Best Center for Digital Technology and Management (CDTM Podcasts (2025)

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#46 Erik Muttersbach: On building ambitiously, scaling wisely, and betting on Europe 59:29

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10d ago59:29

59:29

Erik Muttersbach, co-founder of Forto and now Zauber AI, joins us to talk about what it takes to build globally competitive tech companies from Europe. A CDTM Spring 2013 alumnus, Erik reflects on his journey from being the first employee at DailyDeal, to launching and scaling Forto into one of Europe’s leading digital freight forwarders, and now s…

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#45 Verena Pausder: Why Germany must bet on bold founders and digital education 36:03

2M ago36:03

36:03

Verena Pausder joins us to talk about what Germany needs to truly scale innovation. We dive into how the next generation of founders is redefining work, what’s broken in the startup ecosystem, and how AI can bridge the gap in digital education. She shares lessons from leading the German Startup Association, building companies, and investing in wome…

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#44 Gustaf Alströmer: What AI changes about startup wisdom from the last 20 years 48:47

2M ago48:47

48:47

In this episode, we sit down with Gustaf Alströmer, YC Partner and former Head of Growth at Airbnb, to explore how AI is rewriting the playbook for early-stage startups. From why output matters more than effort, to what truly defines exceptional founders today, Gustaf shares lessons from working with hundreds of companies. We also dive into the Eur…

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#43 Marc Klingen: On Building Trust, Shipping Fast, and Staying Open in AI 39:51

3M ago39:51

39:51

Insights from Marc Klingen CEO and co-founder of Langfuse, the open-source LLM observability platform. In this episode, we dive Marc shares his journey of moving back to Europe post-YC and establishing a high-agency, high-trust team culture. We delve into the complexities of building an open-source community, the hurdles in exciting developers abou…

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#42 Clemens Meyer: On supporting nobel prize winning research teams 36:22

4M ago36:22

36:22

In conversation with Clemens Meyer, Technical Director @ Google DeepMind. This time we first dive into Clemens’ journey from startups to joining DeepMind and making an impact in interdisciplinary teams. Then how to balance exploitation and exploration in research, with a focus on measurable progress tracking and finally Google’s early role in the A…

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#41 Viet Le: Building, selling, and investing at the application layer of AI 27:12

7M ago27:12

27:12

Insights from Viet Le, an Early-Stage VC and Partner @ General Catalyst: Betting on Young, Naive Founders and Navigating the AI HypeIn this episode, we dive into a conversation with Viet who shares his unique investment philosophy focused on young, naive first-time founders. The discussion covers controversial opinions on the current AI hype and th…

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#40 Thomas Kirchner: How to scale up a hardware startup and sell it for hundreds of millions 57:17

1y ago57:17

57:17

In this episode, we are talking to Thomas Kirchner. Thomas is an entrepreneur and founder of ProGlove, a company that sells smart gloves used in countless German and international companies for speeding up the manufacturing process. The idea of ProGlove is simple, yet brilliant: every time you scan a barcode of a part when you assemble, for example…

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#39 Hamza Tahir: From indie-hacking in Pakistan to raising $6.4 Million for his AI startup in Germany 56:28

1+ y ago56:28

56:28

Hamza Tahir is a software developer turned ML engineer. An indie hacker by heart, he loves ideating, implementing, and launching data-driven products. His previous projects include PicHance, Scrilys, BudgetML, and you-tldr. Based on his learnings from deploying ML in production for predictive maintenance use-cases in his previous startup, he co-cre…

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#38 Gyri Reiersen: Secure a future for generations by achieving net zero emissions 37:14

2y ago37:14

37:14

We just released a brand new episode of our podcast featuring an in-depth conversation with the co-founder and chief product officer of Tanso, Gyri Reiersen, a groundbreaking company revolutionizing carbon accounting and emission reduction processes.Join us as we delve into the world of sustainability and technology, exploring how Tanso automates p…

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Teaser Season 5 with our hosts Ruby, Claudia, and Ali! 2:13

2+ y ago2:13

2:13

Welcome to the new season of the Mostly Awesome podcast!Our first episode will drop on May 10, but before that we wanted to give you all a sneak preview of what season 5 is all about. Over this season, we will be chatting with different changemakers and innovators – we can’t wait for you to hear! We’re also stoked to have Ruby Zhang, Claudia Dalmau…

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#37 Gesa Biermann: Enabling sustainable forestry and making your grandma proud 48:25

2+ y ago48:25

48:25

When you think about trees, what comes to mind? In most of our heads, they are probably the prime example of “something good for the environment”. Even though it is by far not the only way to capture carbon, there is an increasing trend to quantify and enhance the environmental benefit of sustainable forestry. We are happy to have Gesa Biermann as …

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#36 Johannes Hussak: Automating privacy related processes 36:36

3y ago36:36

36:36

Today we welcome Johannes Hussak in our podcast, one of the co-founders of Kertos, a platform that automates data privacy operations.Always fascinated by technology, Johannes did his bachelor and master at Technical University of Munich in Energy and Process Technology and went to an abroad semester at Indian Institute of Technology in Mumbai. It w…

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#35 Eva Spannagl: On leadership, angel investing and women's empowerment 51:06

3y ago51:06

51:06

This week we are excited to welcome Eva Spannagl, head of Strategy & Business Development at Moss, founder of Femstory, business angel, and personal inspiration to both of us. Eva studied at ESCP Business school and the Universidad Carlos tercero de Madrid. She held a variety of internships during her studies and ultimately joined McKinsey full tim…

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#34 Claudius Jablonka: On Venture Capital and Beyond 53:53

3y ago53:53

53:53

How do you found a VC firm, really? Today we will talk to Claudius Jablonka, a former CDTM Centerling and Center assistant who co-founded 10x Founders.Claudius co-founded and led the Munich office of Plug and Play Ventures, one of the most active early-stage investors in the world. In 2020, he and 6 other partners co-founded 10x founders, now a €16…

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#33 Vanessa Westphal: Changing nutrition habits for good 53:48

3y ago53:48

53:48

Some people say the entrepreneurial spirit is something you are born with. This is something that could be true for our guest in today’s episode, Vanessa Westphal. As a very young child she already started selling stones in front of her house to top up pocket money. And she kept the entrepreneurial spirit ever since. Having spent more than 10 years…

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#32 Sebastian Schaal: Democratizing electronics production 57:08

3y ago57:08

57:08

The startup ecosystem has seen many software startups over the last years, but how about a software startup that aims to ease the development of new electronic hardware products? Our guest in todays episode, Sebastian Schaal, is diving into exactly this area. He is the co-founder of Luminovo, a company that speeds up the process of electronic hardw…

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Teaser Season 4: New episodes with our hosts Julia and Jaclyn! 2:15

3y ago2:15

2:15

Welcome to the new season of the Mostly Awesome podcast!Our first episode will drop on October 4, but before that we wanted to give you all a sneak preview of what season 4 is all about. Over this season, we will be chatting with 6 different changemakers and innovators – we can’t wait for you to hear! We’re also stoked to have Julia Kozlovskaia and…

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#31 Vidya Madhavan: Rethinking the dating culture 54:04

3y ago54:04

54:04

In this week’s episode, we welcome Vidya Madhavan, Founder and CEO of Schmooze, the dating app where you swipe memes instead of people. Coming from Engineering and Business Background, Vidya will tell us how she did not build “just another dating app” but rather the fastest growing one. During this episode, we will get to hear Vidya's thoughts on h…

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# 30 Michelle Tian & Jennifer Phan: Empowering the creators of tomorrow 45:17

3+ y ago45:17

45:17

For this week’s episode Passionfroot is on the menu! The co-founders Jennifer Phan and Michelle Tian combine backgrounds in venture capital at Rocket Internet and tech development at AirBnB and Shopify. In 2021 they co-founded Passionfroot with the aim to empower independent businesses of tomorrow. With this passion in mind, they are developing a b…

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#29 Maya Hari: Big tech, startups, and social media 1:00:25

3+ y ago1:00:25

1:00:25

If we hear about living an almost nomadic life, we typically have a picture of a backpacker in mind, traveling the world. Our guest for today's episode, Maya Hari, however, would probably describe this as how she spent her 20s working in India, the U.S., France as well as Singapore. Maya is not your run-of-the-mill backpacker though - she studied e…

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#28 Joshua Cornelius & Mehmet Yilmaz: Fostering employee happiness 48:21

3+ y ago48:21

48:21

Joshua and Mehmet both studied Business Administration and Math in Munich. Together they founded Freeletics in 2013, which later rose to become a popular consumer internet company that offers personalized fitness plans and community support via a mobile application. After exiting from Freeletics in 2018 they waited no more than three weeks before t…

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#27 Vlad Lata: Revolutionizing the healthcare industry 49:44

3+ y ago49:44

49:44

In today’s episode, our guest is Vlad Lata. Vlad is not only a serial entrepreneur with founding experience at KONUX and Avi Medical but also a CDTM alumnus.His first venture, KONUX, is active in the field of IoT/AI providing smart sensor systems and AI-based analytics. With AVI Medical he is now active in the optimization of the patient experience…

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#26 Hessam Lavi: Shaping the climate-tech space 55:06

3+ y ago55:06

55:06

In today’s episode we were delighted to have Hessam Lavi as our guest. Hessam is the CEO and Co-Founder of Climatiq, a company that engineersand develops a Carbon Footprint Intelligence Platform.During the course of this episode we spoke about several topics that makeHessam’s journey unique. We learnt about his voyage from war-torn Iran, to Sweden,…

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#25 Thomas Regier and Kivanc Semen: The future of data privacy 47:32

3+ y ago47:32

47:32

In this episode, we talk to Thomas Regier and Kivanc Semen - the founders of DataGuard. In 2017 they founded DataGuard together. And since then they help companies to manage their data privacy - an inviolable human right and key to a successful business in an increasingly digital world.We talk to them about their multi-cultural background and how t…

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#24 Sona Chandra: A new paradigm in drug discovery 50:20

3+ y ago50:20

50:20

In this episode, we are talking to Sona Chandra, the co-founder of Terra Lumina - an AI-based drug discovery platform. Sona is a qualified Biomedical engineer who speaks passionately about drug discovery and healthcare. One can tell from her responses that she’s determined to make a dent in how we as a civilization discover and engineer medicines. …

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#42 Hung Dang: Creating a new standard for Data 46:46

3+ y ago46:46

46:46

In this episode, we spoke to Hung Dang- an inspiring CDTM alumnus and the founder of Y42 - the company that is on the mission to build the most powerful and simple to use data tool that allows everyone to work with their data efficiently and collaboratively. In October 2021, the company raised one of the biggest Series A funding rounds in Europe.Bu…

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#22 Arseniy Vershinin: Automating the people workflow at Personio 45:56

3+ y ago45:56

45:56

Arseniy Vershinin is a co-founder and CTO of Personio - Europe's leading one-stop HR platform for small and medium-sized businesses. It helps small businesses across Europe manage common HR tasks like onboarding, payroll, and attendance accounting. Coming originally from Russia, Arseniy moved to Munich in 2011. Here, at CDTM he met his future co-fo…

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#21 Awais Shafique: Changing the way people shop with the power of AI 47:43

4y ago47:43

47:43

This time, we had a very exciting talk with Awais Shafique - the co-founder and CPO of a FashionTech startup presize.ai. After finishing his Bachelor's degree in his homeland Pakistan, Awais came to Germany to study Biomedical Computing at Technical University in Munich. As he was already very passionate about entrepreneurship at the time, Awais jo…

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#20 Dr. Sophie Chung: Medical Tourism - great healthcare should be accessible to all 47:50

4y ago47:50

47:50

Dr. Sophie Chung is the CEO and Founder of Qunomedical - a digital health platform with a focus on medical travel that helps patients find the right doctor anywhere in the world. On the mission to empower patients worldwide, Qunomedical gives everyone the chance to access great healthcare - no matter who they are and where they are from.Sophie, who…

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Teaser Season 3: Launching episodes every 2nd Tuesday with our new hosts Keke and Maria! 3:24

4y ago3:24

3:24

Welcome to Season 3 of Mostly Awesome with our new hosts Keke and Maria! 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. A…

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#19 Caroline Weimann: Politics - an important vehicle for social and ecological change 52:06

4y ago52:06

52:06

Caroline Weimann is the founder and co-director of JoinPolitics. JoinPolitics aims to open unusual routes into politics by supporting and giving seed capital to political talent and applying the disruptive and innovative nature of entrepreneurship to politics. Caroline holds a Master’s degree in International Studies from SOAS - University of Londo…

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#18 Daniel Metzler: It’s called hardware because its hard – founding in the aerospace industry 45:24

4y ago45:24

45:24

Daniel Metzler is the co-founder and CEO of Isar Aerospace. Daniel studied mechanical engineering at TU Wien and aerospace engineering at TUM. During his studies in Munich, he joined the rocket technology initiative WARR, where he worked on special rocket engines and met his later co-founders - Josef Fleischmann and Markus Brandl. In 2018, they fou…

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#17 Daniel Besendorfer: Creating a mutual dialogue between business and technology 58:58

4y ago58:58

58:58

Daniel Besendorfer is the CEO of Allianz Technology, the IT service provider of the Allianz Group. He studied economics in Freiburg and Boston and holds a Ph.D. from the University of Freiburg. He started his career as an executive assistant in the German life insurance division of Allianz. Daniel quickly took on leadership responsibilities and pro…

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#16 Alev Canoglu: Promoting equal opportunities 47:14

4y ago47:14

47:14

Alev Canoglu is the founder of the Munich-based non-profit organisation Female Tech Leaders, which aims to empower women in STEM and leadership positions and mentor tech-savvy girls. After graduating and working in the documentary film industry, Alev decided to change fields and studied computer science at LMU and TUM. Alev has previously led produ…

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#15 Folkert Behrends: Balancing performance and recovery 54:17

4y ago54:17

54:17

Folkert Behrends is a triathlete and professional coach. After an accident in 2008, doctors told him he might never be able to walk again. But 15 months later, Folkert successfully competed in the Iron Man triathlon and became world champion in his age group. Building on this experience, he is now active as a speaker and as a coach for individuals,…

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#14 Saskia Bruysten on social businesses – using economic thinking to generate social impact 41:53

4y ago41:53

41:53

Saskia Bruysten is co-founder and CEO of Yunus Social Business. After studying economics at EBS and LSE, Saskia started her career at Boston Consulting Group. After a crucial meeting with Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Prof. Muhammad Yunus, she decided to go into social business, and they eventually co-founded Yunus Social Business. Saskia is also an a…

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#13 Hana Milanov: A career in academia - a different perspective on entrepreneurship 47:08

4y ago47:08

47:08

Hana Milanov is a Professor of International Entrepreneurship at the Technical University of Munich and an active board member and mentor at CDTM. Hana studied management in Croatia, earned her Ph.D. in Entrepreneurship and Strategy in the U.S. and worked as a professor at IE Business School in Spain for 5 years. 3:07 Hana’s career in academia:In t…

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#12 Jakob Assmann: Why we need more entrepreneurs to avoid a climate crisis 47:04

4y ago47:04

47:04

Jakob is the founder of Greengas Concepts and Polarstern Energie, which are pioneers in developing sustainable energy and heating solutions. He is also the co-owner and managing director of Impact Hub Munich, which supports sustainable entrepreneurship and innovation. Before entering entrepreneurship, Jakob studied business administration and earne…

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#11 Veronika Riederle: From consulting to entrepreneurship - building something that matters to you 33:52

4+ y ago33:52

33:52

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 th…

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#10 Dan Ram: Host, speaker & coach - falling in love with what you are becoming 47:12

4+ y ago47:12

47:12

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 e…

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#09 Anna Alex: Sustainable entrepreneurship - how to align purpose with profit 39:05

4+ y ago39:05

39:05

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, …

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#08 Nino Ulsamer: Serial Entrepreneur – the winded road to build a successful startup 39:01

4+ y ago39:01

39:01

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 …

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Teaser Season 2: Launching episodes every 2nd Wednesday with our new hosts Lisa and Tim! 7:24

4+ y ago7:24

7:24

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 …

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#07 Carsten Maschmeyer: Die Anfänge des TV Löwen – Vom Verkaufstalent zum Gründer und Investor 57:41

4+ y ago57:41

57:41

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 …

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#06 Laura Lewandowski: Disruptive journalism – how to tell stories that sell 35:50

4+ y ago35:50

35:50

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 Googl…

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#05 Prof. Klaus Diepold: Diversity in tech – how to bust the myths and change perceptions of STEM careers 30:21

4+ y ago30:21

30:21

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 acad…

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#04 Katharina Mayer: The social-impact entrepreneur – fast forward after the DHDL deal 29:25

4+ y ago29:25

29:25

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 tog…

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#03 Sven Schmidt: VC Brain and Entrepreneurial Mastermind – meet the controversial yet admired business analyst 41:18

4+ y ago41:18

41:18

Sven Schmidt is Managing Director and CMO at Machineseeker Group and a serial entrepreneur. He co-founded venture-backed Verwandt, which was sold to Accel portfolio company MyHeritage. Sven also was the co-founder of Getgo, a venture-backed e-commerce ticketing company that was sold to CTS Eventim, where he was head of the New Media division. On to…

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#03 Sven Schmidt: VC Brain und Gründer Mastermind – kontrovers, gefeiert und heiß debattiert 32:20

4+ y ago32:20

32:20

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 verk…

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#02 Judith Dada: Rising star in VC - why you should expose yourself to high-risk high-reward opportunities 36:00

4+ y ago36:00

36:00

Judith Dada is a partner and managing director of La Famiglia, a women-led Berlin-based VC firm that invests in seed-stage B2B tech startups. In this episode, Judith talks about how she ended up in VC and what biases she encounters as a female VC partner. She tells us about the process of launching a second fund and how the COVID-19 pandemic affect…

Center For Digital Technology And Management (CDTM Podcasts