Leap Takers

by Remo Kyburz

Episode 26: Anjali Raja Beharelle - Path from academia into entrepreneurship, and how Collabree helps people to make lasting habit changes thanks to behavioral economics

Dr. Anjali Raja Beharelle is the CSO (Chief Science Officer) and one of the founders of collabree.com. Collabree is a Swiss eHealth / digital adherence start-up focusing on improving therapy compliance of chronically ill patients by applying behavioural economics principles. Collabree is helping patients to make lasting behavioral changes and stick to their therapy regimen by combining human engagement with scalable algorithms and using the most relevant gamification factors: fun, friends and feedback. Anjali is responsible for the clinical track and integrating insights from behavioral economics and neuroscience into the app. Before founding Collabree, Anjali worked as a neuroscientist. Her research focused on the neuro(chemical) and behavioral components of decision making between short-term and long-term rewards (e.g. should I have a candy bar or some broccoli) and how to optimize these decisions. We discuss: How behavioral economics can help us to make long-lasting positive habit changes Taking the leap from Academia into the world of startups Why medication adherence is so important Collabree’s mission and future plans Tips for forming habits Show notes: 03:41 -- Intro of Anjali 04:19 -- Why Anjali decided to leave academia and to join a startup 05:38 -- Anjali’s academic research focus and how it links to her role at Collabree 08:55 -- How Anjali joined Collabree / found her co-founders 10:45 -- What is Collabree’s mission and what problem is the startup trying to solve 15:52 -- Development status of Collabree 17:18 -- More info about the Collabree app 17:36 -- Deep dive into scientific results from behavioral economics and how it can help us to form healthier habits 22:15 -- Pricing model of Collabree 24:26 -- Broader focus of Collabree - healthy habits 25:19 -- Deep dive into what habits are and habit formation from a scientific perspective 31:11 -- Practical & actionable tips for forming positive habits 34:49 -- Future plans for Collabree and status of fundraising 37:04 -- Learnings from switching from academia to the world of startups 40:43 -- Anjali’s favorite book 42:43 -- Role model of Anjali 43:35 -- Advice to your younger self 44:28 -- What courage means to Anjali 45:09 -- How to find out more about Collabree Please follow me on Instagram, Twitter, and my Website, where I post new episodes and share resources & tips for anyone interested in entrepreneurship in Europe. If you're enjoying the podcast, the best way to support the show is by leaving a review on Apple Podcast or in your favorite podcast app.

E26

Oct 8, 2021

47:06

Episode 25: Hugo Amsellem - The creator economy tsunami and “The Family” - building a leading fellowship for founders in Europe

Explicit

Hugo Amsellem [@HugoAmsellem] is a thought leader covering the world of the creator economy and writes the blog “Arm the Creators”. The Creator Economy enables an entire generation to bypass traditional gatekeepers for the 1st time in history. Anyone can learn anything online, build something new and distribute it all over the world—without asking anyone's permission In 2013 he jumped the fence and joined The Family as part of the founding team. The Family is one of the world’s leading fellowship programs for founders. Twice a year, The Family selects 50 startups from around the world. In exchange for 5% equity, they provide everything you need to build a scalable business: advice, mindset, network & a world-class investor demo day.With the Family he backed hundreds of founders across Europe. Previously, he co-founded oocto, a decentralized music label to help artists bypass the record labels and keep ownership of their projects. Hugo recently joined Jellysmack, a “creator accelerator” to educate & empower the next generation of ambitious creators. We discuss: Why the Creator economy will change everything Lessons from startup failure The origin story of The Family Developments in the European startup ecosystem Investing in creators and creator accelerators Show notes: 03:09 -- Intro of Hugo 05:31 -- Hugo Amsellem’s path into entrepreneurship / disrupting the music business 08:32 -- Learnings and reflections from startup failure 13:00 -- Unit economics - Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) and Customer LifeTime Value (CLTV) 15:30 -- Does risk mitigation in startups work? Should you start a startup? 19:30 -- Ideas are worthless - true or not? 20:39 -- The origin story of The Family and the startup ecosystem in Europe in the early 2010’s 27:51 -- Structure of The Family fellowship program 31:52 -- Who should apply to The Family program 33:26 -- Intro to the Creator Economy and why it matters 38:43 -- Jellysmack - the accelerator for creators 43:09 -- Investing in creators 47:43 -- Hugo Amsellem’s favorite book 50:25 -- What courage means for Hugo 53:32 -- Hugo Amsellem’s contact details and outro Please follow me on Instagram, Twitter, and my Website, where I post new episodes and share resources & tips for anyone interested in entrepreneurship in Europe. If you're enjoying the podcast, the best way to support the show is by leaving a review on Apple Podcast or in your favorite podcast app.

E25

Jun 28, 2021

55:06

Episode 24: Patrick Gobonya - Building a sustainable eSports organization with Ovation eSports to deliver the next-generation fan experience

Patrick Gobonya is one of the co-founders of Ovation eSports. Ovation was founded in Zurich / Switzerland in February 2020, and is the first sustainable eSports organization. Ovation is "a lit, young & dynamic pioneer which combines professionalism and fun in one team. A network platform of champs and eSports enthusiasts." Ovation accompanies and develops athletes on their journey to become leading eSports players. The company is committed to provide their athletes with support to protect their mental and physical well-being and offers an environment to master a successful future following a career in eSports. Ovation eSports AG is a Swiss team consisting of players from the DACH region and with partnerships all over Europe. Ovation is one of the fastest growing and up-and-coming esports teams in Europe and currently competes in the games of Fortnite and Valorant. In March 2021, Ovation announced that it has raised a seed round investment from billionaire twin brothers Maurice and Kyril Louis-Dreyfus. We discuss: The origin story of Ovation Tips for starting an eSports team & scouting talent Sustainability in eSports and gaming as a career track Fundraising advice Show notes: 02:23 -- Intro of Patrick Gobonya 03:12 -- What is eSports and why is it relevant 05:54 -- Ovation’s fundraise from Maurice und Kyril Louis-Dreyfus 06:56 -- How the investment from the Dreyfus twins in Ovation came to be 11:06 -- How Patrick for the first time got the idea to start his own company and the origin story of Ovation 15:52 -- How Ovation came up with the name for its team 17:16 -- How to start an eSports team, recruiting players, getting into the community 19:50 -- How to scout talent in eSports 22:18 -- Progress of ovation in 2020 24:55 -- Stats and further info about Ovation 28:15 -- Revenue streams of Ovation and eSports teams - how the sponsorship model works 31:48 -- What sustainability means in the context of eSports 34:01 -- Patrick’s learnings from building an eSports brand 35:22 -- Trends in the eSports space 36:58 -- Patrick’s favorite game 37:42 -- Patrick Gobonya’s advice to younger self 38:22 -- Open browser tabs 39:20 -- What courage means to Patrick Please follow me on Instagram, Twitter, and my Website, where I post new episodes and share resources & tips for anyone interested in entrepreneurship in Europe. If you're enjoying the podcast, the best way to support the show is by leaving a review on Apple Podcast or in your favorite podcast app.

E24

Apr 22, 2021

41:58

Episode 23: Arman Anatürk - Food trends and the founding story of FoodHack - a global platform for the FoodTech industry

Arman Anatürk [@ArmanAnaturk] is the founder and CEO of FoodHack. FoodHack is a community-driven platform that inspires, highlights and connects food entrepreneurs and innovators. With FoodHack Arman is is building the 21st century media / events company for the foodtech industry. The platform's offering includes a weekly food & food tech newsletter, ambassador run meet-ups, an annual FoodHack Summit, as well as a newly launched Food Discovery board (think of the “Product Hunt of Food”) where innovative food tech startups are featured. Arman’s goal with FoodHack is to make it easier for impact driven food founders to access the resources, network and knowledge they need to successfully launch and grow their Food (tech) business. The FoodHack newsletter has over 100+ editions sent and over 5k+ happy readers. Arman also hosts "The Secret Sauce" Podcast, where he provides insights from food industry leaders. We discuss: How Arman founded and grew a 21st century media company focused on food & technology Cold outreach tips Newest trends in the FoodTech space Tools to run an emerging startup / platform The origin story of FoodHack Show notes: 02:33 -- Intro of Arman 03:20 -- How Arman Anatürk got interested in startups and food tech 07:04 -- Next steps after working for a coding school 08:16 -- Cold outreach tips 13:17 -- How Arman got his first client 14:50 -- Description of FoodHack and its mission 17:50 -- Sources of revenue for FoodHack / a 21st century media business 20:13 -- The story of FoodHack and its different products 23:51 -- Stats of FoodHack 25:33 -- Arman’s favorite tools to run FoodHack / a media startup 28:05 -- Tips to grow your newsletter 30:31 -- Latest trends happening in the FoodTech space 37:30 -- Book with the biggest impact for Arman 37:54 -- Area in FoodTech that Arman is most excited about 38:27 -- Lessons for other (aspiring) entrepreneurs 40:44 -- What courage means for Arman Please follow me on Instagram, Twitter, and my Website, where I post new episodes and share resources & tips for anyone interested in entrepreneurship in Europe. If you're enjoying the podcast, the best way to support the show is by leaving a review on Apple Podcast or in your favorite podcast app.

E23

Feb 15, 2021

43:28

Episode 22: Job van der Voort - From first employee at GitLab to founding Remote.com and shaping the future of work

Job van der Voort (@Jobvo) is the CEO and one of the founders of Remote.com. Remote makes it possible to employ anyone, anywhere in the world. Their mission is to simplify how companies employ the best talent globally and to help remote organizations do their best work. They offer services such as international payroll, benefits, taxes, and compliance for businesses big and small - so that they can hire anyone in the world - while outsourcing all the admin & legal work to Remote. Remote's vision is to become the "stripe for (remote) work". Remote is also among the fastest growing startups globally and is backed by some of the best venture capital investors in the world, such as Index Ventures, Sequoia, General Catalyst, Two Sigma, and many more very accomplished angel investors. Before founding Remote, Job worked as neuroscientist, and he was one of the first engineers that joined GitLab. In his role as VP of product, Job was responsible for GitLab's product development and he helped grow the company from 5 to 450+ employees. Today GitLab is one of the largest distributed companies in the world. We discuss: The advantages of remote work Best practices for working from home The origin story of Remote.com Tips for aspiring entrepreneurs and much more Show notes: 00:50 -- Intro 03:49 -- Personal intro from Job van der Voort 06:59 -- How Job started as one of the first engineers at Gitlab 07:37 -- Background to Gitlab - What is Gitlab? 08:05 -- Job’s first touchpoints with working for a fully distributed / remote company 10:07 -- Insights into Job’s role at Gitlab as VP of product 11:37 -- Gitlab’s growth and scaling up 12:40 -- Collaboration tools 14:06 -- Advantages of remote work 16:33 - The shift to remote-first from employers perspective 17:56 -- Second order effects of shifting to remote work 20:30 -- Best practices for remote work 24:59 -- The origin story of Remote.com - How remote.com was started 27:45 -- Introduction to what remote.com does 30:35 -- Remote.com’s venture capital fundraise 32:00 -- Customers of Remote.com 33:23 -- Remote.com as stripe for remote work 36:09 -- Job’s vision for remote.com in 5 years 37:19 -- Job van der Voort’s advice for aspiring entrepreneurs and leaptakers 40:39 -- Labor market and demand for remote roles 42:36 -- Book that had biggest personal impact 43:08 -- Job’s favorite remote collaboration tool 44:42 -- Advice to younger self 45:03 -- What courage means to Job

E22

Jan 10, 2021

47:59

Episode 21: Christmas Giveaway & Best Startup Books

Merry Christmas everyone! 🎄 This episode is going to be a small experiment. In this Christmas special, I'm introducing you to 5 of my personal and my podcast guests favorite business & startup books. Hence, I give you a crowd-sourced reading list from some of Europe's top up-and-coming entrepreneurs and VCs. I'm convinced that these books can help you to bring your business / startup to the next level, or to get motivated to "take the leap" yourself! It's also the perfect activity to read on a cold wintery day at home. Since it’s Christmas, I'm also doing a little giveaway and will send to some lucky winner a book of his or her choice from this list. All you got to do is to review the Leap Takers Podcast on Apple Podcast (or your favorite podcast app), give it a 5 star rating, and send me proof (screenshot / link) to remo.kyburz1[at]gmail.com. I'll then randomly draw a lucky winner. Deadline is January 1st 2021. This is just a little thank you & Christmas gift from me to the listeners of the Leap Takers Podcast. 🎁 Thank you for your continued support and I hope you get some benefit and motivation from listening to this podcast. I'm wishing you and your loved ones a Merry Christmas and all the best for 2021! Remo Please follow me on Instagram, Twitter, and my Website, where I post new episodes and share resources & tips for anyone interested in entrepreneurship in Europe. If you're enjoying the podcast, the best way to support the show is by leaving a review on Apple Podcast or in your favorite podcast app.

E21

Dec 25, 2020

14:28

Episode 20: Alina Bassi - How Kleiderly creates sustainable plastics made from textile waste

Alina Bassi (@alinabassi1) is the founder and CEO of Kleiderly. Originally from London, she founded Kleiderly in 2019 in Berlin with the goal of solving the problem of fashion industry waste. She has developed a patent-pending technology to recycle waste clothing into a new and sustainable material, diverting clothing waste away from landfills and incinerators. Her mission is to lower the carbon footprint of fashion and eliminate tons of CO2 emissions. Alina is a Google for Startups Female Founder alumna and a member of the Forbes 30 under 30 class of 2020. In this episode you will learn about: Kleiderly and how they are trying to solve the problem of fashion industry waste The Berlin startup scene and accelerators How to build up confidence as a founder Supporting minority founders And much more…! Show notes: 01:45 -- Intro of Alina Bassi 02:04 -- Alina’s background before she launched her own startup 03:13 -- Gaining first startup experience at bio-bean 04:28 -- How Alina found a startup to work for and gather relevant experience 05:07 -- The origin story of Kleiderly 08:04 -- Kleiderly’s value proposition 09:48 -- The first steps of entrepreneurship. How do you start your own company 13:19 -- Alina’s experience with Accelerator programs 16:42 -- Current stage and facts about Kleiderly 19:10 -- Lessons learnt from an early-stage startup 23:27 -- Mistakes to avoid as a founder 24:38 -- Tips and insights into the Berlin startup scene 26:33 -- Initiatives that Alina is involved in to support minority founders 30:17 -- Alina’s favorite book she would recommend to fellow startup founders 30:50 -- Alina’s best personal investment 31:25 -- Alina’s favorite SaaS tool to help her as a founder 32:29 -- Advice to your younger self 33:32 -- How to build up confidence as a founder 34:45 -- What courage means to Alina Please follow me on Instagram, Twitter, and my Website, where I post new episodes and share resources & tips for anyone interested in entrepreneurship in Europe. If you're enjoying the podcast, the best way to support the show is by leaving a review on Apple Podcast or in your favorite podcast app.

E20

Nov 20, 2020

37:18

Episode 19: Tobias Gunzenhauser - How to build a D2C company & the story of yamo - fresh organic baby food

Tobias Gunzenhauser (@TobGunzenhauser) is the CEO and one of the three co-founders of yamo. yamo is Europe's first digital native vertical brand that produces fresh organic baby and children food. The company launched in 2017 in Switzerland with their first product of baby purees. In the meantime, yamo is also sold in "Coop", one of Switzerland's largest retailers. All of yamo’s products are 100% organic, natural and free from additives. They developed every recipe together with dozens of helpful moms, dads, their little ones, nutritionists and pediatricians. In the summer of 2020, yamo raised a €10M Series A. You will hear the fascinating origin story of yamo, tips around production & manufacturing, how to find a good production partner, advice on online stores, and much more! Show notes: 02:15 -- Introduction of Tobias 02:43 -- The origin story of yamo. How the founders came up with the idea for a baby food company 07:45 -- Starting a company on the side vs. quitting and going all in 11:53 -- How yamo started producing their first product 15:39 -- The benefits of a production partner vs. producing yourself 16:55 -- How to find a good production partner 19:42 -- How yamo solved the problem of high minimum orders combined with limited capital to manufacture their product 20:57 -- yamo’s approach to distribution and setting up their online store 24:41 -- The state of the eCommerce infrastructure & online store integrations in Switzerland 26:15 -- Overview of yamo’s product offering and their newest innovative product 30:36 -- Tobias’ key learnings from starting yamo 33:09 -- How to test your D2C business idea 35:01 -- Tobias’ favorite book 35:37 -- Another favorite D2C product of Tobias 36:01 -- Advice to your younger self 36:58 -- What courage means to Tobias 38:01 -- Info about yamo Please follow me on Instagram, Twitter, and my Website, where I post new episodes and share resources & tips for anyone interested in entrepreneurship in Europe. If you're enjoying the podcast, the best way to support the show is by leaving a review on Apple Podcast or in your favorite podcast app.

E19

Oct 6, 2020

39:53

Episode 18: Heidi Lindvall - From documentary filmmaker to investing in ClimateTech startups with Pale Blue Dot VC

Heidi Lindvall (@HeidiLindvall) is one of the founders and a general partner at Pale Blue Dot. Pale Blue Dot is a seed stage ClimateTech VC investing in reducing and reversing the effects of climate change and preparing for a new world. They invest tickets of €200k - €2M, in pre-seed and seed-stage companies based in Europe and US. Heidi Lindvall previously co-founded Storygami, an online video company that increases viewers engagement & helped monetize content. She also founded CODOC, an award winning video production company. She has a background in Media and Human Rights and has studied for two degrees in the field in London. In this episode you hear how Heidi made her way from being a documentary filmmaker into the world of Venture Capital (VC). We also discuss her learnings from being an entrepreneur and what areas in ClimateTech she is most excited about to help save the planet. I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did. Show notes: 01:48 -- Introduction of Heidi Lindvall 02:21 -- Description of Pale Blue Dot and the goal of the VC fund 04:26 -- How Heidi got in touch with the world of startups & tech 07:16 -- Documentary movies created by Heidi Lindvall 07:54 -- How Storygami - a online video SaaS product - was born 10:20 -- What is the right moment for a startup to start looking for investors 11:33 -- From Storygami to joining accelerators, becoming an investor, and the origin story of Pale Blue Dot VC 19:15 -- What is ClimateTech and in what areas does Pale Blue Dot invest in 22:35 -- Investment target & fund characteristics of Pale Blue Dot 23:50 -- Public investments of Pale Blue Dot VC 24:41 -- The role of regulation in the ClimateTech sector 26:27 -- Learnings from raising a VC fund in Europe 29:35 -- Heidi’s advice and tips for (aspiring) entrepreneurs 32:03 -- Book that had a big personal impact on Heidi’s life 33:07 -- Resources for people interested in the climate & tech space 34:17 -- Heidi’s most worthwhile investment 35:24 -- Advice to your younger self 36:10 -- What courage means to Heidi Please follow me on Instagram, Twitter, and my Website, where I post new episodes and share resources & tips for anyone interested in entrepreneurship in Europe. If you're enjoying the podcast, the best way to support the show is by leaving a review on Apple Podcast or in your favorite podcast app.

E18

Sep 11, 2020

38:33

Episode 17: Anne-Laure Le Cunff - Mindful productivity - How Ness Labs became the leading learning platform that empowers makers to do their best work while keeping their sanity

Anne-Laure Le Cunff (@anthilemoon) is the Founder of Ness Labs, an award-winning productivity & learning community and venture studio building products that focus on mindful productivity, wellness, creativity, and culture. She is an ex-Googler, MSc of Applied Neuroscience candidate at King's College, member of the Society for Neuroscience, and certified Mental Health First Aider accredited by the Royal Society for Public Health. Her work has been featured in WIRED, Forbes, FT, Rolling Stone, and more. Every week, she sends a newsletter to thousands of mindful makers with practical content at the intersection of neuroscience and entrepreneurship. She is half-French, half-Algerian. Anne-Laure was born in Paris, sold French wine in New York, studied in Tokyo, worked at Google in San Francisco, and started her company Ness Labs in London. In this episode you will hear the origin story of Ness Labs, we discuss fascinating topics such as the concept of time anxiety, and you hear Anne-Laure’s advice for anyone that wants to start & grow a content community. I found this episode incredibly interesting and I hope you enjoy it as well. Show notes: 01:54 -- Intro of Anne-Laure Le Cunff 02:42 -- Anne-Laure’s personal background and travels 04:49: -- How Anne-Laure became interested in the human mind and neuroscience 07:12 -- Ness Labs: What is it and who is it for 11:18 -- The origin story of Ness Labs. How Anne-Laure Le Cunff built a learning platform for mindful productivity 14:34 -- Lessons learned from a previous startup failure 18:41 -- Tips on growing your audience and community 20:43 -- Working with the garage door open 22:03 -- Positive highlight of Ness Lab’s journey so far 23:28 -- Ness Labs as a remote-first company 26:13 -- Time Anxiety. What is it and how do we best counteract it? 31:22 -- Top recommended articles on Ness Labs 32:12 -- Key learnings from starting an online learning community 34:19 -- Ness Lab’s newest product 35:37 -- Anne-Laure Le Cunff’s favorite book 35:55 -- Anne-Laure's best personal investment 37:08 -- Anne-Laure’s advice to her younger self 38:17 -- What courage means to Anne-Laure Please follow me on Instagram, Twitter, and my Website, where I post new episodes, share interesting articles I found, and blog occasionally about cool startups! If you're enjoying the podcast, the best way to support the show is by leaving a review on Apple Podcast or in your favorite podcast app.

E17

Jul 27, 2020

40:15

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