Should you work at a consultancy before founding? How is communication within international founding teams? And what skills and mindset do you really need to become a successful founder?

Today’s episode features our guest Justus Schmueser! He is a former WHU bachelor student and completed his master of finance at MIT. Here he met his co-founder and today is leading the company Kadmos, which in 2022 was renowned for being one of the fastest-growing startups in Germany. 

Tune in to get answers to those burning questions and find out how Justus has grown through his founder career, and how you can implement those life lessons into your own founding journey.

Chapters:

(0:06) Teaser

(0:58) Introduction by Dries

(2:27) Dires welcomes Justus

(3:10) Justus reflects on his time at MIT and compares it to studying at the WHU

(4:30) Justus describes the advantages of having a diverse student group

(6:30) How Justus experienced his time at McKinsey

(7:51) How did the time at a big consultancy firm help you as a founder?

(9:40) Would you recommend students go into consulting before starting as a founder?

(13:00) Justus analyses the startup world

(16:00) Justus explains what Kadmos does

(18:15) Did you focus on a particular industry at first?

(21:05) What are the most significant challenges you are facing as a growing firm?

(24:36) Opinion on remote/on-site working

(26:30) Do you make sure of this on-site working mindset when you are hiring people?

(29:30) how do you navigate such a highly regulatory environment whilst growing quickly?

(33:00) How do you deal with the tension with lawyers in your company?

(35:00) Is the current banking situation affecting your business?

(38:41) What has been the most challenging for you in the last two years?

(44:00) what is a behavior you changed from the 360-degree feedback you did in the company?

(46:30) Recommendations of books, podcasts and music

(49:00) Thank you for participating Justus

(49:25) Thank you from Dries to listeners