Entrepreneurial Realities

Do join the discussion I had with Edgar Kussberg about Vibe coding.Edgar is a former entrepreneur where he focused on product development and gradually turned in applying his market focused approach to code development.He is currently in charge of Product development at SonarSource, a Swiss scale up which is the leader in code validation tool. We discuss on what is the phenomenon of vibe coding, who are the typical use cases and how to make the most of this new technology.

Do join our conversation with Christine Carville and Marc Goldberg, co-founders of Resilience labs, now Cerebral, a this podcast first married couple.Both started Resilience labs in 2019 to bridge a gap in the American healthcare market by training new clinicians while providing accessible care to patients. By integrating proprietary education with AI-powered clinical tools, they professionalised a fragmented industry and achieved a significant acquisition by the platform Cerebral.

The latest episode of Entrepreneurial Realities welcomes back Sebastian Mallaby, who joined the podcast once before to discuss The Power Law, his landmark account of the venture capital industry. This time, Sebastian returns with The Infinity Machine: Demis Hassabis, DeepMind, and the Quest for Superintelligence — the result of three years of unprecedented access to Demis Hassabis and his inner circle.The Infinity Machine traces the journey of a chess prodigy from North London — Nobel Prize winner, founding CEO of Google DeepMind — whose singular goal was never money or power, but the scientific dream of artificial superintelligence.The conversation covers the story of DeepMind itself, the lessons European deep tech startups can draw from its trajectory, the very real risks of AGI, and many of the other defining questions that sit at the frontier of AI today.

In this episode, I speak with Michael Brand, CEO of TraxSurf and Jonas Dunkel, CEO of DeepGolf, two German entrepreneurs applying AI to elite sport performance. Different sports but same ambition: replace guesswork with data, and help athletes improve with precision. A conversation about technology, entrepreneurship, and building something new far from the traditional hubs of surf and golf culture.

Rabbi Mois Navon is one of the founder engineer of MobilEye. He is also an advisor to the Israeli Government on the theme of AI and Ethics and a lecturer at ben Gourion University.Join us on our discussion on why ethical considerations profoundly matter for AI entrepreneurs and how to take these into considerations for your AI startups.

Sebastian Bastek, co-founder of Valoron, takes you on a journey of transforming mixed waste into virgin-quality fuels and chemicals, scaling a bold climate tech vision from the lab to industry and literally turning trash into treasure.Dive into the breakthroughs, the entrepreneurial journey, and how Valoron is turning circular economy ideas into reality. Hosted by Lucia Lara from the Climate & Circular Lab.

This episode concludes our special series during the ⁠⁠Munich Security Conference⁠⁠⁠, where we explore the entrepreneurial realities behind defense and dual-use innovation.We speak with my colleague Florian Doetzer⁠⁠, who is the Managing Director of the TUM Venture Lab for Aerospace and Defense. The name of Florian’slab was changed from Aerospace to Aerospace and Defense and announced at the MSC (see here).Together, we discuss how Florian’s lab supports Defense related startups and the underlying ecosystem which is being build in Munich for develop and support a competitive European defense industry.

This episode is part of our special series during the ⁠Munich Security Conference⁠⁠, where we explore the entrepreneurial realities behind defense and dual-use innovation. We speak with Nicolas Tenzer⁠, a French senior policy expert who was among the first voices to warn of the dangers posed by Europe's sustained disinvestment in and neglect of its defense capabilities.Together, we explore the current state of European security and draw parallels between the challenges of building the next generation of entrepreneurs and those of developing a competitive European defense industry.

This episode is part of our special series during the Munich Security Conference, where we explore the entrepreneurial realities behind defense and dual-use innovation.We are joined by Khrystyna Rozhenko and German Stelmakh, founders of Drone Aide Collective.Khrystyna and German explain how they have mobilized funding to support drone production for Ukraine and organized hands-on workshops across Europe to transfer criticaltechnical know-how. Tune in for an inside look at innovation, resilience, and action at the intersection of defense, technology, and civil society — and please donate here.

This episode is part of our special series during the Munich Security Conference, where we explore the entrepreneurial realities behind defense and dual-use innovation. Dariia Rekun speaks with Oleksii Markhovskyi, co-founder of Ukrainian defense tech company Frontline Robotics, and Alina Kizlevych, who works on partnerships at Darkstar and brings deep experience working with defense startups.The conversation explores what it takes to build a defense tech startup in Ukraine: how teams develop and test products in real battlefieldconditions, what “product market fit” means during wartime, and the mainchallenges Oleksii has faced as a founder, from operations and hiring tofundraising and executing fast.Together, they discuss what building a company in Ukraine looks like today, the challenges founders face in high-stakes environments, and how Frontline Robotics’ cooperation with Quantum Systems gave rise to e a new German-Ukrainian joint venture strengthening European security.

This episode is part of our special series during the Munich Security Conference, where we explore the entrepreneurial realities behind defense and dual-use innovation.Anastasia Lala⁠, pipeline manager at the TUM Venture Lab Aerospace and Defense, speaks with Artem Moroz ⁠, Head of Investments at Brave 1⁠ — a Ukrainian government initiative designed to fast-track DefTech solutions through asymmetric innovation.Together, they discuss the transition of civilian entrepreneurs into defense founders, the high-stakes reality of development cycles where technology often only has a three-month lifespan on the front line, and how Ukraine is building a sustainable defense ecosystem to support NATO and long-term European security. Do listen to this conversation to understand how agile startups are redefining modern warfare and creating the future of defense technology

This episode is part of our special series during the Munich Security Conference, where we explore the entrepreneurial realities behind defense and dual-use innovation.We speak with Benjamin Wolba, co-founder of the EuropeanDefense Tech Hub .Benjamin co-created what has become Europe's largest network of defense tech hackathons — bringing together engineers, students, researchers, and early-stage founders across cities including Munich, Berlin, Copenhagen, Paris, London, and more importantly, Lvyv and Kyiv.Each event gives participants 48 hours to prototype real solutions to challenges sourced directly from frontline partners in Ukraine and NATO allies, with the explicit goal of continuing toward deployment after the weekend ends. What started as a single event with 150 participants has grown into a movement on track to run over twenty hackathons in 2025 alone, with each edition producing ten to twelvestartups.Together, we explore what it takes to build an efficient grassroots innovation movement in defense, how hackathons can serve as an on-ramp for civilian technologists entering the sector, and what Benjamin has learned about the gap between ideation and real battlefield deployment — and how to close it.And for those that want to attend the Demo Day on Sunday in Munich, the link is here.

Former BCG consultants and now founders Benedikt Wiechers and Michael Spira share an honest, behind-the-scenes perspective on their transition from consulting to entrepreneurship — and what it really takes to build AI-driven companies in Europe.The conversation explores the realities of leaving a secure consulting career, why execution quickly matters more than strategy once you start building, and what makes Europe — especially Germany — a viable place to build AI startups. They also discuss how to think about talent, curiosity, and continuous learning in fast-moving AI fields, and why founders need to cut through startup hype to focus on solving real problems.Hosted by Claire Schwarz, former member of the Software / AI Lab and now consultant at BCG.

AI’s energy hunger is exploding — but can photonic computing unlock a sustainable future for AI? Samarth Vadia, CEO & Co-founder of Linque, shares his path from quantum research to founding a deep tech start-up, tackling one of AI’s biggest challenges: exploding energy use in data centers. Discover how computers that run on light could transform data centers, make AI more energy-efficient and sustainable.Hosted by Lucia Lara from our Climate / Circular Lab.

Can a start-up really go from founding to a successful exit in just 18 months? Dylan, founder of CareMates, proves it is possible. In this special end-of-year episode, Antoine and co-host Magnus dive deep into Dylan’s journey — from bootstrapping and rapid scaling to navigating unexpected challenges and achieving a successful exit.This episode covers:How to draft a winning EXIST applicationHow B2B SaaS pricing is really determinedWhat it takes to bootstrap and scale a tech company

Please meet Ryan Grant Little. Ryan reaches out from Kyiv where he has moved to support Defence startups in the country where it really matters.Do join us for an inspiring presentation to better understand the dynamics of Defence Technology, why this really matters to us all in Europe and hear how Ryan has genuine impact.Ryan and I met beginning of this month at the first Defence Hackathon organised by EDTH in Kyiv. For all of us in Munich, the TUM Venture Lab and Europe Defense Tech Hub will organise a Hackathon in February 2026. Details are here. Do join us.

We are joined today by two Venture Capitalists, Fadwa Ouardani and Omar Hedeya.Fadwa and Omar explain what brought them to the world of venture capital and also the initiative of "Habbitis" to support founders from the Arab Diaspora.

Meet Marcus Lobbes, visionary director of the Dortmund Academie of Theater and Digitalisation. Marcus will be the curator at the Richard Wagner Bayreuth Festival for the first ever AI powered production of the Ring des Nibelungen, bringing artificial intelligence into the world's most prestigious Wagner opera Festival.In this episode of Entrepreneurial Realities, discover how Marcus merges artistic genius and technological boldness to reinvent what it means to create, perform, and experience art.

Lucia, our new host, talks with Dr. Andreas Weiss, CTO of Qkera, about turning his PhD research into next-gen battery materials to advance future energy storage. From lab experiments to scaling a startup, Andreas shares the surprises, challenges, and lessons learned along the way.

Prof. Maria Roche from Harvard Business School talks with Antoine Leboyer about her research showing how limited resources can push startups to be more creative and experimental. Maria also shares her own story to becoming a professor at Harvard — and what she’s learned about what truly drives innovation.

This week, Dariia Rekun, Pipeline manager at the SW/AI Venture Lab interviews Jonathan Luther-Bergquist, partner at Inflection XYZ, for a deep dive into venture capital with a focus on deep tech and defense – two areas gaining significant importance in Europe.Explore Inflection's thesis-driven approach centered on sovereignty and compute, understanding how controlling these resources is vital for future national and individual independence.Learn about "new defense" and its distinction from traditional industry, highlighting its importance through rapid iteration cycles and the application of commercially available technology.Listen as Jonathan shares invaluable advice for aspiring defense tech founders, including leveraging European Defense Tech Hub hackathons to connect with military end-users and build impactful products.Gain insights into how venture capital selects companies with massive upside and be inspired to "just do things" to tackle critical challenges

We are diving into a remarkable story of innovation born at the Technical University of Munich — OneTutor — an AI-powered tutoring platform that’s reshaping how students learn, without replacing the human role of educators.I sat down with the founders — Philipp Cisistian, Jann Winter and Professor Alexander Pretschner, who built OneTutor from the ground up, combining cutting-edge AI with real pedagogical insight. Learn about this startup which began as a local experiment and is now in use at over 20 institutions across Germany as well as being piloted in the United States.

In September 2023, Israel's Sefaria, Munich's AppliedAI Institute and the Venture Lab joined forces to explore how AI could enhance Torah study. After months of embedding, prototyping, gathering feedback, and fine-tuning, Sefaria is preparing to roll out new AI-powered features in the second half of the year—making them available to the million-plus users who rely on their platform.This marks a significant milestone for any organization, but especially for Sefaria, which is deeply committed to truthfulness, transparency, and intellectual rigour. It’s also a moment that resonates with all AI startups working at the TUM Software/AI Venture Lab, where responsible innovation is a shared value.So do join us as we discuss with Hadara Steinberg, AI Researcher and Product Manager and Lev Israel, Sefaria' CTO as they share the insights, challenges, and learnings from building an AI platform at the intersection of tradition and cutting-edge technology.... and reach out if you want to join the pilot.

Please meet Paul Graham, Vice President of Customer Centric Innovation at Mastercard Europe. In today’s episode, Paul will share his insights on Mastercard’s collaborations with startups, highlighting the innovative strides in the payment sector. With a wealth of experience, he’ll discuss Mastercard’s strategies for nurturing startup relationships and delve into the evolving landscape of financial technologies and offer valuable recommendations for startups aiming to succeed in this dynamic field. Tune in to gain expert perspectives on making the most out of these collaborations, essential listening for entrepreneurs and innovators from Munich and beyond, eager to make their mark in the business world.

Three TUM Venture Labs. One shared mission. In this episode, we dive into the Life Science Cluster at TUM Venture Labs – and explore how they are redefining their role within the biotech ecosystem with Maria Sievert, MD of the Healthcare Venture Lab, Sabine Oldemeyer, OD of the ChemSPACE Venture Lab and Roman Werner, MD of the AgriFood & Biotech Venture lab. Discover how close collaboration across multiple TUM Venture Labs creates a unique support system for life science innovators – from the first idea to a successful startup.We also discuss what defines a true life science entrepreneur, why this field is both incredibly exciting and highly complex, and what structures and offerings are needed to thrive in such an environment.Whether it is biotechnology, medtech, or digital health – this episode highlights how bold visions turn into real impact through deep expertise, interdisciplinary networks, and entrepreneurial drive.

We are joined today by three AI luminaries from the Technical University of Munich: Professors Daniel Cremers, Stephan Günnemann, and Reinhard Heckel.These distinguished scholars aren't just leading prestigious academic chairs at TUM—they're actively shaping the business landscape through their entrepreneurial ventures.Join us for a fascinating conversation as they share their unique perspectives on AI DeepTech entrepreneurship, bridging the gap between cutting-edge research and real-world innovation.

Please meet Simon Sagmeister. Simon is the lead in the TUM Autonomous Motorsport project. Simon and his exceptional team have consistently dominated the Autonomous Challenge, outperforming 20 elite universities from across the globe.Discover the unique constraints and cutting-edge solutions behind developing high-performance autonomous racing software. Simon reveals how his team pushes the boundaries of AI and software engineering to achieve victory on the track.A must-listen for automotive enthusiasts, software developers, and anyone fascinated by the future of autonomous technology.

Eugene Huang is founder of https://www.prorata.ai/. I heard of Prorata after listening to legendary investor and entrepreneur Bill Gross at the Munich DLD conference. Prorata completely changes the concept of intellectual property for Generative AI. It is a radical game changer which I strongly believe will have a systemic impact on stabilising business models for AI applications.Do listen to what they are doing, GenAI is not going to be the same after.

Please meet Jonathan Lowenhar. Jonathan lives in California based. He has been an executive in large organisations, a Private Equity investor and a repeat founder. He has since started Enjoy the work where, not unlike what we do at the Venture Lab, he supports founders in all aspects of their entrepreneurial journey.

Please meet Kevin Berghoff. Kevin is the CEO of Quantum Diamonds and an Alumni of the team of the Venture Labs. Discover Quantum Diamonds's technology and projects. But more importantly, do hear how they are transforming DeepTech research from Munich's Technical University into a leading player in the global semiconductor industry.

Please meet Vladimir Keil, CEO and co-Founder of AskLio. Vladimir is a serial entrepreneur whose latest startup, Asklio, is an AI powered procurement assistant. Asklio is a proud Y-Combinator Alumni and has strong momentum. Join us to understand Vladimir's business philosophy and particularly why increasing the number satisfied customers is addicitive.

Please meet Raffaela Rein, Entrepreneur, Board member and amongst the most influential women in startups and VC by Startups EU. We discuss together on her journey, entrepreneurship, B2C versus and B2B and how to foster entrepreneurship in Germany.

Do join me as I discuss with Sebastian Mallaby on the history of Venture Capital. Sebastian is the writer of the Power Law. This book which is on recommended list for the lecture I teach at TUM on VCs. It an outstanding analysis of the unique and still misunderstood dynamics of Venture Funding. It is an absolute must-hear (and the book is a must-read) for all interested in better understanding entrepreneurship.

Please meet David Oldeen.David is the CEO of Co-founder of Sizekick. His startup uses AI to enable e-commerce customers to validate that the clothes they are buying are of the right size so as to reduce costly and environment-unfriendly returns.Discover his journey, why he had an unusual but very apt source of financing for his startup, where they are and how they are expanding.

This is our first episode straight from the Valley with Rocky Yu entrepreneur, VC and now founder of Hillsborough AGI House. Do not miss our discussion to understand why AGI House is such a powerhouse, how the AI opportunity is evolving, why the Valley is so special for Entrepreneurship and what we have to do in Munich.

Please meet Pablo Palafox. He is the CEO and Co-founder of HappyRobot, one of the most successful TUM Software and AI Venture Lab Alumni. Discover his experience of going to the US, doing a major Pivot and reaping the benefits of focusing with intensity on a very specific problem for the freight industry in the US.

Join me In this episode where we discuss with Matthias Röder, CEO of the Karajan Institute. In this fascinating interview, we discuss his work, how artists can embrace technology and particularly AI to enhance their creativity, classical music and entrepreneurship.

We are joined this week by Julien Weissenberg. Julien is Zurich based and the founder of Deep Tech Experts. He is also playing an active role with leading organisations such as the World Economic Forum and Inno-Suisse. More importantly, he is working with many Swiss leading VCs and Innovation Agencies as the expert they call to assess the quality of the technology of AI startups they want to invest in. ... So he is really someone you want to be asked to meet.

Do join me in my fascinating conversation with Niclas Molinder. I met Niclas at the 2024 DLD Munich Conference where he gave a remarquable presentation of creation of music using AI tools. In addition to his activities as a musician (he has worked with Abba, Miley Cyrus and Lady Gaga ..), Niclas is also a founder of SessionStudio and has launched CLIP to help creators manage their Intellectual Property. Together, we discuss on his career but also on how AI is impacting the music industry.

Please join us in our discussion with Bernhard Neumann. Bernhard is a dear friend and a brand strategist whose recent work focuses on the concept of personal branding. We discuss why this really matters and particularly for younger entrepreneurs and is part of their journey.

For this end of year 2023, Antoine Leboyer receives Leon Merkel, Founder and CEO of Bumpee. Leon is one of the rare entrepreneurs who have already sold their startups. This is a rare experience. Do hear our discussion on the lessons of this great adventure.

Please join us for our end of year podcast, a conversation with Valentin Schelhaas, CEO of Zentor on ... Happiness. Valentin and I were guests at the first conference on Mental Health and Entrepreneurship where he gave a revealing presentation. I reached out to him so that we could discuss it in the context of Entrepreneurship to understand if and how entrepreneurs can also be as good on their ventures as to their happiness.

Do join my colleague Nic Knapp in our interview with Bernhard Horst, head of the BMW Startup Garage, as we discuss on multiple topics, where innovation in the automotive industry will come from, Startups around the world and how to engage with his organisation. Please note that we had a few seconds where we were disconnected (around 8:30 ...) but all the rest of the conversation is perfectly audible.

Welcome to a very Special Episode: Harvard Business School Professor Andy Wu⁠ and Antoine Leboyer step back from the events of the last days with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman being fired and joining, along with a likely high number of OpenAI employees and discuss on a big variety of topics: Non profit and for profit board, what this means for the industry, what this means for Microsoft, ...

Andy Wu is Harvard Business School Professor of Strategy with a focus on new technologies. He also is the holder of multiple patents so in other words, he really has a grasp of strategy and technology. Join us as we discuss the implications of AI for Businesses, new business models, who are going to be the winners in the new world and what AI startups should take into account ...

For the 50th Episode of the series, we do not have a guest. This podcast is the audio of a conference I did at the Global Tech Shapers on Mental Health and Entrepreneurship. It is a "first person testimony" of my personal journey as a founder and the mental health struggles I had to face: I was diagnosed with PTSD. My objective is to describe what happened to me but beyond this, also give hints on how to cope with this problem. At TUM , I meet many remarquable young founders who are under huge stress. This is very common to many of them. And this episode and all what we do at the Venture Lab is for them.

Join us today for a conversation with Pr Noam Wasserman, Dean of the Yeshiva University, former Professor of Entrepreneurship at the Harvard Business School and writer of The founder's Dilemnas. Pr Wasserman has done an extensive and regular studies of thousands of startups in IT and Life Science. He takes us through some of the key choices founders face at the very beginning of their startup journeys, from ownership and control to roles and responsibilities and why these are among the biggest challenges founders face. Join us as we uncover the wisdom and expertise of Professor Wasserman, offering practical advice for aspiring founders, students, and startup enthusiasts alike. Whether you're at the inception of your entrepreneurial dream or seeking to scale your existing venture, this conversation promises to shed light on the intricate web of decisions that can make or break a startup.

Join us this week with Katrin Redmann, the COO of SAP Paris, as she shares insights tailored for first-time entrepreneurs like YOU. Hosted by Svenja Enchelmaier, dive into topics from unearthing your motivation, resilience in entrepreneurship, to the transformative power of female networks and the magic of teamwork in innovation. Kickstart your entrepreneurial journey with a dose of real-world wisdom! 🚀🎧 #EmpowerHer #InnovationAtHeart #MunichTechEntrepreneurs

Dive into the extraordinary journey of https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexasinyachova/https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexasinyachova/ on this enlightening episode of "Entrepreneurial Realities," presented by Antoine Leboyer, MD of the SW and AI TUM Venture Lab.   Alexa, a leading entrepreneur, community builder, and mother, shares her wealth of knowledge and insights from her dynamic career.   With her roots in Ukraine, Alexa provides a unique perspective on global entrepreneurship and her efforts to support tech ventures in her home country. As a mother, Alexa showcases how she embraces the beautiful chaos of juggling professional and personal responsibilities, serving as an inspiration to many.   Join us for an enlightening conversation filled with inspiration, realities, and lessons from Alexa's life as an entrepreneur, mentor, and mother. Don't miss this incredible episode!

In this compelling episode of Entrepreneurial Realities, host Antoine delves into the world of healthcare innovation with esteemed guests Marina Leonie Moskvina and Dominik Pförringer. Join them as they explore the exciting realm of (digital) innovation in healthcare and shed light on the entrepreneurial endeavours that are shaping the future of the industry. Marina Leonie Moskvina, Operating Director of TUM Venture Labs - Healthcare, and Dominik Pförringer, Academic Director of TUM Venture Labs - Healthcare and Medical Director of the University Hospital of TUM, bring their extensive expertise to the table. Together with Antoine, they embark on an insightful journey to uncover the latest trends, challenges and transformative technologies that are revolutionising healthcare. Throughout this episode, Marina, Dominik and Antoine navigate a wide range of fascinating topics. They delve into the latest digital innovations and the influential role of artificial intelligence in reshaping the healthcare landscape. With a focus on visionary ideas and entrepreneurial ventures, they explore how entrepreneurs are driving change and transforming the industry. Listen as the guests share compelling stories of successful healthcare startups, emphasising the importance of fostering an entrepreneurial mindset within the industry. They highlight the key role of academic institutions such as TUM Venture Labs in nurturing and supporting budding entrepreneurs. They also shed light on the unique challenges and opportunities specific to healthcare entrepreneurship.