If I had known this: Petra Vorsteher, Founder & CAO AI Invest and AI.HAMBURG
It is crucial to listen. In the section “If I had known that” you don’t listen to just anyone. Here you can read what experienced company founders say about their ups and downs and what they learned throughout their business career. Learn what they’d do again and what they advise against.
Petra Vorsteher was a pioneer in the e-commerce business in the 90`s with one of the first global e- commerce platforms, called Intershop, which went public in 1998 on the Neuer Markt and 1999 on NASDAQ.
In 2005, she became a pioneer in the mobile space when she and her partner founded the mobile advertising company Smaato in Silicon Valley in their dining room. At first they developed “applications for smartphones”, now called apps. The first app was a program that showed you the cost of a phone call and the total cost of the monthly phone bill so far, immediately after the call. This was particular important to know when you were travelling across borders and did not know how high the roaming charges would be and did not want to be surprized when you received your monthly phone bill from your carrier. The apps were free of charge for the customer but ad funded.
Long before app stores and smartphones, this was not only innovative in 2005, but also a completely new market that hardly anyone had on their radar. No one believed that apps, or advertising in apps, would play any role, in fact many VC’s actually believed that mobile phones would only ever be used for making phone calls. Today Smaato is one of the leading International mobile companies, has 240 employees and offices in the US, Asia and Europe. Smaato made her one of the first company founders in the mobile sector. In 2016 they sold the company but stayed on until 2019. Now together with her partner she has already found new projects. This time, they will get active in the highly relevant AI-sector. As a proud Hamburg Ambassador in Silicon Valley, where she has been living and working since 1981, she represents our Hanseatic City with with her heart and soul. She knows and is proud of the Hamburg ecosystem and feels that the city and its startups can afford to be quite self-confident.
How do you see the future of digital startups in Hamburg?
There are many opportunities and possibilies for startups here already, but outside of Hamburg’s city limits hardly anyone knows about them. I believe that will change dramatically because I see the huge potential Hamburg has and the actions being taken to support the development of the start up ecosystem. We may not have many unicorns yet, but that will change. There are already many innovative startups from various sectors — they are just not well known yet. There are many great ideas and founders at the Reeperbahnfestival, for example, that I believe the opportunities Hamburg offers young startups will be much better known soon.
You said that Hamburg could be even more self-confident as a business location.
Can you explain this statement a little bit?
Hamburg has so much to offer. There is strong support and there are many important services and organizations for founders and startups in this city that help them network and grow. Organizations like Hamburg@work, TUTECH, the NextMedia excellerator and the various clusters for example in life sciences, logistics, health, creative, aviation, maritime, renewable energy and next media. Also what the universities offer already is quite remarkable. I believe understatement is a part of Hamburg’s culture. But the city and its ecosystem could well be a little more of self-confident in its promotion.
No one knew anything about smartphones and app stores in 2005 and hardly anyone believed that advertising or even software was a business model in this context. Why were you not deterred when your ideas were met with little approval and even less understanding?
You truly have to believe in your idea! You have to be convinced! You have to have passion! We always had the intuition and the gut feeling that we were doing the right thing. I believe that is the key element for the success of a startup that does something completely new. You really have to be convinced of your idea and then stick to it. Never give up. In the beginning it was very hard for us to secure any funding. It can be very frustrating when you do something, that you know deep down that it is the future, but people can’t see your vision. It’s passion that get’s you trough tough times. Passion and trust in your vision!
But you always believed in it?
Yes! We had a similar situation in the 90’s with the Intershop e-commerce startup before. Many believed that no one will ever shop on the Internet because online shopping would be far too risky for the customers. But we knew it would happen and we firmly believed in it. Then we had a real Deja Vu later on with our mobile idea.
How did you get into this business? Did you study computer science, or did you simply develop an interest in such things early on?
I always had a passion for innovation and a good intuition for new trends.
And your partner?
Ragnar was studying law, but with 17 he already started a computer business and kept doing so during the course of his studies. His side business turned out to be one of the largest DTP (desk top publishing) distribution companies in Germany with DTP training academies throughout the country. He always had a faible for tech and a vision for what products will come. So, his side business became his main business and he is our “Techy”. But he says studying law was a good foundation for the business.
My expertise lies in business development, sales and marketing. I developed Smaato’s global brand for example. To work with people from all over the world is what I enjoy the most and it is what makes me happy. At Smaato we had over 40 different nationalities; 30 nationalities in the Hamburg office alone. I feel very lucky to have worked with such an inspiring and truly talented international team.
Intershop and Smaato are both pioneers in their respective industries. What do you like about entering new areas with your entrepreneurial actions?
And how do you plan to enter new areas in the future maybe?
I strongly believe that Artificial Intelligence (AI) will profoundly change all technologies and verticals over the next 10+ years because, like the PC, the Internet and the smartphone, it will permeate all industries. The US and China are in the lead with R&D and application of AI. Europe, Germany are not even close. With our new initiative AI.HAMBURG it is our aim to bring AI closer to companies in the metropolitan region of Hamburg, so that they implement AI to become more competitive and efficient, which will have a positive impact on our society and our region.Together with the Excellence Cluster Hamburg@work, Tutech Innovation, Hamburg Invest, ARIC, TUHH and other Hamburg universities and municipal partners the goal is, to accelerate the adaptation of AI in companies and start-ups, to promote further education and training, and to build a leading ecosystem for the application of Artificial Intelligence. AI.HAMBURG is also accompanied by our own international network and advisors from all over the world who support the initiative with their expertise. We also co-founded the German wide umbrella initiative AI4Germany, where initiatives in the field of AI are joining forces to actively support AI in Germany and consequently strenghten AI in Europe.
You brought the first startup to the stock market and the second one has been a big player for a long time now. What changes take place in the company during its growth?
What do you like better? A fresh startup, or a company shortly before going public?
I like both actually. In a startup, there is the pioneer spirit, great optimism and the vision. This feeling of creating something completely new, charting new paths, building new ecosystems and working very hard for it, is inspiring and rewarding. And then it is also nice to see how the team grows globally, how the projects get bigger and more interesting and how the hard work is starting to pay off. So, both phases are very exciting.
What was the most difficult hurdle in your career for you to overcome?
The fund raising. With Smaato it was difficult to get funding at the beginning. In Silicon Valley the belief in mobile was simply not there at that time. We were too early with our vision. This was 2 years before the iPhone was released! So we got our first funding from friends, family and business angels, who believed in us and our vision. One of our angels was SAP Co- founder Klaus Tschira, who believed in us and became our largest investor over the years.
Which advice would you like to give young founders, in a few sentences?
You have to believe in your idea and your vision and be truly convinced that it will be a success. You need passion! And you need to work very hard. Every single day! Never give up!
You have done both companies together with your partner. How important do you think it is to have someone as co-founder and would you have done it alone?
It’s more fun, to do things together. You can exchange ideas and combine your different skills and talents towards a common goal.
You hold many titles and honorary offices. How do you find a balance with all this engagement?
Volunteering has always been a part of my life. I cherish getting involved and being able to help. This truly enriches my life.
The mayor of Hamburg appointed you the Hamburg Ambassador for the Silicon Valley. How should one imagine this honorary office? What do you like about it?
I am the representative of Hamburg in San Francisco. I support Hamburg’s business development and the development of an international network in the various business and academic communities. Especially in the Silicon Valley Tech community. My job is to present the city’s opportunities and to put Hamburg on the map in California as a modern, international, vibrant and beautiful metropolis, that offers a great environment and growth potential for businesses and a rich cultural and musical entertainment scene for tourists . Since it is an honorary position, the motivation comes from the heart and I think that the love and passion for Hamburg is the key ingredient for this job. All of us Ambassadors are really proud to hold this office and I love to see how everyone is carrying Hamburg in their hearts.
Thanks for reading! We, the Startup-Unit, hope you enjoyed this insight. We’ll be posting articles on a weekly basis about the hanseatic startup scene and everything related to founding a company. For further information about the city and its thriving startup ecosystem visit startup-unit.hamburg.
