PODCAST · technology
Mostly Awesome
by Center for Digital Technology and Management (CDTM)
Mostly Awesome is a podcast about the personal journeys of innovators. We talk to the doers and thinkers of our time to understand what motivates them and why they do what they do. Together we reflect upon their decisions, wins, and setbacks. Meet our inspiring yet relatable guests from the world of entrepreneurship and technology to find out what may help you to become an innovator of tomorrow!Get ready for bi-weekly episodes on Wednesdays. We are looking forward to our guests and your feedback to [email protected] Awesome is brought to you by the Center for Digital Technology and Management (CDTM) in Munich. For more information, check www.cdtm.de/podcast.And now lean back, listen in, and learn from the thought leaders of our time!
Episodes
-
#54 Leon Szeli: On Selling Presize to Meta, Rejection as Fuel, Life After the Exit and Why Execution Beats Ideas
In this episode, we talk to Leon Szeli, CDTM alum and founder of Presize, the AI size recommendation startup he sold to Meta in 2022 for a reported $100 million. After four years as a product manager at Meta, he co-initiated the CDTM Venture Fund, the first university alumni fund in Germany, and…
more -
#53 Seb Hapte-Selassie: On Voice AI, the Agent Era, High Agency and Why Speed Beats Planning
In this episode, we talk to Seb Hapte-Selassie, co-founder and CTO of telli, a Berlin-based startup building AI agents that run a company's customer-facing operations. Seb studied computer science at Stanford and built product at N26, Pitch and BCG Digital Ventures before starting telli, which…
more -
#52 Sarah Fleischer: On Battery Recycling, Deep Tech, Growing Up Between Cultures and Lessons from Failure
In this episode, we talk to Sarah Fleischer, 3x founder and Co-founder & CEO of tozero, a Munich-based startup that recovers lithium and graphite directly from battery waste. Sarah is a mechanical engineer and CDTM alum who has raised over $20 million and recently launched tozero's industrial…
more -
#51 Pip Klöckner: On Tech, Podcasting, AI and Building in Germany
In this episode, we talk to Pip Klöckner, tech analyst, angel investor, and host of Doppelgänger, Germany's leading tech podcast. Pip started doing data entry at Idealo, climbed through marketing and product, advised Rocket Internet and KKR, and now invests his own money and breaks down tech for…
more -
#50 Magnus Grünewald: On AI Sovereignty, Deep Tech Infrastructure and Building High-Performance Teams
In this episode, we sit down with Magnus Grünewald, the 23-year-old founder and CEO of Lyceum, who recently raised a massive €10.3M pre-seed round to challenge US hyperscalers. Rather than just a story about a young founder raising capital, this conversation offers a revealing look into what it...
-
#49 André Petry: On Agency, Ambition, and Building Europe’s Industrial Future
In this episode, André Petry, co-founder and CEO of Tacto, joins us for a wide-ranging conversation about ambition, agency, and what it means to build from Europe. We trace André’s journey from a 400-person village to CDTM, Berkeley, and eventually to founding one of Germany’s rising industrial...
-
#48 Julia Gottfriedsen: On Future of Space Tech, AI in Climate Resilience, and Leadership
In this episode, Julia Gottfriedsen, Head of Data Science & AI at OroraTech, shares how space and artificial intelligence come together to address one of the most pressing challenges of our time. We follow Julia’s journey and explore how technology, leadership, and vision can shape the future.…
more -
#47 Judith Dada and Hanno Renner: 11 years later - on what makes CDTM special
In this special guest episode, Judith Dada (General Partner at La Famiglia) and Hanno Renner (Co-founder & CEO of Personio) join us to reflect on their time at CDTM and how it shaped their journeys over the past decade. They talk about what made CDTM so formative, how it created a culture of...
-
#46 Erik Muttersbach: On building ambitiously, scaling wisely, and betting on Europe
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...
-
#45 Verena Pausder: Why Germany must bet on bold founders and digital education
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...
-
#44 Gustaf Alströmer: What AI changes about startup wisdom from the last 20 years
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...
-
#43 Marc Klingen: On Building Trust, Shipping Fast, and Staying Open in AI
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…
more -
#42 Clemens Meyer: On supporting nobel prize winning research teams
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...
-
#41 Viet Le: Building, selling, and investing at the application layer of AI
Insights from Viet Le, an Early-Stage VC and Partner @ General Catalyst: Betting on Young, Naive Founders and Navigating the AI Hype In this episode, we dive into a conversation with Viet who shares his unique investment philosophy focused on young, naive first-time founders. The discussion…
more -
#40 Thomas Kirchner: How to scale up a hardware startup and sell it for hundreds of millions
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…
more -
#39 Hamza Tahir: From indie-hacking in Pakistan to raising $6.4 Million for his AI startup in Germany
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...
-
#38 Gyri Reiersen: Secure a future for generations by achieving net zero emissions
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...
-
Teaser Season 5 with our hosts Ruby, Claudia, and Ali!
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…
more -
#37 Gesa Biermann: Enabling sustainable forestry and making your grandma proud
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...
-
#36 Johannes Hussak: Automating privacy related processes
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...
-
#35 Eva Spannagl: On leadership, angel investing and women's empowerment
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…
more -
#34 Claudius Jablonka: On Venture Capital and Beyond
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…
more -
#33 Vanessa Westphal: Changing nutrition habits for good
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…
more -
#32 Sebastian Schaal: Democratizing electronics production
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...
-
Teaser Season 4: New episodes with our hosts Julia and Jaclyn!
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...
-
#31 Vidya Madhavan: Rethinking the dating culture
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…
more -
# 30 Michelle Tian & Jennifer Phan: Empowering the creators of tomorrow
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…
more -
#29 Maya Hari: Big tech, startups, and social media
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...
-
#28 Joshua Cornelius & Mehmet Yilmaz: Fostering employee happiness
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…
more -
#27 Vlad Lata: Revolutionizing the healthcare industry
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…
more -
#26 Hessam Lavi: Shaping the climate-tech space
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 engineers and develops a Carbon Footprint Intelligence Platform. During the course of this episode we spoke about several topics that make Hessam’s journey unique.…
more -
#25 Thomas Regier and Kivanc Semen: The future of data privacy
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…
more -
#24 Sona Chandra: A new paradigm in drug discovery
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…
more -
#42 Hung Dang: Creating a new standard for Data
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…
more -
#22 Arseniy Vershinin: Automating the people workflow at Personio
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...
-
#21 Awais Shafique: Changing the way people shop with the power of AI
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...
-
#20 Dr. Sophie Chung: Medical Tourism - great healthcare should be accessible to all
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...
-
Teaser Season 3: Launching episodes every 2nd Tuesday with our new hosts Keke and Maria!
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…
more -
#19 Caroline Weimann: Politics - an important vehicle for social and ecological change
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...
-
#18 Daniel Metzler: It’s called hardware because its hard – founding in the aerospace industry
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 -...
-
#17 Daniel Besendorfer: Creating a mutual dialogue between business and technology
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.…
more -
#16 Alev Canoglu: Promoting equal opportunities
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...
-
#15 Folkert Behrends: Balancing performance and recovery
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…
more -
#14 Saskia Bruysten on social businesses – using economic thinking to generate social impact
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...
-
#13 Hana Milanov: A career in academia - a different perspective on entrepreneurship
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...
-
#12 Jakob Assmann: Why we need more entrepreneurs to avoid a climate crisis
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...
-
#11 Veronika Riederle: From consulting to entrepreneurship - building something that matters to you
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…
more -
#10 Dan Ram: Host, speaker & coach - falling in love with what you are becoming
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…
more -
#09 Anna Alex: Sustainable entrepreneurship - how to align purpose with profit
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...
-
#08 Nino Ulsamer: Serial Entrepreneur – the winded road to build a successful startup
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...
We're indexing this podcast's transcripts for the first time — this can take a minute or two. We'll show results as soon as they're ready.
No matches for "" in this podcast's transcripts.
No topics indexed yet for this podcast.
Loading reviews...
ABOUT THIS SHOW
Mostly Awesome is a podcast about the personal journeys of innovators. We talk to the doers and thinkers of our time to understand what motivates them and why they do what they do. Together we reflect upon their decisions, wins, and setbacks. Meet our inspiring yet relatable guests from the world of entrepreneurship and technology to find out what may help you to become an innovator of tomorrow!Get ready for bi-weekly episodes on Wednesdays. We are looking forward to our guests and your feedback to [email protected] Awesome is brought to you by the Center for Digital Technology and Management (CDTM) in Munich. For more information, check www.cdtm.de/podcast.And now lean back, listen in, and learn from the thought leaders of our time!
HOSTED BY
Center for Digital Technology and Management (CDTM)
CATEGORIES
Loading similar podcasts...
Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Mostly Awesome have?
Mostly Awesome currently has 56 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Mostly Awesome about?
Mostly Awesome is a podcast about the personal journeys of innovators. We talk to the doers and thinkers of our time to understand what motivates them and why they do what they do. Together we reflect upon their decisions, wins, and setbacks. Meet our inspiring yet relatable guests from the world...
How often does Mostly Awesome release new episodes?
Mostly Awesome has 56 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Mostly Awesome?
You can listen to Mostly Awesome on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Mostly Awesome?
Mostly Awesome is created and hosted by Center for Digital Technology and Management (CDTM).
URL copied to clipboard!