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Interview

LARS HINRICHS: “CHANGE IS A DAILY OCCURRENCE FOR ME.”

Oliver Gassner_January 19, 2012_10:26 AM_No Comment

As a member of the CODE_n12 contest jury, Lars Hinrichs helped to select the startups that will make it into the finals, and thus to CeBIT 2012. We caught him at his desk at HackFwd, a provider of venture capital, where he acts as the “executive geek”. Hinrichs took the time to answer some of our burning questions.

Oliver Gassner: Hello Lars, would you please introduce yourself to our readers?

Lars Hinrichs: http://hackfwd.com/people#lars-hinrichs

OG: You’re on the jury of the CODE_n12 contest. What would prompt you to send a startup’s concept straight to the “circular file”?

LH: Anything that’s not new and not innovative.

OG: Does every innovation make money, or does it take something more?

LH: Business models take shape if you have happy customers, not vice versa.

OG: How many startups do you look at every year, and how many of them do you invest in?

LH: I don’t count them. This year we’ve invested in about eight.

OG: What’s the web or mobile app that changed your life or work the most over the past twelve months?

LH: I don’t know – change is a daily occurrence for me.

OG: What do startups really need from the outside – connections, good advice, money?

LH: Three things characterize a successful startup: 1. it adds sustainable value to the market; 2. it has an unique competitive advantage within its niche; 3. it is an economies-of-scale business. In short, startups need a business model. That’s all it really takes – everything else is just icing on the cake.

OG: That’s from within. What can/must investors/angels contribute?

LH: “Angel” is an unfortunate term. Investors provide money and value (experience, motivation, commitment to growth).

OG: The CODE_n12 finalists will be winning exhibition space at CeBIT. What’s your tip for a startup that wants to make the most of that opportunity?

LH: Be outgoing and don’t wait for someone to show up.

OG: Of the questions that people ask you about XING, which one are you tired of? And which question should I ask you instead?

LH: I’m tired of them all. As a rule, I no longer answer questions about XING since leaving the company.

OG: OK, then I won’t ask you whether you had an office in the Valley, and whether that would have benefited your international reach.
If you could nominate one (mobile) startup in Germany, Austria or Switzerland (one that you do NOT hold a stake in or serve as a consultant) for us to interview, who would it be and why?

LH: I would only recommend those that I hold a stake in. *laugh*

OG: Not counting Google and Facebook, which startup would you have liked to have invested in?

LH: I do in fact have a financial stake in Facebook. Unfortunately, I turned down the chance to invest in Wonga.

OG: What does Wonga do?

LH: Wonga offers loans online – almost in real time, of a limited volume (up to GBP 400), and for a short time (55 days maximum).

OG: Thank you for your precious time, Lars! ;)

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Interview

NICOLAS BERG: “WE WANT TO TURN THE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN.”

Oliver Gassner_December 12, 2011_1:03 PM_No Comment

Nicolas Berg, RedalpineWe spoke to founder and venture capitalist Nicolas Berg about unpurchased Facebook shares, the enriching effect of gamification apps such as Quest.li, the DNA of successful startups, and why true venture capitalists also invest during times of crisis.

Oliver Gassner: Hello Nicolas, would you please introduce yourself to our readers?

Nicolas Berg: I’m Swiss, a company founder since 1984, a business angel active in enterprises such as XING  since 2000, and I’ve been with Redalpine VC Venture Partners since 2007.

OG: Is the present a good time to invest in startups?

NB: It’s always a good time to invest in startups – except perhaps during extreme hype phases, because insanity is contagious.

OG: So you’re saying we’re not in a hype phase (yet)?

NB: No, definitely not. If anything, the mood in soft-currency countries like the U.S. and the euro zone is somewhat reserved. But true startup founders and venture investors don’t care very much about that. We want to innovate and turn the world upside down.

OG: What are the signs of a hype setting in? Or do they creep in gradually, like the proverbial frog being brought to a boil?

NB: You can see it on the stock market when even the pros toss proven formulas such as price-earnings ratios overboard and start waffling about user multiples or Internet fantasy. It happened in the tech sector in 2000 and in Japan in the 80s.

OG: What’s the web or mobile app that changed your life or work the most?

NB: In the 90s it was e-mail, the AltaVista search engine, and financial platforms. In the past decade, Facebook, Skype, Google, YouTube, and a number of iPhone apps such as maps, phone books and messaging. At the moment my favorite is Quest.li, an app that offers web and location-based treasure hunts. And Connex.io, an app that intelligently synchronizes and merges all my address books, telephone directories and social networking contacts.

OG: Can such treasure hunts also serve marketing purposes, or are they pure entertainment?

NB: Either is possible. Anyone who plays Quest.li can also build their own quests. Quest creators can choose whether to run them locally or globally, and whether to make them free or require a stake. The company already has inquiries from major brands such as food chains and tour operators for quests to be built by the crowd, in which dedicated, informed brand consumers can win coupons.

OG: Can a web project that does not have a gaming, dating, or (ultimately) selling character ever be financially viable?

NB: A U.S. investor once said that social networks are always about finding more love or better business opportunities. That’s a bit of an oversimplification, though. Dating, “social” shopping and gamification are certainly important trends. I like the trend toward gaming best, because I feel that it’s becoming increasingly difficult to attract attention. Gaming is a state of mind in which not only children learn more effectively or are open to selling. I think people who are only into bargain-hunting don’t make sustainable new customers for brand partners, while smart gamers or Quest solvers are more committed, tightly networked, and probably more loyal.

OG: connex.io is “free for 60 days” (that always puts me off a bit). Others offer free accounts without time limitations but restricted functionality for their web apps. What’s better?

NB: For the first 60 days, connex.io lets you sync, merge and clean (dedupe) your data free of charge. If a clean contacts list isn’t worth $50 a year to you and you can do without the service, there’s no need to sign up as a premium customer. But many users with valuable networks of contacts, on LinkedIn or XING for example, will.

OG: The CODE_n Global Innovation Contest is a competition for entrepreneurs in the mobile sector. How important are competitions and prizes for business founders?

NB: They’re certainly a good thing. We’ve had good experiences with them in Switzerland. Awards such as venture kick, Heuberger, De Vigier, Venture, and Technopark let the best new or aspiring startups collect seed money to the tune of CHF 100,000. They also facilitate contacts to the investors on the jury. But once they’ve won two awards at the most, founders really should focus on building their businesses rather than entering competitions.

OG: How many startups does Redalpine support? And how many do you add every year?

NB: Redalpine looks at about 1,500 business ideas annually, or around five per day. We have invested in 16 European startups since 2007 and support them very actively. Previously, we invested privately in a similar number of startups from 2000 to 2006. Starting in 2012, Redalpine 2 is going to invest in another 20 to 25 startups.

OG: To get going, startups need a prototype and a good team – what do they need most urgently from the outside? PR? Connections? Money? Advice?

NB: Three things are important: an innovative, disruptive idea, a suitable business model, and a team of at least two highly talented entrepreneurs who are truly capable of realizing the vision on the market. We help as coaches and of course with our network, which includes co-investors, customers, partners, media, telcos and other potential team members.

OG: The CODE_n Global Innovation Contest offers 50 finalists exhibition space in a special CODE_n hall at CeBIT 2012. What’s your killer tip for startups on how to make the most of such an opportunity?

NB: I recommend that the winners put plenty of time, creativity, and diligence into how they are going to attract their target audience (customers, employees, journalists) to their booth before CeBIT. They should remember that trade show visitors are like moths: they’re drawn to light. They should also allow enough time and manpower to follow up the contacts after the show.

OG: In which startup (other than Facebook and Google) you would have liked to have invested and why?

NB: We were in fact offered Facebook shares back when the company was still valued at only $4 billion. But normally, we focus on ambitious start-ups based in German-speaking Europe. We haven’t really missed any deals in Switzerland that we regret, and in Germany it’s only been a few. We’re pleased with our portfolio: 100 insiders recently ranked the top 100 Swiss startups, and five of our portfolio companies were in the top 13 places. In the Life Sciences category, we even held the first through fourth places.

OG: Care to give us a name? It doesn’t have to be a deal that was offered to you.

NB: I would like to have invested in Apple in the 70s, because the company is now truly innovative and disruptive in three industries. I’ve loved Apple’s products since 1983.

OG: Thanks for taking the time to speak to us. ;)

NB: You’re welcome, talk to you again soon.

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Interview

PETER AMBROZY: “AFTER THE IDEA ITSELF, THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS ARE FEASIBILITY, AND ABOVE ALL THE TEAM”

Oliver Gassner_December 6, 2011_11:26 AM_No Comment

Peter Ambrozy in a digital conversation with Oliver Gassner about why he also likes to use Facebook as a business network, the importance of prototyping for startups, how startups can make their mark at trade fairs, and the point at which companies outgrow the “startup” label.

Oliver Gassner: Hello Peter, would you please introduce yourself to our readers?

Peter Ambrozy: Hello, Oliver. I’m the founder of edelight.de and investor in regiohelden.de.

OG: We should perhaps add that Edelight is a social shopping site, and that Regiohelden does local Internet advertising via Google Adwords. Can you even still call Edelight a startup, or would you already describe yourselves as an established company?

PA: Edelight has evolved into an e-commerce enabler that set up the tracdelight.com fashion network parallel to its edelight.de social shopping portal. On tracdelight.de, we link shops such as Amazon, Zalando and others to publishers like instyle.de, stylebook.de and t-online. The Regiohelden description fits.

OG: And, is Edelight still a startup?

PA: After five years, our core business is certainly no longer a pure startup. But since we’re constantly expanding our business model while maintaining the same startup culture, we would still call ourselves one.

OG: How can you tell when a startup has transitioned to a “normal company”?

PA: There’s the danger of devoting all of your attention to meetings and processes rather than market potential and innovation. The people also make a more “well-fed” impression. So we try to stay mentally and procedurally lean.

OG: What’s the web or mobile app that changed your life or work the most?

PA: Twitter and Facebook. Twitter has become my daily news aggregator, and Facebook lets me interact with my network much more authentically than Xing.

OG: Can you briefly outline how they changed your work? Do they only pertain to the company, or your personal communication as a whole?

PA: Twitter is an extremely efficient way to filter key developments. I do it every morning as a kind of start to the business day. Facebook has blurred the line between my private and business lives in relation to my professional network. I can get to know people there not only as business partners, but also in their personal lives (as fathers, soccer players, etc.). Previously, they had only been managers, bloggers, etc.

OG: Could Facebook become a business network?

PA: Yes and no.

OG: Because…

PA: I’m undecided about whether I want to share all my private information with my professional network.

OG: I always say that if something’s really private, you’re not going to post it on the net anyway.

PA: Or it doesn’t interest everyone. If I were to post pictures of my son playing soccer every weekend, it could get on people’s nerves after a while.

OG: CODE_n is a competition for entrepreneurs in the mobile sector. How important are competitions and prizes for business founders?

PA: I think competitions and prizes are important because they help founders reflect on their idea time and again, while receiving feedback from a wide variety of sources. That was extremely useful for us. At the same time, they can be a good source of income in the early days. With justaloud.com [www.justaloud.com], we won around 50k in prize money. That’s helpful, especially at the start.

OG: How important is the PR aspect? Can it attract users, or even investors?

PA: Yes, it’s definitely a factor. Basically, it amounts to a relatively cost-effective but very goal-oriented public relations or communication campaign.

OG: If you were on a jury for a startup competition, what would you be looking for in order to put a startup at the top of your list?

PA: Only two weeks ago, I was on the Startup Weekend jury, and after the idea itself, the most important things are feasibility, and above all the team. And with feasibility, I not only mean an interesting innovation, but also a viable business model.

OG: And what would the team have to look like? Would two technical types like Brin and Page still get money today?

PA: It’s quite conceivable in the current hype. Two techies and one business-management type would be better, though.

OG: There shouldn’t be more initially?

PA: I personally think three founders are optimal.

OG: What do startups really need from the outside – connections, good advice, money?

PA: You can’t generalize about that. I think they should not only be convinced of their idea on paper, they should also be in a position to develop a prototype and test it on the market. Then there’s a long phase where it depends on the stamina of the people. Many teams fail at that point.

OG: Actually, what I meant was external help – do they need advice from angels and VCs or their contacts, or is money from investors enough?

PA: External funding is particularly important for technology companies, of course. But not from the first day onward. That naturally applies primarily to the web environment. If you have a good idea, a working prototype, and usable initial market intelligence, then doors open by themselves. That’s how it was for us. Oh yes – and we also did it that way with Regiohelden.

OG: What role did it play that Edelight became a part of Burda at some point? Were there advantages? Disadvantages?

PA: None really. Burda consists of over 80 legally independent units. We’re one external entity among many. The collaboration with the venture arm (Acton Capital) was very helpful, however, since the team gave us very good support at all times.

OG: CODE_n winners will receive exhibition space at CeBIT in a special shared CODE_n area. What’s your killer tip for startups on how to make the most of such an opportunity?

PA: Heh heh. I’m not telling. Otherwise, the Regiohelden will no longer stand out at trade fairs. Sorry, just kidding… Attention, attention, attention.

OG: So the seedlings that Regiohelden handed out last year grew well – it was watercress, wasn’t it?

PA: At one fair, Regiohelden hired a magician. No one had done that before, and the booth was full in no time. And since Regiohelden also has a super product, it was then possible to direct most people toward the product.

OG: What’s the coolest thing you’ve seen at a smaller-scale trade fair presence? The half-naked samba girls like those at CeBIT?

PA: There were also half-naked people at demxco. I can’t remember the company, though. I haven’t had a positive experience at a fair. Mostly there are big booths of the major brands. So as a small player, you need good ideas, like the magician.

OG: If you were to name a startup (in Germany, Austria or Switzerland, but outside of Stuttgart ;) ) that we should interview, who would it be, and why?

PA: It’s not very objective of me, but Regiohelden are really rocking right now and are set to become the fastest-growing startup in the region. Otherwise, you might want to interview the Startup Weekend winners: PocketGuide (Pocketvillage).

OG: What exactly do they do?

PA: A mobile app for local content. A good fit to CODE_n.

OG: Thanks for taking the time to speak to us. ;)

PA: Thank you for the opportunity. Take care!

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Interview

BILL LIAO: “In Europe it’s not OK to fail so people end up not taking enough chances to explore new territory.”

Oliver Gassner_October 21, 2011_8:18 AM_No Comment

XING Co-Founder Bill Liao chatted with us about Steve Jobs, Coder Dojo, and why he sticks to his waterproof Samsung mobile phone.

OG: Hi Bill, would you please introduce yourself to our readers?

Bill Liao: Hi Oliver and Hello dear readers :) Bill Liao is my name and among several things I am variously known as an entrepreneur, diplomat and author.

OG: Can you detail the entrepreneur part a little for us?

BL: Well I first became an entrepreneur at the age of 27 when I quit my day job and founded my own company teaching engineers how to sell. I then went on to become part of the team that took Davenet Limited public in Australia and have been part of 7 IPO’s total. The most recent was XING AG where I was Co-Founder alongside the Founder Lars Hinrichs in Hamburg. I am also a great believer in lean startups and have written a book on the subject called “Stone Soup – the secret recipe for making something from nothing”.

OG: What is the web or mobile innovation of the past year? What changed your personal life most?

BL: I think that the most striking innovation is a recent one where Apple has chosen to integrate Twitter into iOS5. This is the first time a social network has been integrated into an operating system. Knowing that this was coming I redoubled my Twitter efforts. At SOSventures we also invested in Storyful.com. I also created a conduit for my Google Plus content to be rebroadcast on Twitter. Storyful is an interesting innovation because it finds stories on Twitter then helps human journalists to curate and verify those stories.

OG: Is Twitter here to stay or will it eventually go the way of Altavista andMyspace?

BL: I really like Twitter and so I hope that it stays and I use it every day. I no longer use facebook every day nor Linked in nor even XING but I use gmail, g+and Twitter every day. Twitter is much faster than all the other news streams because the messages are so short. I just hope they start to deal with all the spam.

OG: Why did XING fail to make the jump to a global scale? Was it good to concentrate on DACH at some point?

BL: XING always needed to serve its core users best and the core is Germany. The problem with the early days of XING was that it was very hard to get the balance between serving members and also existing in an eco system where many corporate partners wanted to have a white label copy of XING. We were distracted by that and that meant we did not internationalize fast enough although we did do well in some other countries than DACH.

OG: Was Steve Jobs an innovator, a genius or just posessed?

BL: On the couple of occasions I met Steve he occured as pretty brusque and he had a posse of very smart people with him. I think Steve inspired devotion amongst those he worked most closely with, especially talented people like Andrew Ives and he kept these people close him, it seems. He was very good at spotting a technology somewhere and applying it to an existing problem he was trying to solve. Also he had very high standards yet a resolute eye on keeping costs down I think from Apple’s first near death experience. So very smart but not posessed.

OG: So Jobs is no role model for managers? He made his money on the back of very talented people? Or is it possible to be human and have high standards at the same time?

BL: Hey that’s a bit unfair. A great manager gains the greatest potential from the team he works with, and I am sure Steve did exactly that. Also he made far less money than the aggregate Apple shareholders most of whom are pension funds the beneficiaries of which are very happy to any return these days. I think to have high standards is a great expression of human integrity.

OG: What is the difference between a good idea and an innovation? And how do you make money from an innovation?

BL: Ideas are worthless good or otherwise invention, creativity and innovation are only worthless ideas to begin with. They need a story and they need execution to become valuable. Most of the time this involves a lot of trial and error. You make more money therefore by iteration than innovation. Just as lone heroes only win in the movies lone ideas only win in fiction as well. Innovation and inspiration someone told me are also inversely proportional to formality. I do wish Steve had iterated the ipad keyboard more though :)

OG: I understand “execution” (and I think: “iteration”, too) – can you put a little detail in the “story” part? Maybe using XING, the iPhone or Facebook as an example?

BL: A story has three parts – Crisis, Struggle, Resolution. And the best stories have a counter intuitive component. Some surprise. The pain that Steve saw was that mobile devices were fiddly to use and he knew that he could make a device that was cleaner and friendlier. The struggle was in back rooms at Apple for years to come up with the right combination for a minimum viable product to test on the market for real in a very crowded industry. The resolution was the sheer surprise and delight of using the iPhone for the first time. It was breathtaking how different and yet how intuitive it was. The iPhone brand still carries all of the story in its DNA and the surprise that a computer company could make a great mobile device still has not been beaten. The iPad is also a similar story which most people do get. The iPad’s most valuable feature is its day long battery life and yet the competitors do not see that because they focus on the wrong parts of the story.

OG: How come most online and mobile innovation seems to come from the US? Is Europe just a (talented?) copycat?

BL: I am convinced that it is because failure is far more celebrated in the US. In Europe it’s just not OK to fail so people end up not taking enough chances to explore new territory. Steve had some notable failures that would have gotten him fired many times in Europe. So Europe tends to try to refine what someone else creates. The problem is that it’s much much harder to copy something that someone else has spent a decade innovating behind closed doors because you don’t have the deep understanding of the complexity that underpins the simplicity.

OG: Well, Jobs was in fact once fired from Apple ;) – Would you dare to predict the next big thing on the web. Or easier: What should people invest in?

BL: Jobs was fired but by a CEO who came in late with big corporate ideas from a totally non innovative industry. In Europe Jobs would have been fired probably every month… Buy Apple stock it’s still cheap from any perspective. :)

Still looking to the future mobile, local, social, useful, fun are all the elements of inevitable things going forward. Investable stuff is that which an endure by the way as it’s even harder to predict what you might quickly make a buck on. So it’s best to hang in there because what the company is doing is going to be sustained.

OG: OK, let’s say: the next NEW big thing on the web or in mobile would be…? A social-local-mobile gamified something?

BL: What has mobile technology not yet solved for you? That’s the place to look. What little daily pain has not yet been catered for? I think the way we learn has huge potential. Look at www.coderdojo.com. It’s a new way to learn how to program computers and its free. No it’s not for investment of money and yet as a parent it may be a great way to invest time with your children if they are bright and inclined to learn logic.

OG: Thanks, I’ll check it out with my 11-year-old.Finally two questions about religion: iOS or Android (you partly answered this already as you seem to do this chat interview on an iPad) — Google+ or Facebook? And why?

BL: Android drives me nuts so I have an iPad but I do not have an iPhone. I have an old waterproof Samsung mobile phone because I like the long battery life.

I think Google+ is really well thought through and Facebook I find very tiring to use. So Google+ is my preference combined with Twitter.

OG: Thanks a lot and let’s hope Twitter survives in the Facebook-G+-Wars.

BL: Well, the wars are not between Facebook and g+ plus by the way. The war is being fought in the cloud. Amazon vs Apple vs Google vs Microsoft – they are the only players. Facebook is connected to Microsoft and Twitter to Apple. Will Twapple beat Amazon or Macebook who knows and its fun to watch. Amazon’s silk browser is the only real threat I see to the iPad. Stay tuned :)

OG: Actually silk made me think about getting some *pad, too. We will watch along with you. Thanks ;)

BL: Thanks :)

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Interview

MARTIN RÖLL: “If you want to invent something, invent it. If you want to copy something, copy it.”

Oliver Gassner_October 19, 2011_1:36 PM_No Comment

Martin Röll is a business consultant, trainer and coach who supports businesses, organizations and individuals with entrepreneurial, management and strategic issues. Blogger Oliver Gassner chatted with him about rome2rio, copycats, and what cooking in a Buddhist monastery has to do with innovation.

Oliver Gassner: Hello, Martin.

Martin Röll: Hello, Oliver!

OG: Please take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers.

MR: My name is Martin Röll, and I’m an entrepreneur, consultant, coach and dancer based in Luxembourg, Berlin and Dresden.

OG: A few years ago, you were very active in web consulting, before repeatedly visiting and then moving to a Buddhist monastery. Can you describe how the web was “different” before and after that time?

MR: Afterwards, it was much “slower”. I had the impression that a lot less was going on – probably not because that was actually the case, but because I was observing it with greater serenity. I no longer get jumpy over every bit of news and every tweet. :)

OG: Does that mean you feel that you get more mail if you stare at your inbox?

MR: Oh, email is different. I don’t get very much email these days. But you’re right: watching things makes them “bigger”. And sometimes more threatening. ;)

OG: Do you tend to call people or meet them face-to-face?

MR: I mainly meet people in person. I find that a lot more can happen in personal interaction than via telecommunications.

OG: I really liked your idea with office hours in a café, but I didn’t dare implement it myself. Probably because I didn’t – and still don’t – live in a big city.

MR: Actually, I think it would work even better in a small town or village. Word gets out fast: “You can find Oliver in that café every Monday; just show up and he’ll give you a hand.” Of course, then you really won’t be able to hide anymore. ;)

OG: What would you say is the difference between innovation and a (good, new) idea?

MR: Innovation is the realization of a new idea. The idea is just the start. Innovation is the actual work. :)

OG: People always get the impression that Europe is a home to copycats, while real innovation takes place in the States or even Asia. Is that true? Why (not)?

MR: Well, where does innovation come from? If I’m inspired by an American blog, and then build a product with a team from Europe, India and Korea, where do you localize the innovation?

OG: Well, it’s probably more likely that someone in the U.S. will already be working on an idea, and that someone in Berlin, Hamburg or Munich then replicates it.

MR: So? :)

OG: What’s so great about that? Isn’t that a waste of creativity?

MR: I think those are theoretical issues. If you want to invent something, invent it. If you want to copy something, copy it. Wherever you happen to be.

OG: What are the prerequisites for turning an innovation into a business?

MR: A market. :) , i.e., a buyer, and a place where the innovator and buyer can meet.

OG: And when does my innovation become tasty for the market – or even edible? Do you have a recipe?

MR: I worked as a chef for three months in the monastery. I simply cooked food the way _I_ liked it. The others usually liked it as well. And if not, they spoke up.

That could be a principle for any kind of innovation or even product development: start by doing what’s good for yourself. Then offer it to others. Listen attentively to the feedback. And then decide carefully whether to follow it or not.

OG: What’s the most fascinating innovation that you’ve seen lately – online or off?

MR: Kickstarter, and generally everything that supports the good-idea-to-product-development process.

OG: In 2005, you and Rainer Wasserfuhr philosophized about the future of mobile networking. The result was something that could be a cross between a XING handshake and Foursquare – i.e. something from 2010/2011: http://www.roell.net/weblog/archiv/2005/10/12/bahnopenbcplazes.shtml. When you look five years into the future, what do you see? What will be possible then?

MR: It’s a shame that something like that still isn’t available, isn’t it? I predict that five years from now, we’ll have a decent location-based service that will show us people nearby with whom we can do whatever is important to us at the moment. And we’ll finally have a decent search engine for travel connections, something like http://www.rome2rio.com/ and http://hipmunk.com/ and http://bahn.de/ rolled into one.

(http://www.rome2rio.com/ and http://hipmunk.com/ are cool, by the way. They certainly qualify as fascinating innovations. And I would still like to pair them with XING: “If you are traveling from A to B, travel, then stop over in C – it’s cheaper, and X lives there.”)

OG: I also wouldn’t mind finding something that could route me from door to door by public transport, rail and air. ;) Is creativity a must?

MR: Nah, not really.

OG: Why not?

MR: You need to breathe. You need to eat, drink, and excrete. Everything else is optional. It’s true, I’ve tried it!

OG: When do you tend to be most creative?

MR: When I’m not stressed. When my brain has time to resort itself. I get the most ideas in the shower, but they usually aren’t worth pursuing. The ideas that really gain traction arise in everyday situations, in a good balance of work and relaxation.

OG: So, now the tough decisions at the very end: iOS or Android, Facebook or Google+?

MR: Haha, neither, and Facebook of course.

OG: Why? Is Google untalented in the social?

MR: I think G+ is really awful. My friends are not “circles”.

OG: Are all of your contacts your friends? That’s not the case for me – nowhere.

MR: Nah. But my contacts aren’t “circles”. That metaphor simply doesn’t fly for me.

OG: In Facebook they’re lists – that nobody uses. But that’s really a matter of taste, I guess. Thanks for the interview. ;)

MR: I have nice, long, well-groomed lists on FB. :) And you’re welcome!

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