Age: 33

Place of residence: Stuttgart, Germany

Position: Founder & CEO

Please describe a day in your life:

I get up around 7:30 in the morning, start with a short 15 min yoga session, then a cafe, and usually a first look at the schedule and social media channels; here, I answer professional and private first messages, many contacts, and pitches we generate for bloXmove via LinkedIn, so this is a fruitful source for us the virtual meetings start at 9 am, we have built up our company in absolute lockdown 2021, so everyone is used to 100% remote work.

Then around lunchtime, I usually kind of jump on the train to go to a partner workshop. I always try to combine these trips with meeting some of the team colleagues live for a coffee or dinner.

Currently, the number of presence events is increasing enormously, so almost every day, I am still on a panel, in a learning session, or pitching our company and the bloXmove solution.

I love to go for a long run in the evening. It recharges my batteries and clears my head. I like to end the day with others, like with my women’s running group, and after all the virtual sessions and all the talking and sharp thinking, I’m glad to be able to run and feel vitality and strength.

In the evening I eat with my husband, we exchange ideas or have friends. Then I usually read something through the social media channels, and around 11 or 12 pm, the light goes out.

How many projects are you currently working on? Please describe them:

With bloXmove we currently have certainly 4 to 5 ongoing projects in which we set up and moderate many workshops, sketch user journeys, and build products and code.
On top of that, of course, I still have strategic projects running, such as preparing Series A, which we want to realize in Q4. Our team is growing quickly, so we are always looking for and interviewing lots of exciting talent.

Just last week, we launched a project in the Saxony region. We went live with several mobility partners and Mittweida University of Applied Sciences. Here, we bring blockchain technology to life and show what a mobility roaming experience looks like for us users on the road. We have connected scooters, bikes, and public transport. The students, our test users here, can get on the scooter app or their university app and book mobility seamlessly. They pay in their favorite app, and bloXmove distributes the respective partial amounts to the transport operators in the background through distributed ledger technology.

On the private level, we have a construction project underway in Ecuador, where the first stone is to be laid this year. Here, a place is being created in nature close to the stand for life, sport, and remote working.

In your opinion, who is the most influential person/company in the world of technology these days?

Elon Musk and his companies, like Tesla and SpaceX in general, not everything is good what he is doing, but the radicalness and impact are impressive; in the blockchain area, I am impressed with what Ewald Hesse and the Energy web foundation are doing; the teams are partner and inspiration for us. Last but not least, the technology couple Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis – it is extraordinary how they use their VIP status and influence for tech projects, education, donations, and human rights.

If you can pick one app/product/project existing now that you wish you were involved in, what would it be:

bitcoin invention and investment in 2007

How do you see technology evolving in the next ten years?

Overall it will move on at high speed and will enter more and more in the area of real-life applications and usage. We should not forget that with blockchain, we are still on a level we had in 1998 with the internet – so it is still a field of tech-savvies, with the first real industrial use cases. I believe that decentralization will enter all industries and create new networks of joint value creation; we see that trend in mobility and green energy – called the coupling of sectors.

I believe technology will offer more standard modules; today, you have translation tools and search machines, and in the future, you have code modules for the web3, too – meaning the technology will become more inclusive. Generations of digital analphabets and nomads will die. It sounds complicated, but it is the usual evolution. I guess life science and space are two big fields where the innovations and use cases will explode in the following years.

What would you like the industry to look like in ten years?

A big wish would be ‘more diverse’; it is still a very male and western dominated industry, and I am convinced we create and produce the best innovation if we have colourful teams thinking differently. Suppose I focus on the sectors in which bloXmove is acting: power & mobility. In that case, I hope we overcome the hurdles and separation of private and public transportation and the limited scope of thinking and deciding on city politics and government. I hope we make a radical decision regarding infrastructure and places for humans in cities to increase the quality of life in cities and connect them with the suburban areas in a better way.

What are the three characteristics you have that make you successful in tech?

1. Maybe the following answer is surprising now, but I deliberately start with my psychology background, because in the end, technology is always used by us humans, or not, because it has been thought too much from technology, but is too bumpy that it becomes a product that facilitates or changes our everyday life. For this reason, we need intelligent people at the interface between people and their requirements and the code lines and requirements to build this bridge. Only then can technology scale and go through the roof.
2. Visionary power and the ability to tell a story around it so that talents – whether tech or non-tech – believe in our bloXmove vision with us founders and want to implement it together as a strong group. It takes a lot of strength, brainpower, patience, and a lifetime to make a young startup like us big. You have to want it and believe in it.
3. My role as CEO is not to understand the code but to understand the technical principles and mechanisms, transfer them and finally explain them to our ecosystem partners and thus to B2B customers. In other words, I have to bring the technical details back to a meta-level and be able to switch between these levels, especially in our pitches, workshops, and projects. Especially regarding the distributed ledger technology we use, thinking in terms of network systems is essential.

What is the most difficult thing you had to deal with during your career?

Two things come to my mind spontaneously: first, it’s always complicated when you have to fire people. I had this experience both on the corporate side and already in our startup. I have the claim that both sides in such a process can remain honest, appreciative, and save face. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always remain factual and sometimes goes as far as nasty accusations – such situations drain my energy immensely.

Secondly, I was violently stopped three years ago at my usual speed career. Due to my cancer, everything revolved around operations, chemotherapy, and radiation for almost a year – I often had severe panic attacks as to whether I would ever be able to be as lively and athletic but also professionally active again. Today, I have learned much about myself: my focus, zest for life, humility, and affinity for risk.

What is your greatest achievement up until today?

The team we have now built at bloXmove. I’m so proud when I see and experience each of them – as an exciting personality, a ramp show when pitching on stage, or a conductor when implementing projects. The people around me are sensational, and this growth and awareness that we have achieved today after one year of bloXmove, is really a huge success. Last year, my husband and I published our first book, Digital Mindfulness, which always delights me when I hold the book in my hand or when someone who has read it writes a message or a review.

And then I ran my fastest half marathon this year. I am convinced that if you find fields in your life that give you good energy, I don’t mean that everything has to be harmonious, balanced, and fun. Life is not pink, but if we learn to recognize through what and where I fill up energy, we can move mountains. And I have just arrived at this sweet spot.

What do you wish yourself with respect to your career?

I continue to be surrounded by intelligent people and doers, motivating and inspiring me immensely.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

I stopped asking myself that question because things often turned out differently than planned in his life and career, usually always better. After all, I was completely open to the possibilities and doors that opened. I know that as CEO, I will make our venture bloXmove bigger and bigger with the team, and we will become: the ledger for power and mobility. So the direction is clear.

What is your next goal?

On the job: getting the first product applications live with our partners and scaling our decentralized ledger globally so that we convince investors in a Series A at the end of this year. Personal: We are building a house in Ecuador, and I am already looking forward to spending time there with friends, colleagues, and family. Sports: I’m starting the first alpine trail runs with my running buddy this year. In May, the first competition started.

What tip do you have for people who want to start in tech?

Simply do it. It is the most exciting development field. Curiosity is essential, asking lots of questions and taking the time to read and participate in a hackathon. I’m not someone who has a degree and a Ph.D. in software and programming, yet I’ve made my way into the tech world and am mixing up the still male-dominated scene. I jump into ice-cold water and get into situations where I don’t feel comfortable. My tip is still to look for role models in the tech scene, follow them on Socia Media, listen to their podcasts, and go to events where you can meet the scene. That’s how we learn the most about content but also opportunities. Important: it’s not about comparing but about being inspired.

If you could say something to your younger self what would it be?

Stop trying to fit in. I have long believed that if I ask for help or cause trouble, I am a burden to others. Perhaps this was also my central lesson during my illness; here, I could not help but ask for help, learn to accept it and return the appreciation for it. Today I know rationally and also feel emotional, more demarcated, that it is wonderful to be different from others and have a different opinion.

What do you think non-tech people around (family, friends) think you do?

Two camps: some think it somehow does something with mobility so that I no longer need many apps on my smartphone. And it used to be with the (Mercedes) star. The others have been infected, have become deeply involved in blockchain and crypto, have invested, and are very supportive of bloXmove.

What is the invention of the century in your eyes?

We are currently seeing an insane dynamic around technology and sustainability. Ultimately new ecosystems and value creation networks are emerging here, in which we are linking industries that never before thought they would be able to earn money together. Suppose we succeed in using electric vehicles with their batteries as mobile storage units for renewable energies.

In that case, this will completely change the balance of power between consumers and producers, and vehicles, buildings, and cities will become living, self-sufficient organisms. The whole financial world is also changing massively in this respect: new laws are creating a framework for CO2 reporting, carbon offsetting measures, and so on. We are also active in this field and use our technology for products like “carbon credits” or rewarding “green miles” in mobility budget solutions. I think significantly, the sustainability trend will drive new financial products. And we know: where the money is, the power is.

What can’t you do without? (app/product…):

Our portafilter coffee maker and Oatly Cappuccino foam

Which famous person would you like to have dinner with and why?

Elon Musk, I find the spheres in which he thinks and creates the future impressive. Of course, genius is always close to madness, but that makes it so exciting. I would love to hear his view of the future and plans and work out a joint Tesla-bloXmove project with him.

Where would you like to travel next?

Want to see more of Ecuador and then travel further to Peru and hike to Machu Picchu

If you were asked to stay on a deserted island for 6 months, what 3 things would you take with you?

My yoga mat, my babble app because I am learning to speak Spanish right now; and knife and straw for a fresh coconut milk drink or other tropical fruit there

Do you have a person who influences or motivates you?

Yes, in my eyes, such role models are essential for one’s own success and the broadening of horizons.

…the ambitious women of my LAUFZEIT running team, visionary founders and investors like Raffaela Rein, Laurence CEO from TIER, Daniel Krauss CIO from FLIX, and my husband, who always motivates me to take another step beyond myself. Crucial learning for me in life: Eyes open when choosing a partner.

What did you dream of creating/inventing/doing as a child?

Something with biology or medicine, but my NC was too bad for studying in my hometown Berlin.

How did covid-19 change the way people view technological development?

At my old employer, we talked about remote work and home office for over five years, yet it was still a unique topic and an absolute no-go for some; it took a pandemic for us to change and adapt to technology. We have once again seen how vital the framework and structures determine our behavior. We have learned how fast it can go and that we are capable of making tech leaps if we have the need and absolute focus. I wish that we would only carry this radicality and ability to change in parts and that we would not always need a crisis on the outside for us to dare to do something completely new and digital.