Speaking
My approach to speaking comes from one place: I have been building businesses for 15 years. With my own money, my own risk, my own mistakes (more than I can count). I hopped on planes to build networks from zero on a different continent. I hired people and had to let them go. I had the sleepless nights.
And I still have so much fun doing it, and that's what I talk about.
Formats
Keynote w/ Q&A (45–60 min) · Fireside Chat · Workshop (half-day) · German or English
Talk 01 — Strategy
Topics: Gulf Region · Dubai · AI in Finance · Innovation Mindset
AI, Assets and Ambitions — What Europe Can Learn from Dubai and the Gulf States
2 years ago I hopped on a plane to go to Dubai - without knowing anybody there. I came with lots of curiosity and I left with a network of builders and entrepreneurs. j
For the past months I kept coming back to the UAE. I deepened relationships, met founders, government officials and investors. I invested in an AI startup. And I realized that the region is becoming one of the most important finance and AI hubs in the world. Meanwhile in Europe we still talk regulation.
This talk connects the geopolitical shifts in the region with what I experienced on the ground. And it asks the question every European leader should be sitting with right now: Can we keep up? And if yes, how?
What the audience takes away: A renewed sense of what entrepreneurial thinking actually means, even if you're employed in a larger organisation.
Best for: Leadership offsites, founder events, strategy conferences, anyone who needs to reconnect with what building something real actually requires.
Talk 02 — Org & Governance
Topics: Corporate Venture Building · Regulation · Execution
Regulated. Not Stuck. How building innovations in large corporations can work
Most innovation initiatives in regulated industries die the same death. A strong idea, a dedicated team, months of work, and then nothing moves. Compliance, stakeholder politics, procurement cycles. The organization protects itself and the concept quietly disappears.
This talk is about what happens when you refuse to let that happen.
Based on the real build of LVM Explore, a systematic approach to discovering and building new business models inside one of Germany's established insurers, I break down the blueprint that actually works. The decisions, the mistakes, the moments where it almost didn't happen, and what finally made it move.
What the audience takes away: A concrete framework for identifying, structuring and executing new business models inside regulated organizations — and the mindset required to see it through.
Best for: Innovation leaders, strategy teams, CDOs, corporate venture builders. Financial services, insurance, energy — any industry where complexity is used as an excuse not to build.
Talk 03 — Mindset
Topics: Entrepreneurship · Ambition · Failure · Growth
What building a company actually feels like - and why it matters
Entrepreneurship is talked about everywhere. Practiced by very few.
There's a version of entrepreneurship that looks great on stage — the fundraising, the growth metrics, the exit. This talk is not that version.
This is about what it actually feels like to build something with your own money, your own risk, and your own name on it. Hiring people and having to let them go. Winning clients and losing them. Making decisions where there's no right answer and no one to blame but yourself.
This talk is honest about the cost of building and clear about why it's worth it anyway. It's a call to stop managing and start building.
What the audience takes away: A renewed sense of what entrepreneurial thinking actually means, even if you're employed in a larger organisation.
Best for: Leadership offsites, founder events, strategy conferences, anyone who needs to reconnect with what building something real actually requires.