Welcome back to episode 57 with serial entrepreneur Daniel Hanemann!

The WHU Alumnus Daniel is a successful entrepreneur, as seen in his current role as founder/CEO of Wundertax. You’ll, however, also find him as an investor, comedian, and polyglot.

Listen and learn more about Daniel’s founder journey, what it’s like to be an international entrepreneur founding in diverse countries, how to leave startups, what WHU Alumni get wrong while founding, and further tips and tricks in founding your own startup.

We hope you enjoy the episode! Feel free to leave your thoughts and future ideas in the comments!

Chapters:

(1:10) Intro by Gerrit

(1:55) Welcoming Daniel

(2:33) Talking about Daniels WHU experience

(3:38) Daniel speaks of growing up internationally

(10:00) Diversity in the workplace

(13:30) What was it like for Daniel arriving at the WHU as a diverse student

(15:15) How did you get into the startup world?

(19:52) What helped you get a foot in the successful startup world?

(21:54) Did speaking multiple languages help you in your experiences?

(25:00) Cultural differences & challenges and their effects

(27:26) Why do you hire people?

(29:24) How to be a good founder as a facilitator?

(29:55) What do WHU Alumni get wrong?

(31:15) The main objective of Daniel’s founding story

(33:16) What triggers the hockey stick (scaling exponential growth) to flatten out?

(36:00) Daniel’s next step: moving to Berlin

(42:45) What is the no. 1 reason for startups to fail?

(43:44) What is it like separating from the startup you successfully built?

(52:50) How did you learn the skills for performance marketing?

(54:02) New start in Amsterdam – creating a marketplace

(57:00) Becoming the refounder of Wundertax

(1:00:00) How to depart your startup to enable a later return?

(1:03:40) How can luck work in startups?

(1:04:00) What is currently going on in your life?

(1:08:41) Do expectations towards your own startup change while being backed by a VC?

(1:10:50) Right now is a time to be fiscally responsible

(1:15:00) Should you chase the competition or become a possible merger object?

(1:19:30) What advice would you give your younger self?

(1:23:31) What book is on your bedside table?

(1:25:00) What podcasts do you listen to?