In this episode, we catch up with Martin Schilling, Managing Director of Techstars Berlin, and organiser of DeepTech Momentum. He is also the author of the book The Builder’s Guide to the Tech Galaxy – 99 Practices to Scale Startups into Unicorn Companies, former COO of the FinTech company N26, where he scaled operations from 100 to 900 full-time employees and expanded an international team across 25 markets.
Martin discusses the importance of building unicorns in Europe and the challenges that founders face. He shares insights on leadership lessons learnt from scaling N26, emphasising the importance of a clear North Star, hiring AAA leaders, and focusing on functional excellence. Martin also reflects on his most costly hiring mistake, the need for founders to prioritise certain practices to accelerate growth, and much more.
Video version of episode 82:
Audio version of episode 82:
Key Takeaways:
- Europe needs to build more unicorns and become the leading global Deep Tech ecosystem.
- Founders should prioritize finding their North Star, hiring and retaining a strong leadership team, and mastering the fundraising game.
- Investors look for qualities such as speed of execution, traction, domain expertise, product traction, and CEO sales skills when evaluating startups.
- Early-stage Deep Tech founders should leverage grants, seek specialized Deep Tech investors, and be clear on technical milestones.
- Building alliances and friendships in the global tech ecosystem is crucial for success and navigating geopolitical challenges.
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Read the orginal article: https://www.eu-startups.com/2024/08/eu-startups-podcast-episode-82-martin-schilling-managing-director-of-techstars-deeptech-berlin/
