20260417_123536

0:00

What was your career path before creating Sideworks? It was a weird path, so it wasn't straightforward. After my A-levels, I studied Musical Science for one semester. It was really, really bad, so I started to...

0:27

S… Speaker 1 (20260417_123536)

Study political science. I had my diploma in political science. Then I worked in the music business for four years. Almost five. I was working for Universal Music in Milan for three years. I was working for Universal Music in London. And then I was working... It's too long? No, no, no. And after that I got screwed in the music business.

0:56

S… Speaker 2 (20260417_123536)

So after I got screwed, I said I don't want to work in this evil business anymore. And I started to work in the marketing business, particularly while the web for five years. And together with my colleague Michael von Richthofen, who I met there and I worked together with for several projects, we founded Sideworks in 2005. That's how old I am. Okay. What inspired you to work in communications?

1:49

S… Speaker 3 (20260417_123536)

What inspired you to work in the communication business? Actually, after I finished my university career, I was keen on working in the music business but I always had the impression that I could also be successful with communication, journalism, publicism, marketing.

2:23

S… Speaker 1 (20260417_123536)

i i always had this in my mind i i like to i think i personally like to do something that you know like goes out there and reaches people somehow i think that's the main thing it's i think it's also the one of the things that i like about in the music business or writing songs is that i know people will hear it it doesn't matter whether it's like 20 million and i'll be a pop star or it's like

2:51

S… Speaker 1 (20260417_123536)

with my spotify account i have like 30 000 streams each year which is not much comparably but there are people who listen to the songs so it's pretty much similar to that and i also like the psychological part marketing i never studied it so then it even well known that i wrote articles in magazines it's mainly things that really here and maybe do something with it okay what does

3:46

S… Speaker 2 (20260417_123536)

typical day look like for you? For me? Breakfast? I usually check my mails just after I'm getting up getting out of bed because I know when I come here and enter the agency I won't have much time to care about mails that so many things are waiting for me and people about this and what should we do here

4:18

S… Speaker 1 (20260417_123536)

So I check my mails before I come here. And when I come here, I try to, you know, care for the things first that are most important. And then I just, you know, everything. Actually, most of the projects taken care, taken care for. Usually I'm running around.

5:00

S… Speaker 1 (20260417_123536)

That's again what I like about this as well. My colleagues, I'm talking to them a lot, you know, like exchanging ideas and stuff. It's not very particular, like a business day with me, but that's how it is actually. And usually I have like two, in average, like two client meetings as well. Either video calls or I just go there and talk to them. Okay. So what are your main daily responsibilities?

5:33

S… Speaker 1 (20260417_123536)

Almost everything. Okay. I mean, it's not true. I have fantastic colleagues who take care of projects without even talking to me. So they do a lot that I don't have to take care of. That's for sure. I mean, they're like, you know, like Philip, for instance, that you got to know because he was in your office. He's doing so many things on a creative level and sent it to the clients and he never asked me for it.

6:03

S… Speaker 1 (20260417_123536)

because he's so good that I don't care actually it's always good but in general I have to take care for the big projects and for human resources and for business decisions for investments for that's repetition actually every day but it's and of course one of my main responsible responsibilities as a CEO actually is acquisition so I am mostly responsible for

6:36

S… Speaker 1 (20260417_123536)

finding new clients, developing new ideas that other clients, potential new clients would like to pursue. So maybe networking and acquisition is one of my main. It's a bit repetitive, but what do you find most challenging about your role? Changes in the business actually. And I'm not, you know, I'm not as young as you, so...

7:18

S… Speaker 1 (20260417_123536)

I have maybe a bit of lack of dynamics. People in your age or in 25, 30, 35, I remember that have more dynamic approach to things in life. So I'm satisfied with things as they just happen. But in times like these with AI and with new technologies and everything, yes, and with clients that don't give you the money anymore for the usual projects. So that's the main challenge to,

7:51

S… Speaker 1 (20260417_123536)

Always redevelop your business and never be satisfied, not because of economic reasons, but because from now if we stay like we are at the moment, even if you didn't understand much of the German we spoke, you probably understood there was a bit of tension because otherwise in one year from now, as successful as we have been for 20 years, we probably won't exist anymore. We really have to reposition our business and that's the biggest challenge. What do you enjoy the most about your work?

8:36

S… Speaker 1 (20260417_123536)

like every day or actually just two fields one is as i said before i would never be the right person to sit in an office and do my thing like you know software developers yeah as much as i admire what they're doing and i don't even understand what they're doing they're writing code and afterwards you see a game or an app and i said but they usually sit there like jan is done there in the office he doesn't even has a you know like something on his table he's just sitting there working on the code

9:21

S… Speaker 1 (20260417_123536)

do this in his basement as well I have to come so I need to be I really love that that's that's the one thing and the other thing is that I found a business that I still can pursue my music music okay do you have

10:00

S… Speaker 2 (20260417_123536)

project or a defining moment from your career here defining moment well that's that's really hard to say because i suppose in 20 years now we had like thousands of projects really i mean it's so much i mean

10:25

S… Speaker 1 (20260417_123536)

of course there have been bigger projects that you know go on like for a couple of years but then they have so many little projects like you know developing a brochure or a social media post so um i think that defining the defining moment of my entrepreneurship of this small company that i founded with michael van richthoven

10:51

S… Speaker 1 (20260417_123536)

in 2005 was that after one year that was okay here, it was okay from the start. We managed to work for the Commerzbank which is the second largest bank of Germany and somehow we convinced them that we would be a good agency for them, not for the whole bank but for the part.

11:20

S… Speaker 1 (20260417_123536)

which is crazy thinking back really crazy we have been two people with one employee so we have been three people and um and then you know from 2006 to 2012 we were working for the huge bank i mean that was maybe defining moment because from then on i knew we could really make it yeah okay and uh

11:48

S… Speaker 2 (20260417_123536)

What advice would you give to someone who wants to pursue the same career as you? To? To pursue the same career as you. Business career as a founder and developer of your own company. Oh, that's very difficult. I'm not...

12:13

S… Speaker 1 (20260417_123536)

somebody who usually is i know these people run around and say because i did it successfully i'll tell you how to do it you have you can have so many different approaches i think the main thing is and i actually never thought that i would be somebody i just did it because the company i work for like i'd say what we go somewhere else and she said i said really so my advice would be if you decide to do it be aware that it's a complete different way of working than going to

12:58

S… Speaker 1 (20260417_123536)

I think people tend to think they are important because they see themselves or see themselves as out there. It's like a songwriter or like a sport, somebody who tries to be a professional sports person. Like you really have to be aware that you're on your own completely. When you go as an employee to work for a company, people care for you. You might not like some of them. You might complain that they do.

13:42

S… Speaker 1 (20260417_123536)

wrong way but you have a human resources department a boss and colleagues and people have to care take care of you so that's completely different that's maybe the the most trying to do this from the beginning knows i'll be on my own dramatic but it's okay and do you regret anything that you could have done maybe here to like many many times many things oh my god okay

14:23

S… Speaker 1 (20260417_123536)

I took, I was, you know, I did so many things that were wrong or work out. I presented stuff in front of clients, potential clients, and afterwards I thought, amazingly, would you say this? I wasn't a good boss for the first 10. Understand the difference of being self-reliant and responsible depending on you.

15:00

S… Speaker 1 (20260417_123536)

walking around and blaming them for things that they did wrong, which was true, but it wasn't there for it. They had to learn it. So I needed to develop, to become calmer and more understandable, to address criticism but not be angry, which I fortunately turned out that I could do that. So I think now my employees, most of my employees, do actually appreciate how I lead the company, but before I...

15:29

S… Speaker 1 (20260417_123536)

remember so many moments where i did really crazy things and if you asked employees that were working here like 2013 or something they and they asked me about me they would probably say yes you know that's good and that's good but he's i mean he should learn how to i don't know do whatever so that's the second advice i would give to somebody starting this be aware of your self-responsibility and

16:00

S… Speaker 1 (20260417_123536)

you have to be able to develop your personality in every respect. If you think you're like this and you stay like this, you will fail. So if you don't realize that when you did something wrong, that you have to reflect on it and then change your behavior, not immediately, it's not possible, but that's the main thing. And that's the great thing because it helps you also in your personal life. That's really fantastic.

16:28

S… Speaker 2 (20260417_123536)

But I fail so often with this career. I mean, I couldn't give you one example. I could give you... And now I have to leave. No, just kidding. Okay. Great. I'm sorry if my answers were a bit too long.

20260417_123536

Summary

Ask AI About This Transcript