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Our CEO Hans Elstner in the founder PODCAST

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The podcast "Start-up Whispers" with Hanna and Lena accompanied this year's Investor Days Thuringia and interviewed our CEO Hans Elstner about ingenuity in pitching and general corporate success. This is a summary of all the important content of the interview.

Courage for originality in pitching


Standing in front of a crowd of people and getting them excited about your product within a few minutes is not easy. Especially not if you are not allowed to use a presentation medium on stage. Now creativity and imagination are required. Exactly two years ago, at the pitch for Investor Days Thuringia, our CEO Hans Elstner and CTO Hendrik Lober took on precisely this challenge. It was their turn as the last pitch of the day and the audience was accordingly exhausted from the previous input. A curse and a blessing at the same time. Hendrik and Hans seized the chance: "Now let's step on the gas and wake up the audience again, that was the motto! How do you do that? Well, with lots of enthusiasm, a pinch of humour and maximum originality. Hendrik unpacked a paper folding lamp, pulled it apart and demonstrated that the world is really three-dimensional. A perfect introduction to inspire the audience with our 3Dplatform, which allows products to be viewed online from all sides. The combination of Hans' unerring speech and Hendrik's perfectly coordinated gestures was an unforgettable experience for all viewers. This was proven by the double award of our pitch afterwards. Overjoyed, we took home the jury and audience award and also gained numerous contacts, investors and customers, whom we still look after today.

Networking with the competition


As a rule, you tend to keep your distance from the competition, consciously want to set yourself apart from it and hope that your own idea is not stolen or even surpassed. However, it is worthwhile dealing with supposed competitors. We used the time of the pandemic to meet with companies in the 3D industry in the Thuringia area to find suitable interfaces and to support each other. In the process, we encountered an incredible willingness to do so and expanded our network with valuable collaborations.

Stay open for criticism


Of course, the exchange with the competition can also lead to a lot of criticism. Startups often tend to defend themselves and their ideas without seeing any chance of added value. It makes much more sense to listen carefully to the criticism and think about whether and to what extent it is justified. But not only the products have to be constantly questioned, but also the own approach. In 2012 we had to put up with a lot of suggestions for improvement. From this we learned that questioning oneself always holds potential for transformation and maximizing success. That is why we are startups!

Our conclusion: Have the courage to get in touch with the competition and always remain open for criticism and transformation!



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