Carsten Maschmeyer: What makes a good founder

Carsten Maschmeyer: What makes a good founder

In an interview, Carsten Maschmeyer explains the recipe of a founder and provides first insights into the new “Die Höhle der Löwe” season.

Before Carsten Maschmeyer (62) can be seen again on VOX in “Der Höhle der Löwen” from April 4th, the entrepreneur is publishing his start-up youth book “Die Start-up Gang” this Monday. Together with the Google manager and author Axel Täubert, he sends four young heroes on an adventure into the middle of the start-up world.

In an interview with the news agency spot on news, Maschmeyer explains why it is so important to convey the idea of ​​​​founding to children and what fans can expect in the new “DHDL” season. The 62-year-old also talks about his commitment to the refugees from Ukraine and makes a clear demand on the economy: “No entrepreneur can remain neutral here. I would like companies to take a clear position. Wherever possible, they should now completely stop doing business with Russian partners.”

A new season of “The Lion’s Den” is coming up. Can you give us a few details about the new episodes in advance?

Carsten Maschmeyer: We will see a particularly large number of exciting founders this season. The innovations are even more impressive, and they are also more sustainable than before. There will also be some surprises with the pride of lions: how they act and negotiate, how they interact with each other, cooperate or compete. And: The spectators will be amazed at which pitches still lead to a deal – and which deals that were believed to be safe unexpectedly do not come about. Excitement is definitely guaranteed!

This season, Sarna Röser is a guest investor. What does she bring with her as a lioness and what do you appreciate most about her?

Maschmeyer: Sarna is a good role model for many young people and she has everything a lioness needs on this show: investor experience, a positive attitude and entrepreneurial expertise. She knows exactly what she wants – I really appreciate that. She is the successor of a third-generation family business and has actively experienced entrepreneurship from an early age. Perfect to strengthen us as a lioness for once.

Would you like more lionesses on the show?

Maschmeyer: In “The Lion’s Den” we currently have a 40 percent share of women. We almost never see that in the management floors of our economy – unfortunately! I really appreciate Judith and Dagmar, both are successful startup supporters and experienced entrepreneurs. The show wouldn’t work without a good mix of women and men. My dream would be 50-50, but that will be difficult in the short term because there are currently only 20 percent female investors and 14 percent female founders. There has to be more, because that is the basis for everything else.

Start-ups from all over the world will present their products this time. Why is it beneficial for The Lion’s Den to become more international?

Maschmeyer: More variety means more input and that leads to better output. This is another reason why I am a fan of diverse and complementary teams. Complementary stands for a group of people who have different strengths and characters and then bring them to a common goal – that can only be good. That’s why my new start-up book for children “Die Start-up-Gang” is about exactly this topic.

Prominent founders such as Michael Ballack also present their ideas. Do well-known personalities have it easier as founders?

Maschmeyer: We definitely didn’t make it any easier for him than for other founders. In addition, I always first assess the entrepreneurial competence and whether I trust the person to make a start-up big. It doesn’t matter whether the person pitching in front of us is known or not. And just because he was an internationally very successful footballer doesn’t necessarily mean he got a deal from us – let us surprise you! But of course my football heart beat faster when the former “Capitano” entered the lion’s den.

You have collaborated on a new children’s book about founding a company. Why is it important to convey the idea of ​​start-ups to children?

Maschmeyer: 63 percent of parents of school-age children would advise their own child against founding a start-up, and 34 percent are absolutely against it. This was the result of a study by the digital association Bitkom. A disaster! These values ​​show that reasons are still taught in the wrong way: it is not part of any school subject, and children at an early age are not encouraged to be entrepreneurs and independent through their social environment. But it’s the young people who shape our future – with their innovations and visions. And that’s why we need more founders who make the world more digital, safer and hopefully a little bit better. And for that, the basic attitude towards this topic has to change in our childhood. That’s why Axel Täubert and I wrote “The Start-up Gang”.

What aspects of founding did you want to address in “The Start Up Gang”?

Maschmeyer: Every child is individual, every child has a personal range of services – and that’s a good thing. It’s the different characteristics and beings that make a team complete. Diversity is a strength and not a weakness as many think. If three people have studied the same thing, have the same background and then have the same interests, that’s two too many – and at the same time two too few. Diversity creates something new and exciting, and that’s why it’s so important for start-ups. Ability to work in a team, creativity, courage and perseverance: This is the formula of a founder. The book “The Start-up Gang” conveys this in a playful way.

Would you have liked a book like this for your children?

Maschmeyer: I was able to pass on my experience as an entrepreneur to my children from an early age – and they also experienced the happiness of success and the frustration of setbacks very closely. Of course I would have been happy if there had been a book to accompany it. But back then, the term “start-up” was almost completely unknown here in Germany. With our book, we want to make it accessible to every child how much joy self-employment and entrepreneurship can bring.

The pandemic and the Ukraine war are currently dominating the economy. What is your advice to founders of new start-ups in the current difficult situation?

Maschmeyer: Be aware of your cooperation with cooperation partners: A trusting and reliable partnership is currently more important than ever. That’s why we at the Maschmeyer Group have also decided not to include any Russian investors in our start-up funds. In addition, we will not invest in any Russian start-up or support one with Russian investors. We have to draw a clear line here.

Some corporations have blocked their services from the Russian market. What else would you like from companies, how should they take action?

Maschmeyer: No entrepreneur can remain neutral here. I would like companies to take a clear position: Wherever possible, they should now completely end business with Russian partners, show a clear edge and donate something to the refugees from Ukraine or help in some other way.

You yourself have rented a hotel in Hoyerswerda on the Polish border for people fleeing. What is the current situation there?

Maschmeyer: It was particularly important to me to provide support. Millions of people are currently fleeing. A glimmer of hope is people’s willingness to help. My wife Veronica and I didn’t want to stand by and watch this suffering, but wanted to help. By renting the hotel we want to try to alleviate the suffering of some people. And so make a contribution to help on our personal level, knowing that many people are currently doing incredible things to support the many refugees – every day. We are very happy that it worked out so great and uncomplicated. The hotel has already been able to accommodate many refugee families.

Do you have any other aid projects planned?

Maschmeyer: Yes, in the last few weeks I have made some monetary donations to social organizations to help refugees. In addition, my co-author Axel and I have decided to donate the entire author’s salary of the book “The Start-up Gang” to the UN Refugee Aid to help Ukrainian families and their children. The reading young people and the needy refugees are happy with every book purchase.

Source: Stern

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