Imagine this: You're lining up for an event and have a casual conversation with the guy next to you...when you notice that his necklace is recording and transcribing every word into an app. How would you feel?___This is what I experienced a couple of weeks back in San Francisco, when lining up for a Replit event. Zach Eisenhauer was the person next to me. I've rarely felt this mix of excitement, fear, and awe, as it feels like this is behavior-shifting tech+hardware combination will inevitably make its way into our lives in one form or another.This is Non-Linear with Zach Eisenhauer, Founder of Compass Wearables.Show notes:(01:22 - 04:57): Meeting Zach in SF(04:57 - 12:55): Zach's journey until building Compass (12:55 - 19:18): Growth Engineering at NGL(19:18 - 24:00): Building consumer social apps(24:00 - 30:00): Founding Compass(30:00 - 35:00): Use Cases and Target Users for Compass(35:00 - 39:00): Compass in 3-5 Years(39:00 - 42:20): AI Hardware Products(42:20 - 47:10): Launching a hardware Product(47:10 - 50:57): Fundraising and Team Expansion(50:57 - End): Conclusion and Final Thoughts___Twitter Zach: https://x.com/hackwithzachLinkedin Zach: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zacheisenhauer/Twitter Chris: https://x.com/iamchrischi3Linkedin Chris: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-abt-44b038b7/

How to grow a six-figure-business while working in Strategy Consulting?_Going from a 70-hour week to a self-imposed 100-hour week in order to bootstrap an online business on the side. Axel Grubba began this journey at the end of his Masters, continuing it while working at L.E.K Consulting (Warsaw/Munich/London), and beyond.How did he do it? What was his first venture, his second and what is he doing now?In this episode Axel leads us through his past years in which he
- built his first six-figure business
- created his second venture with >150,000 monthly visitors
- learned to code
- has been looking for bootstrapper colleagues 
- and how he boosts his lifestyle___Show notes:(0:00 - 14:00): Axel’s Background(14:00 - 17:20): Taking his first steps(17:20 - 24:50): Building an affiliate platform(24:50 - 27:10): Strategy consulting + Building(27:10 - 33:00): Managing himself & Product Building(33:00 - 39:20): The role of community for him(39:20 - 40:20 ): Learning to code(40:20 - 44:40): Niche Picking(44:40 - 46:20): Accelerating Personal Develoopment(46:20 - end): Hacks, GPTs, Axel’s Question___Linkedin Axel: https://www.linkedin.com/in/axelgrubba/Linkedin Chris: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-abt-44b038b7/

How to get to +1m Youtube Subscribers?___If you ask the new generation what they want to be doing once they're grown up, you will likely hear "Influencer" more than anything else. Producing content for a living is the golden goose for many out there. At the same time, it seems unattainable.One who made a living with Youtube is Kojo Boison. In his early 20s, in 2017, he had already amassed 1 millions subscribers on his Youtube Channel. How did he do it?This is what Kojo tells us in this episode:- how to figure out what to focus on and when to leave- how to decipher the youtube algorithm- how to become resilient ...and more___Show Notes:0:00 - 3:20: Intro3:20 - 7:20: Bitcoin & educating himself7:20 - 13:20: Quitting a successful venture13:20 - 22:00: Youtube vs. TikTok vs. Instagram22:00 - 43:00: Beating the Youtube algorithm43:00 - 54:00: Picking a battle54:00 - 1:05:00: How to solopreneur1:05:00 - end: End

How to thrive in Uncertainty?___What sounds like just another whacky course at business school to gather some credits towards your MBA probably is one of the most important skills in today's work landscape which is shook up by technology, viruses or wars in monthly intervals.But how do you actually learn such a skill? This is what Michela Andreolli tells us in this episodes. She leads us through her past years in which she - quit her well-paying job at Google without knowing what to do next- visited all Ivy's in the US speaking to profs and VCs- built out her own community of students- built followings on Linkedin and TikTok, - and most importantly, in which she learned to master navigating uncertain situations.___Show notes:(0:00 - 2:00): Intro(2:00 - 8:00): Michela’s Story(8:00 - 19:50): Leaving Google(19:50 - 33:30): Traveling to the US(33:30 - 43:15): Thriving in Uncertainty(43:15 - 52:00): Creating Content(52:00 - End): Business___Linkedin Michela: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelaandreolli/Linkedin Chris: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-abt-44b038b7/

How to move from investing into startups in Europe to becoming growth lead at Babbel Live in NYC?Krishan Allen is the Growth Lead of Babbel Live in NYC and a great example to what fluid and iterative career design looks like after a couple of years.Starting out in the heart of the startup ecosystem, San Francisco, he decided to move to Rotterdam for his Master’s to delve deeper into Behavioral Economics. This in turn brought him to work for Speedinvest and co-open their Berlin residence.What followed were happy years as an early-stage investor and Chief of Staff for a consumer social company. Now Krish moved back and makes Babbel Live's growth marketing work.___Show Notes:(01:43-05:33): Background of our friendship(05:33-11:44): High-level View on Jobs(11:44-23:26): Krish’s Background(23:26-27:34): Interest based Career Design(27:34-30:10): From Venture Capital to Operations(30:10-43:06): Growth Marketing and Scaleup Work(43:06-47:08): Closing Remarks___Krish Allen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/krishan-allen/Christian Abt: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-abt-44b038b7/

How to become a purely remote operating Marketeer / while playing 2nd Bundesliga in Padel tennis?Julian Wagner is the CEO of Skillsfaster, a purely remote operating, bootstrapped edtech startup based in London, providing expert online courses on niches such as fitness to makeup, and photography.Having done his high school degrees already remotely, Julian is a true frontrunner of digital nomading, has officially been operating outside of Germany since more than 5 years, and thus, is an expert on working on one’s own.The depth of his experience and knowledge in and around online business is stunning and he shares an abundance of tipps and tricks around productivity, making one’s first steps in becoming entrepreneurial, and more.___Show Notes:(0:00 - 2:10): Intro(2:10 - 7:30): Julian’s Background & Characteristics(7:30 - 9:10): First Entrepreneurial Steps(9:10 - 12:50): Getting into Poker(12:50 - 20:00): Successful People Mindset(20:00 - 27:45): Online Education & Online Business(27:45 - 31:30): Understanding How Systems Work(31:30 - 32:30): How to market(32:30 - 40:20): Work Ethics(40:20 - 45:30): Effectiveness(45:30 - 48:00): Social Aspect of Solopreneurship(48:00 - 50:00): Personal Vision Creation(50:00 - 53:30): VC vs Bootstrap(53:30 - End): Rapid Fire___Jirove's episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkNUPOM7fL8Linkedin Julian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julianmwagner/Linkedin Christian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-abt-44b038b7/

For the next 10 episodes we will exclusively focus on Bootstrappers, Marketeers & Community Builders.Happy Listening!

How to become a self-taught multipreneur?Thomas Kohler is not only a super quick learner and fun guy to hang around, but also the embodiement of output focus and execution.Without studying he started working for a startup in Vienna and was able to rapidly build up responsibity. This he then used as leverage to start a side-hustle in recruiting which soon turned out to work quite well.Today, Thomas leads two businesses, PPLwise + Remove.tech, hosts plenty of dinners, and shares with us how he regulates himself, a handful of actionable tips for approaching work, and more.Show notes: 0:00 - 5:30: Personal Story5:30 - 11:40 : First Job without a Degree11:40 - 17:40 : First Business (Youtube) and Way of Working17:40 - 23:10: Way of Working23:40 - 32:40: Remove.tech32:40 - 34:00: Leading two businesses34:00 - End: Personal Operating SystemLinkedin Thomas: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-kohler-pplwise/Linkedin Christian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-abt-44b038b7/ 

How to build a Coaching Business?___Jonas Stegh and David Döbele are the founders of Pumpkincareers, a coaching program for highly ambitious young professionals, aiming to break into top tier consulting or banking.Their journey is amazing and full of anecdotes, some funny such as David’s unintended TikTok virality and some educational such as Jonas’ explanation on how they gamify their members’ intangible achievements during their time at uni.The two of them are highly sympathetic and very compelling to listen to.___Show Notes:Starting Pumpkin: 0:00 - 05:35Career Tipps: 05:35 - 08:50Community Successes: 08:50 - 11:05Moritz Baier Lentz: 11:05 - 14:40Pumpkin Application: 14:14 - 16:35Gamifying Decision Taking: 16:35 - 19:10Person Career Fit: 19:10 - 23:30Mindset & Routines: 23:30 - 28:50Building Pumpkin: 28:50 - 32:20TikTok Viral: 32:20 - 38:50Community Business: 38:50 - 45:12Own Career: 45:12 - End___PumpkinCareers: https://pumpkincareers.com/David Döbele: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-doebele/Jonas Stegh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stegh-jonas/Christian (host): https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-abt-44b038b7/Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@iamchrischi3/videos

How to build an agency with a €350k run-rate at age 21 and more importantly, why quit it and move on to do something else. And what is that “something else”?Nick Raziborsky is only 24 years young and just moved from Berlin to San Francisco to, now officially, start his first tech company.His story up until now is immensely inspiring and provides plenty of tangible takeaways for anyone starting up at any age or in any life-stage, such as gamifying boring tasks, always nurturing a passion project, and leaning into bold moves.This is the longest episode so far and I am sure one we will look back at often in a couple of months or even years.Links are in the comments :)Show Notes:Intro: 1:30 -5:12School: 5:12 - 14:40Coding: 14:40 - 18:30Publishing Code: 18:30 - 22:20Freelancing: 22:20 - 27:07First Entrepreneurial Years: 27:07 - 38:00Failing his first venture: 38:00 - 49:30Agency Work: 49:30 - 60:00Entrepreneur First: 1:00:00 - 1:18:00US Exploration: 1:18:00 - 01:28:36Software Ideation: 01:28:36 - 01:40:00Nick’s OS: 01:40:00 - 01:47:00Starting up: 01:47:00 - 01:51:10Future of Work: 01:51:10 - 02:02:35Closing: 02:02:35 - EndNick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-raziborsky/Chris: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-abt-44b038b7/

In this episode I speak with Alexej Habinski, who builds a bootstrapped service offering around his CMO skillset, think CMO-as-a-Service. When Alexej was 22 years young, he started his career in Rocket Internet’s growth manager program, building the acquisition engine for foodora’s consumer- and courier-side (acquired by Delivery Hero).He then went on a roller-coaster ride of a myriad of projects from writing angel tickets, to freelancing, raising a fund, and starting his own company. After a while he then realised that he needs to update his personal Operating System and openly shares his struggles and how overcame them.This conversation was fantastic and I have been listening to it quite a couple of times now. Feels like an iteration on Ben’s conversation.0:00 - 1:20: Intro1:20 - 13:10: Alexej’s career journey & design13:10 - 17:30: Personal OS17:30 - 23:40: Top 3 takeaways23:40 - 31:00: 7 steps of marketing31:00 - 32:30: Fractional CMO32:30 - 36:50: Critical change factors36:50 - End: Rapid fire Alexej___Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexejhabinski/Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-abt-44b038b7/Twitter: https://twitter.com/iamchrischi3

Finn & Emil are the founders of Kapa.ai, recently finished YC in San Francisco, and in this episode lead us through their journey.Considering that they have been formally out of their jobs since January ‘23, their trajectory has been stunning and - at least from the outside in - partially peaked when they were invited to meet Paul Graham. We cover their respective journeys, top learnings from YC, and follow through their most significant career decisions. This is an insane episode.0 - 1:10: Intro1:10 - 3:20: Core YC learnings3:20 - 7:45: Starting out7:45 - 11:45 : Ideation11:45 - : 16:30 Getting into YC16:30 - 30:00 : YC IRL30:00 - 36:00: Meeting Paul Graham36:00 - 41:00: Fundraising41:00 - 52:50: Personal Stories Finn & Emil52:50 - end: Rapid fireLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-abt-44b038b7/

In this episode I speak with David Chevalier, CEO of the tech sales startup Surfe. David and his co-founder Romain bootstrapped the company for 1 year until they hit $1m ARR. In this episode you do not only get to know Surfe and understand how they won big clients, but also get to know David. When speaking to David you enter his bubble, which is a highly creative space characterized by authenticity, warmth, and playfulness.0:00-3:10 Intro3:10 - 4:50: Our personal connection5:50 - 09:30: David’s background in finance09:30 - 12:30: Getting into HEC12:30 - 24:00: Bootstrapping Surfe to €1m ARR24:00 - 30:00: Winning Google and other large clients30:00 - 35:40: Company identity35:40 - 40:00: Surfe’s international company culture and benefits40:50 - 43:20: Collaboration with Romain, co-founder and CTO44:50 - 50:40: David as a character50:40 - end : Rapid fire questionsLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-abt-44b038b7/Twitter: https://twitter.com/iamchrischi3

Janis Strelnieks is a tech sales archetype by the book. He has worked for an array of multi-billion dollar companies in the sales divisions from finance, to crypto, and ads. He shares with us his journey which ranges from learning sales in through literally picking up a hot phone at BlackRock, taking the critical decision for him to move into the Tech world, and let’s us know his top 3 sales learnings.0:00-9:20: Intro9:10-13:46: Learning Sales at BlackRock for the first time13:46-18:12: Janis on retail investing18:12-24:00: Switching to Google24:00-28:00 Accelerating sales learnings at Google28:00 - 23:10 : Google’s sales machine23:10-33:20: Janis Top 3 Sales Learnings33:20-40:40: Switching to Fireblocks40:40-42:45: Future of Crypto42:45 - 46:00 Work at Reddit46:00-48:20 : What if he could start over again48:20-end: Non-linear career pathsLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-abt-44b038b7/

Thomas Klein is the head of people at PowerUs. In this conversation we speak about how he discovered his passion for HR through being hyper engaged in the space, and amongst others launch Germany’s biggest New Work Meetup, prototyping lots, and challenging existing norms in the space. He also touches upon scaling an organization and hiring A-talent.0:00 - 2:30: Intro2:30 - 5:30 : Scaling PowerUs from an HR perspective5:30 - 10:15 : Scaling Culture10:15 - 17:00: VCs and People as a factor17:00 - 26:20: hiring top talent26:30 - 35:20: Thomas’ Career Journey35:20 - 39:10 : Working with young, first time founders39:10 - Outro and future of work

Ben made it in his mid-twenties already to Engagement Manager at McKinsey in LA, worked amongst others for Goldman Sachs, the UN in NYC and GFC in Berlin. and shares with us his playbook on value based career design, how he promoted so rapidly, and how mentoring boosted his journey.0:00 - 3:30: Intro and briefly about his new Startup3:30 - 5:30: Top down and bottom-up career framework5:30 - 10:09: How Ben massively accelerated his career10:09 - 13:09: Understanding his own values13:09 - 17:34: Value exercise17:34 - 24:00: Chris’ understanding of his journey24:00 - 27:10: Leaving McKinsey27:10 - 31:40: Switching from being employed to being an entrepreneur31:40 - 34:10: Ben’s Northstar34:10 - 37:50: How Ben came up with his vision38:00 - 41:15: McKinsey Promotion Framework41:15 - 44:30: Active career design44:30 - 49:50: New Work Landscape49:50 - end: Ben’s Framework today and Ikigai