#29 Christian Meermann - Founding Partner at Cherry Ventures on Backing Europe’s Next Generation of Companies

#29 Christian Meermann - Founding Partner at Cherry Ventures on Backing Europe’s Next Generation of Companies

What does it take to identify exceptional founders before the numbers exist, and win the right to back them in an increasingly competitive venture market? In Episode 29, we sit down with Christian Meermann, Founding Partner at Cherry Ventures . Christian shares how scaling Zalando across Europe shaped his view on growth, brand, distribution, and company building. We discuss how Cherry evaluates more than 10,000 startups each year, why team remains one of the most important investment criterion, and what separates genuine resilience from a strong-looking CV. We also explore Cherry’s operator-led approach and how the fund supports founders with hiring, communications, fundraising, and execution. The conversation covers Europe’s AI opportunity, sovereign infrastructure, hypergrowth valuations, technical founders, and why business graduates need deeper technical understanding in an AI-native world. Many thanks to Christian for such an insightful conversation!!

#28 Dennis May - Chief of Staff at Peec AI on Building at Hypergrowth Speed

What does it take to outpace a wave of well-funded competitors and build one of the fastest-growing AI startups? In Episode 28, we sit down with Dennis May, former Associate at Lakestar and now Chief of Staff at Peec AI, one of Germany’s fastest-growing AI startups. Dennis shares why he left venture capital to join the operator side, what convinced him to bet on Peec, and what the Chief of Staff role looks like inside a company scaling at exceptional speed. We discuss Peec’s journey from zero to €10 million ARR, its expansion into New York, and how the company is helping brands understand and improve their visibility across AI search engines. We also explore the shift from traditional SEO to Generative Engine Optimization, the defensibility of AI application-layer companies, AI-native workflows, hiring at hypergrowth startups, and the reality behind Peec’s high-intensity culture. Dennis also reflects on what he learned moving from investor to operator and shares his advice for founders trying to build something truly ambitious. Many thanks to Dennis for joining us.

#27 Maximilian Meyer - CMO of Scalable Capital on Building Europe’s Next Investment Culture

Why do nearly half of European household assets still sit in cash while retail investors in the US continue compounding wealth through the markets? This week we sat down with Maximilian Meyer, Chief Marketing Officer of Scalable Capital, one of Europe’s leading investment platforms with more than one million clients and over €50 billion in assets. Before joining Scalable, Max founded his own startup in his early twenties and later worked at Fidelity International, giving him a perspective that combines entrepreneurship, institutional finance, and modern fintech growth. In this conversation, we explore how Scalable is trying to change investing behavior across Europe - not just through products, but through branding, education, and cultural relevance. We talk about: * Why Europe still struggles with a deeply rooted cash-saving culture * Building trust in financial services and making investing accessible * The psychology behind retail investing and first-time investors * Scalable’s bold billboard campaigns and the strategy behind controversy * Why out-of-home advertising still matters in a digital world * The role of YouTube, finfluencers, and financial education * Expanding a fintech brand across different European markets * AI, personalization, and the future of financial communication Many thanks to Max for the insightful conversation.

#26 David Stålmarck - Co-Founder & CTO of Atech on Building the “Lovable for Hardware”

Why is hardware still dramatically harder to build than software? This week we sat down with David Stålmarck, Co-Founder & CTO of Atech, one of the most exciting early-stage hardware startups coming out of Scandinavia right now. Backed by Lovable, Nordic Makers, Emblem, and scout-linked capital connected to Sequoia and Andreessen Horowitz, Atech is tackling a problem that has existed for decades: while software has gone through massive abstraction waves, hardware development is still constrained by complexity, tooling, and long iteration cycles. In this conversation, we explore whether hardware could go through a similar transformation to software, and what happens if building physical products suddenly becomes dramatically more accessible. We talk about: * Why hardware never experienced the same abstraction wave as software * The biggest bottlenecks in modern hardware development * Why "Hackathon Maxxing" and Building in Public is Key * Building a software-like UX for physical products * The role of AI in hardware development * Physical AI, robotics, and the next computing wave * Working with Lovable and lessons from modern developer tools * The realities of building a deep-tech startup in Europe Many thanks to David for the highly technical and thoughtful conversation. Now available on all major platforms.

#25 Niels Martin Brøchner - Founder of Paradox on Organizational Intelligence, Context Fragmentation & the Future of Enterprise Software

Why are organizations still structured around management principles that are thousands of years old? This week we sat down with Niels Martin Brøchner, Founder of Paradox, a Danish startup building what might become one of the most ambitious infrastructure layers in enterprise software. Backed by SpeedInvest and already working with leading Danish companies, Paradox is tackling a problem most organizations feel every day but rarely describe clearly: context fragmentation -> the idea that meaning, priorities, and understanding drift as information moves through layers of an organization. Instead of building another productivity tool, Paradox is trying to fundamentally rethink how companies align, communicate, and make decisions. In this conversation, we explore what happens when organizations move beyond static workflows and toward continuously connected organizational intelligence. We talk about: * Why most companies still operate on outdated organizational structures * The hidden cost of context fragmentation inside large organizations * What Paradox and Apppa actually do in practice * The idea behind the “Organizational World Model” * Why enterprise alignment is becoming one of the biggest software opportunities * The overlap between AI, knowledge systems, and leadership * Trust, security, and handling highly sensitive organizational data * How AI could fundamentally reshape leadership and decision-making * Building deep-tech enterprise software in Europe * Advice for students and young founders entering tech Many thanks to Niels for the thoughtful and highly ambitious conversation. Now available on all major platforms.