WHU Entrepreneurship Roundtable Podcast

#10 Tech Startups - Mapular - Peter Rose, Founder & CEO

Peter Rose is Founder & CEO of Mapular, a location intelligence SaaS startup focused on consumer analytics based in Berlin, Germany. Mapular helps modern consumer brands make smarter, data-driven decisions about marketing, growth, and expansion. Through its SaaS platform, Mapular provides location-based insights to D2C and retail brands, enabling them to optimize their marketing spend, track omnichannel customer journeys, and identify high-potential growth areas. By aggregating and analyzing online and offline data through a proprietary “digital twin” of the brand, Mapular empowers businesses to double their return on ad spend and better understand customer behavior across geographies. Peter is an alumnus of the WHU Full-Time MBA 2017 batch and also holds a Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. During his studies at WHU, he also served as Board Member of the WHU Entrepreneurship Roundtable. He is originally from Christchurch, New Zealand, moved to Germany permanently in 2012 after several trips and projects across Europe, and is currently based in Berlin. Learn more: Peter on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-e-rose/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-e-rose/]  Mapular on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mapular/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/mapular/]  Mapular website: https://www.mapular.com/ [https://www.mapular.com/]

#09 Tech Startups - Bloon - Vuyiswa M'Cwabeni, CEO

Vuyiswa M'Cwabeni is CEO of Bloon, an Enterprise software startup based in Heidelberg, Germany. Bloon is building an AI-powered, no-code development platform designed to help enterprises rapidly build and deploy mission-critical applications, starting with SAP environments, without sacrificing governance, security, or compliance. Founded as a spinout from Tangro, now XSuite, Bloon aims to solve the scalability and complexity challenges that legacy IT systems and lightweight no-code tools often fail to address. Prior to Bloon, Vuyiswa was Co-Founder & CxO of Infinicash, a FinTech startup based in Frankfurt, Germany. Infinicash was a treasury management platform built for CFOs from startups and SMEs to optimize cash flow, reduce financial risk exposure, and automate tedious financial tasks. Infinicash was a stepping stone in Vuyiswa's vision to create a bank. Infinicash operated between 2020 and 2024. Vuyiswa is an alumna of the inaugural WHU Full-Time MBA class of 2006 in Vallendar, Germany, and also holds a Bachelor in Business Administration and Management from the Ivey Business School in Canada. She is originally from South Africa and Zimbabwe, has lived in Germany since 2005, and is now based in the Frankfurt Rhine-Main area. Learn more: Vuyiswa on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vuyiswamcwabeni/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/vuyiswamcwabeni/]  Bloon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/blooncloud/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/blooncloud/]  Bloon website: https://bloon.cloud/ [https://bloon.cloud/]

#08 Tech Startups - Orbion - Aniruddh Goteti, Co-Founder & Co-CEO

Aniruddh Goteti is Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Orbion, a BioTech startup based in Berlin, Germany. Orbion is a predictive platform that transforms protein understanding, design, and validation into a precise science, starting with protein stability and structure determination. Orbion harness AI to unlock new possibilities in biotechnology and has the mission to empower scientists with cutting-edge tools that reduce time, cost, and uncertainty in structural biology. Ani is an alumnus of the WHU Full-Time MBA 2024 Fall batch and holds a Masters in Computer Science from the Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden. During his studies at WHU, he also served as chairman of the WHU Entrepreneurship Roundtable. He is originally from Hyderabad, India, has lived in Germany since 2018, and is currently based in Berlin.  Learn more: Ani on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aniruddhgoteti/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/aniruddhgoteti/]  Orbion on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/orbionlife/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/orbionlife/]  Orbion website: https://www.orbion.life/ [https://www.orbion.life/]

#07 Tech Startups - Kontext21 - Claire Zhu, Co-Founder & Chief Revenue Officer

Claire Zhu is Co-Founder & Chief Revenue Officer of Kontext21, an AI startup based in Berlin, Germany. Kontext21 builds developer tools that unlock real-time user context from screen, voice, and operating system data, areas that are typically out of reach for most applications. With their unified SDK, developers can build AI-powered features that understand what users are doing in the moment, enabling smarter automation, personalized insights, and enhanced productivity. By bridging the gap between user behavior and application intelligence, Kontext21 is laying the foundation for the next generation of context-aware software. Claire is an alumna of the WHU Full-Time MBA 2017 batch and holds a Bachelor in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering from the University College London. She is originally from Guangxi, China, has lived in Germany since 2016, and is currently based in Berlin.  Learn more: Claire on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/claire%EF%BC%88liwen-zhu-06715713/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/claire%EF%BC%88liwen-zhu-06715713/]  Kontext21 on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kontext21/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/kontext21/]  Kontext21 website: https://kontext21.com/ [https://kontext21.com/]

#06 Tech Startups - ScrapBees - Florian Kriependorf & Thilo Hamm, Co-Founders & Co-CEOs

Florian Kriependorf and Thilo Hamm are Co-Founders and Co-CEOs of ScrapBees, a scrap metal recycling startup based in Neuss, Germany. ScrapBees is revolutionizing the recycling industry by providing digital urban mining solutions that support the energy transition and address the skilled labour shortage. Their services streamline the collection, sorting, and recycling of scrap materials for craftsmen and large-scale installers. With a focus on efficiency and sustainability, Scrapbees transform waste into valuable resources, contributing to producing "Green Steel" and other eco-friendly products. By integrating advanced digital tools, Scrapbees ensures transparency and traceability in the recycling process, setting new industry standards and significantly reducing environmental impact. Florian and Thilo are both alumni of the WHU Part-Time MBA 2013 batch. Florian also holds a Law degree from the University of Passau, while Thilo holds an Electronic Engineering degree from the University of Applied Sciences in Dresden. Florian and Thilo are both originally from Germany, Florian from the Niederrhein area and Thilo from Sauerland. Florian is based in Neuss and Thilo in Cologne. Learn more: Florian on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/florian-kriependorf-76090269/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/florian-kriependorf-76090269/]  Thilo on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thilo-hamm-798b74a3/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/thilo-hamm-798b74a3/]  ScrapBees on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/scrapbees/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/scrapbees/]  ScrapBees website: https://schrottbienen.de/en/ [https://schrottbienen.de/en/]