Happy Sunday!
Welcome back to Founders Feature, a weekly newsletter all about the journeys of young startup founders.
For this week's edition, I interviewed Michael Kowatschew, Co-founder of The Pixel Beat, a venture builder based in Austria.
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Here’s what The Pixel Beat is all about:
🏠 The Basics
The Problem:
There are two problems. The first is that on the SME & Corporate business side many analog business models don't work the same way as they used to. The second problem is that in Austria we don't have enough software developers to support the current wave of digitalisation.
The Solution:
We believe that the pandemic has killed many markets but it also created many new markets and accelerated trends. So on one hand we support old businesses that are rather analog to get into the digital world, by taking over the software development, and with those revenues, we invest into early-stage companies and we get a share in their company and develop all of their software with our software development expertise.
The Team:
We are three co-founders. My background is in Karate. I was in the Austrian national team for Karate for 5 years, and this is where I really learned the 'no bullshit' attitude. I studied business, but I really learned more next to my studies. One of my other two co-founders is an organisational developer and founded his own political party, and the other co-founder is an Iranian-Austrian Tech Entrepreneur, and really is our tech guy.
🚀 The Journey
How did you come up with your startup/solution?
Before The Pixel Beat, I founded Novid20 and created Europe's first automated contact tracing app that we eventually sold to the Georgian government. This happened at the beginning of the pandemic, and we eventually also moved into covid testing for companies, and one of those companies was founded by my now co-founder, and that is how we met.
One of my two co-founders has been in Politics for many years, and I have admired him for a while now. I reached out to him and we had a great conversation. I told him I'd love to work with him and learn from him, and a month later he texted me and told me about this business they are starting, which is now The Pixel Beat. Both of my co-founders are double my age, and so it was quite a big surprise and challenge for me when after about a month they asked me to be the third co-founder.
What is a recent success you are proud of?
We recently invested in our first startup, where we receive a share and help them with their software development, and this is a great milestone for us as a new company. It's also the first investment in my life, so it's a double first for me and something I'm really proud of.
What is a recent challenge you have faced?
I was previously in the startup scene and very used to working with people my age or a few years older. Now, I'm 22 and working with people who are on average 40 to 60 years old, and coming into this group and establishing the respect you need as the younger person was definitely quite a challenge. This is something I certainly had to learn.
Given that I didn't have much background in software, but much more on the business and management side of things, I had to learn a lot about the technical aspects of the business, and this was also a challenge to work through at the start.
What do you wish you knew before you started and is there anything you would have done differently in hindsight?
This one more applies to Novid20, but it was a great lesson to learn: It's extremely hard to build a great culture when you grow too fast. You need to find the right balance between growing and bringing in the right culture to the company you're growing. Because if you don't, the moment you stop growing, and that moment will come, that's when it becomes very problematic, especially in the depth of management. In hindsight, I would have definitely gone more in depth in getting to know the people I'm hiring. I've really learned that CVs aren't as important as what other people say about those CVs and the people.
🧠 The Lessons
What is the best advice you have been given recently?
When hiring people, stress them a little. Try to find out how people will react in a stressful situation. Especially in startups, there are lots of stressful situations, and you want a person who can communicate clearly even in stress. You can try to find this out by just asking the people how they have dealt with a stressful situation in the past, what they learned from it, and how they reflected on that. Ideally, you'd also double check this with a reference, such as their previous employer.
What advice would you give to other young founders?
First, just start. And once you've started, you have to find a process you enjoy. I like to think of startups as bamboos. A bamboo grows for years under the ground, without anyone being able to see it, and then within 10 weeks or so it grows to 10 meters tall. So in a startup, you have to grow under the ground, and this period is extremely hard and not particularly rewarding. But if you find a process you enjoy, you will stick with it, and you'll be able to see the startup grow and shoot up like bamboo.
What is the biggest lesson you have learned so far?
One of the biggest lessons I've learned is a quote from Socrates which is "I know that I know nothing." Too many people who think they are great leaders tell others how things ought to be done. Instead, I think as a great leader you don't have to know everything, but you know who to ask, you know who to trust, and you trust your employees, because they know many things that you don't. It's also important to listen and surround yourself with people you want to listen to.
✨ The Inspiration
Who inspires you?
Richard Branson. He created a lot of impact in his life with the businesses he has created. What I particularly admire is that throughout all his business ventures he still prioritises family and private life. It's really great to see such a successful entrepreneur set these priorities because he can act as a role model to many.
What book do you think everyone should read?
How to win friends and influence people & How to Enjoy your life and your job (combination) - Dale Carnegie
Screw it, Let's do it - Richard Branson
Principles - Ray Dalio