Iskender Dirik — Storymaxxxing, investing in Parloa, Hamburg tech scene

Iskender Dirik is a German entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and tech executive with 20 years of experience in the digital world.He founded his first company at the age of 21 and built and exited a couple of tech startups afterwards. He is a prolific angel investor with dozens of investments, including in German AI unicorn Parloa. He led a €100M CVC Fund at Bauer Venture Partners and is currently a venture partner at leading European VC Earlybird. He also founded and led ‘’Microsoft ScaleUp" in Berlin and led Europe for Samsung NEXT, Samsung’s global startup and innovation unit, and was the head of Wix Germany.Besides his enthusiasm for tech, Iskender is also known for being a design-lover and creative mind. He is a regular content writer and contributor and known for publishing thought-leadership articles around AI, technology, startups, venture capital, impactful presentations, marketing and leadership principles.—In this episode, we discuss:🔹 How he knew within 2 minutes that the founder of German AI unicorn Parloa was special🔹 From humble beginnings in a Turkish household in Wilhelmsburg to building and selling multiple tech businesses🔹 Going from being an extreme introvert to pitching in front of thousands at OMR🔹 The rise of storymaxxxing and the importance of style and sending the right signals in business🔹 Co-founding 2hearts, Germany’s largest tech community for people from immigration background—Where to find Iskender:LinkedIn: /iskenderdirikWebsite: id.vcDealMacher Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4Th7rV4JGpGdKEn839KIMq—Links to found Hamburg:Newsletter: https://www.foundhamburg.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/foundhamburg/Hugo’s LinkedIn: /hugopaquin Kyrylo’s LinkedIn: /kyrylokorsun —Referenced:Iskender’s LinkedIn post about the classic business outfit: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7419670877237133312/ His website where he whimsically lists all the mispronunciations of his name: iamiskender.com2hearts: www.2heartscommunity.com