Keep people in the moment | Founder chaos & Liively venue technology | Norbert Herrmann

In this episode of the Bee Formless™ Flow Driven CEO Podcast, I connected with Norbert Herrmann, Founder and Chief Product Officer of Liively, to explore life, leadership, entrepreneurship, live events, hospitality technology, founder resilience and what happens when building a business becomes less about control and more about learning through chaos.Norbert has spent more than 30 years working across design, technology, startups and digital transformation, building products around how people move, gather, buy, wait and experience the world around them. Through Liively, he is now focused on helping stadiums, venues and hospitality operators reduce friction so people can stay connected to the live moments they came for.What stood out in this conversation was the simplicity of the problem Liively is solving. People do not go to a concert, football game or live event to stand in a queue, they go to be in the moment.Liively was built around that human truth, using mobile commerce and engagement technology to help guests order food, drinks and merchandise without missing the song, the goal, the moment or the people they came with.Norbert shared how the early version of Liively was tested with Google Sheets, Slack, Skype and QR codes before evolving into a platform now moving through international proof-of-concepts and pilot programs, including work with Asahi and global venue groups.I loved how Norbert spoke so openly about the uncertainty of building, fundraising, shifting investor expectations, market timing, and the constant need to adapt as the business changes shape. THE SHAPE SHIFT IN MOTIONAt the heart of this conversation was a shift from trying to control the founder journey and the outcome, towards learning how to respond to what the market, customers and real-world conditions are showing you.This is how that shift unfolded through the Bee Formless™ methodology:LEARN (LETTING GO)✨ The belief that founders can control every step of the journey✨ The assumption that obvious problems are easy to solve✨ The idea that technology should demand more attention from peopleUNLEARN (CREATE, REIMAGINE & RESHAPE)✨ Reimagine live venue technology around presence, not distraction✨ Create experiences that remove friction instead of adding complexity✨ Reshape the founder journey around adaptation, timing and feedbackRELEARN (TEST & IMPLEMENT)✨ Build from real-world proof, not theory alone✨ Let customer behaviour shape the product✨ Keep moving when the market, funding environment and plan changeACTIVE RECOVERY (REFLECT & RESET)✨ Where are you trying to control something that needs to evolve?✨ What friction are your customers quietly tolerating?✨ How might your product help people stay more present in the moments that matter?🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/norbertherrmann/🌐 https://liive.ly💭 What changes when technology stops pulling us away from the moment and starts helping us stay in it?If something is shifting in your business, leadership, investment or growth journey, start with a Strategic Shape Shift Diagnostic:https://calendly.com/beeformless/strategicshapeshiftdiagnostic#beeformless #flowdrivenceo #founderjourney #liively #livetechnology #hospitality #stadium #entrepreneurship #customerexperience #innovation #presence #insideouttransformation #antifragile