Behind The Click Podcast | E-commerce and Leadership

#65: Jovan Protić, Co-CEO of idealo Internet GmbH, on why trust is the new currency of commerce

Welcome to Behind the Click, powered by the ⁠E-commerce Berlin Expo. [https://buff.ly/3srq0Lr] AI agents are no longer just helping people shop, they're starting to shop for them. And that changes everything for merchants, platforms, and consumers alike. So what does it actually take to stay trusted, relevant, and ahead of the curve in this new era of commerce? In this episode, host Janine Vanessa Heinrich sits down with Jovan Protić, Co-CEO of idealo Internet GmbH, one of Europe's top price comparison platforms and a former AI fellow who spent 9 months immersed in Silicon Valley's AI ecosystem, to explore why trust is becoming the new currency of commerce and how idealo is positioning itself at the center of it. From his early days being "massaged" into a chief digital officer role during the digital transformation era, to proactively betting on AI today, Jovan explains why European companies are still experimenting while Silicon Valley is already scaling, why agentic commerce is far more complex than it sounds, and why trusted intermediaries like idealo may become more necessary, not obsolete in an AI-driven world. They explore what idealo's ChatGPT app integration is really about, how fraudulent shops are making data quality a matter of consumer safety, why brand power will matter more than ever when AI agents are doing the buying, and what it actually means to build a culture where employees proudly say "I used AI to deliver this." 🟠 Interested in being a guest on our podcast? Reach out to us at pr@ecommerceberlin.com Follow for more:  ■ ⁠YouTube⁠ [https://www.youtube.com/@e-commerceberlinexpo]  ■ ⁠LinkedIn⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/e-commerce-berlin-expo/]  ■ ⁠Instagram⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/ecommerce_berlin_expo/]  ■ ⁠Facebook⁠ [https://www.facebook.com/ecommerceberlin]  ■ ⁠Twitter⁠ [https://twitter.com/ecommerceberlin]

#64: Arber Sejdiji, CEO & Co-founder of Zenline AI, on AI-powered category management for retailers

Welcome to Behind the Click, powered by the ⁠E-commerce Berlin Expo. [https://buff.ly/3srq0Lr]Retailers manage millions of products - yet most decisions about what to stock and what to charge are still made with outdated tools and incomplete data. So what does it actually take to fix that?In this episode, host Janine Vanessa Heinrich sits down with Arber Sejdiji, CEO & Co-founder of Zenline AI and Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, who is building the AI-native layer for retail assortments, helping category teams answer the two questions that drive everything: what should I offer, and what will my customers actually pay for it?https://www.linkedin.com/in/janine-vanessa-heinrich/https://www.linkedin.com/in/arbersejdiji/From Excel-based category reviews to fully agentic AI systems, Arber explains why most retailers are still operating with the mindset of two years ago, why European retailers risk falling dangerously behind Amazon, Temu, and Shein, and why waiting for perfect data is the biggest mistake a retailer can make.They explore what it really means to automate a category manager's job, how a single wrong data definition can make an AI agent completely useless, and why the companies that win will be the ones that increase the velocity of their decisions, not just the quality of their tools.🟠 Interested in being a guest on our podcast? Reach out to us at pr@ecommerceberlin.com. Follow for more:  ■ ⁠YouTube⁠ [https://www.youtube.com/@e-commerceberlinexpo]  ■ ⁠LinkedIn⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/e-commerce-berlin-expo/]  ■ ⁠Instagram⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/ecommerce_berlin_expo/]  ■ ⁠Facebook⁠ [https://www.facebook.com/ecommerceberlin]  ■ ⁠Twitter⁠ [https://twitter.com/ecommerceberlin]

#63: Andreas Fischer, CEO of minubo, on building the data foundation every e-commerce brand needs

Welcome to Behind the Click, powered by the ⁠E-commerce Berlin Expo. [https://buff.ly/3srq0Lr] Data is the foundation of every smart business decision in e-commerce. But most companies are sitting on a mountain of it without knowing how to turn it into action or profit. In this episode, host Janine Vanessa Heinrich sits down with Andreas Fischer, CEO of minubo, winner of the Jury Grand Choice Award at the E-commerce Germany Awards, to unpack why most e-commerce brands are still struggling to make data work for them, and what it actually takes to fix that. From data silos and broken BI pipelines to AI-ready data models and semantic layers, Andreas explains why two-thirds of AI projects fail before they even start, and why the problem is almost never the technology. They explore what it really means to be data-driven versus just data-rich, how a single bad data point can cost a retailer thousands, and why building the right data foundation is the most important thing an e-commerce brand can do before touching AI. 🟠 Interested in being a guest on our podcast? Reach out to us at pr@ecommerceberlin.com. Follow for more:  ■ ⁠YouTube⁠ [https://www.youtube.com/@e-commerceberlinexpo]  ■ ⁠LinkedIn⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/e-commerce-berlin-expo/]  ■ ⁠Instagram⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/ecommerce_berlin_expo/]  ■ ⁠Facebook⁠ [https://www.facebook.com/ecommerceberlin]  ■ ⁠Twitter⁠ [https://twitter.com/ecommerceberlin]

#62: Larissa Schmid, Co-Founder & CEO of saint sass, on how small brands take on industry giants

Welcome to Behind the Click, powered by the ⁠E-commerce Berlin Expo. [https://buff.ly/3srq0Lr] What does it really take for a small brand to compete with global industry giants? In this special Behind the Click episode, recorded live at the E-commerce Berlin Expo, host Janine Vanessa Heinrich sits down with Larissa Schmid, Co-Founder & CEO of saint sass, to unpack how a Berlin-based startup built a globally recognized brand - worn by icons like Madonna, Cynthia Erivo, and more. From launching statement tights that went viral to scaling internationally with a lean testing approach, this episode dives into what it actually takes to win as a challenger brand in a crowded market. Lissa also shares how Saint Sass approached international expansion, why emotion-based ads outperform feature-based ones, and what founders should not focus on in the early days. 🟠 Interested in being a guest on our podcast? Reach out to us at pr@ecommerceberlin.com. Follow for more:  ■ ⁠YouTube⁠ [https://www.youtube.com/@e-commerceberlinexpo]  ■ ⁠LinkedIn⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/e-commerce-berlin-expo/]  ■ ⁠Instagram⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/ecommerce_berlin_expo/]  ■ ⁠Facebook⁠ [https://www.facebook.com/ecommerceberlin]  ■ ⁠Twitter⁠ [https://twitter.com/ecommerceberlin]

#61: Miriam Jacks, Founder & CEO of JACKS beauty line, on building a personal brand that drives real business growth

Welcome to Behind the Click, powered by the E-commerce Berlin Expo. [https://buff.ly/3srq0Lr⁠] What does it really take to build a personal brand that turns into a successful business? In this special live episode recorded at the E-commerce Berlin Expo 2026, host Janine Vanessa Heinrich sits down with Miriam Jacks, Founder & CEO of Jacks Beauty Line, to talk about the power and pressure of personal branding in today’s digital world. Miriam shares the story behind building one of Germany’s most recognizable beauty brands, growing her company from a personal Instagram account to a business generating €15 million in annual revenue and employing more than 50 people. From going live on Instagram during lockdown to building a loyal community and navigating the challenges of public visibility, this episode dives deep into the reality behind personal branding - the opportunities, the emotional toll, and the lessons learned along the way. Miriam also shares practical advice for founders who want to start building their personal brand today - including the one habit you should begin practicing this week. 🟠 Interested in being a guest on our podcast? Reach out to us at pr@ecommerceberlin.com. Follow for more:  ■ ⁠YouTube⁠ [https://www.youtube.com/@e-commerceberlinexpo]  ■ ⁠LinkedIn⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/e-commerce-berlin-expo/]  ■ ⁠Instagram⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/ecommerce_berlin_expo/]  ■ ⁠Facebook⁠ [https://www.facebook.com/ecommerceberlin]  ■ ⁠Twitter⁠ [https://twitter.com/ecommerceberlin]