@pplwise.compplwise: https://pplwise.com/Book recommendations:Lead upwards: https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Sarah-Brown/dp/1119833353Power to the startup people: https://www.amazon.de/Power-Startup-People-Career-Founder/dp/B08Y4LB2HM/ref=sr_1_1?crid=36XZMG5Z82NNI&keywords=power+to+the+startup+people&qid=1692726230&sprefix=power+to+the+startup+people%2Caps%2C110&sr=8-1

Adriana is a Strategic Talent Acquisition Manager who has excelled across several industries. With a rich history, including roles at Babbel and GetYourGuide, she's honed her expertise. Currently driving global recruitment achievements at Cavalry Ventures, Adriana is a vital member of the VC Platform Global Community and Global Women in VC, showcasing her commitment to industry advancement. Having contributed significantly to Clue by Biowink's growth, she now leads talent acquisition for tech and product teams at HelloFresh. Stay tuned for her upcoming podcast episode, where she'll share her invaluable insights.Shownotes00:00 - Intro03:56 - VC & Startup collaboration12:26 - People Team Series A preperation17:56 - B2B Sales in an early stage21:26 - Coaching26:56 - CommunicationAdriana Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/adrianateodorahurduc/Thomas Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-kohler-pplwise/Thomas e-mail: thomas@pplwise.compplwise: https://pplwise.com/

Peter is a seasoned People/HR Leader with a track record of aiding startups in achieving sustainable and rapid growth. He emphasizes the significance of establishing a strong foundation, likening it to building a structure. Having contributed to the expansion of companies such as Catawiki, Delivery Hero, Glovo, REMY Robotics, and Docplanner, Peter excels in fostering empowering experiences and solid frameworks. His proficiencies encompass diverse areas like People analytics, Business unit management, Talent development, HR Operations, Digital Transformation, Performance management, Compensation & Benefits, and Leadership growth.Shownotes00:00 - Intro07:14 - 3 Main mistakes companies make09:14 - Starting from scratch with the right approach13:14 - System Integration ATS & HRIS30:44 - Headcount PlanningPeter Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/petervankersen/Thomas Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-kohler-pplwise/Thomas e-mail: thomas@pplwise.compplwise: https://pplwise.com/

Alla Pavlova, is an Interim IT Recruiter based in Amsterdam. Passionate about technology, Python programming, computer games, and space exploration. She has shared her insights through talks and interviews on platforms like YouTube and Recruiting Brainfood. Currently, focused on sourcing top talents for Riot Games, coaching sourcing teams, crafting exceptional candidate experiences, building the Slack Community in Amsterdam, and hosting WAN-party sessions for sourcers across different countries. Proudly recruited for Riot Games and spoken at various conferences like Sourcing Summit, SOSU Tech, SourceCon, VanHackCon, and HRTX. Connect with her through email, website, Twitter, or YouTube for engaging in discussions on tech and recruitment.Shownotes02:00 - Sourcing & Recruiting in the gaming industry10:10 - Sourcing in 2010 vs 2015 vs now12:10 - Creative ways of sourcing24:10 - Diversity sourcing32:10 - Sourcing KPIsAlla Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/allapavlova/Thomas Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-kohler-pplwise/Thomas e-mail: thomas@pplwise.compplwise: https://pplwise.com/

André Neubauer, CTO @ Trusted Shops & Tech Advisor for Startups, discusses system design, network organizations, product development, and progressive organizational design in tech. He also explores the challenges of transitioning from legacy code and the importance of setting realistic expectations in hiring and team creation. Additionally, he emphasizes the value of cross-functional teams, diverse skills, and the benefits of a network organization.

Anna is a Business Coach and Consultant with a specialisation in Strategy, Performance Culture and Organisational Design.Based on her own experience both as a former serial entrepreneur and scaleup coach, Anna helps leadership teams navigate the strategic transformations that are paramount to long-term business success. She combines a select toolkit of frameworks and methodologies with an experienced practitioner's best-practice know-how to create an ideal management operating system for scaling companies and teams. Applying a holistic view, she helps founders and their teams identify and resolve blind spots throughout the entire organisation, enabling companies - and the people within them - to thrive.Shownotes00:00 - Intro & Context04:55 - How to become an Org design expert08:50 - Scaling up methodology19:15 - Org design in early vs late-stage24:00 - Org design by industry32:30 - Managing oneself, burnoutLinksLinkedIn Anna: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-michel-a66179/Thomas Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-kohler-pplwise/Thomas e-mail: thomas@pplwise.compplwise: https://pplwise.com/Scaling Up - Book: https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Verne-Harnish/dp/0986019526

René Insam is a Digital Product Strategist with close to 20 years of experience working for large financial services companies in the United States, including American Express, Charles Schwab, AIG, and most recently Morgan Stanley. René was born in Luxembourg and spent his childhood living in Germany and Greece before immigrating to the United States, initially to earn his MBA, then to embark on his professional career. He lives with his wife and son in Denver, Colorado. Read more about him in his blog: www.insamity.netShownotes00:00 - Intro 07:42 - Financial Services Industry, 2008 and 2022 23:42 - US vs Europe 33:22 - AILinks:René Insam: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reneinsam/Thomas Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-kohler-pplwise/ Thomas e-mail: thomas@pplwise.com pplwise: https://pplwise.com/

Johanna is Chief of Staff at Haiilo with 8+ years of global operations management experience in a global SaaS scale-up, building the company from seed round to acquisitions and integrations. She has managed various aspects of business operations at Smarp (now Haiilo) to ensure efficiency and achieve growth targets and has diverse experience in HR, talent acquisition, fundraising, legal, finance, strategy, and leadership in operations and sales across key markets like the Nordics, DACH, United Kingdom, and North America.Shownotes00:00 - Intro & Context07:46 - Values & Rolling them out12:11 - +8 years in the company, development of her role, Start-up, Scale-up, Mature company24:16 - Differences & Challenges in growing across markets like Finland, UK, and the US30:16 - Learnings & RecommendationsLinksJohanna Rauhala: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johannarauhala/?originalSubdomain=fiThomas Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-kohler-pplwise/Thomas e-mail: thomas@pplwise.compplwise: https://pplwise.com/

Juliane is a fashion retail professional with expertise in sustainability strategy, CSR, and corporate development. She is known for her strong personality, positive mindset, and agility. Highly motivated and a skilled team coordinator, Juliane is eager to expand her international business contacts and explore new markets. A team player with a passion for driving positive change, she brings a valuable combination of skills and a dynamic approach to any organization she joins.Shownotes00:00 - Intro & Context05:26 - Retail11:26 - Sustainability & Transparency, Greenwashing15:26 - Tom Tailor sustainbility & Gen-Z programm18:26 - Implementing sustainability24:49 - Success of sustainability29:26 - Person & Organistion fitLinksJuliane: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliane-nowakowski-89410294/Thomas Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-kohler-pplwise/Thomas e-mail: thomas@pplwise.compplwise: https://pplwise.com/