About
Background
20+ years between strategy, founding and crisis.
Every business hits the same walls. I've hit most of them myself.
These are the 10 patterns I check in every engagement — because the earlier you catch them, the cheaper the fix.
The Yes-Trap
You say yes to everything because saying no feels like losing. Until your calendar is full, your margins are gone, and every project gets 60% of the attention it needs.
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The Race to Zero
You win the deal by being cheapest. You celebrate. Then you realize you're losing money on every hour. But you can't raise prices now — they chose you FOR the price.
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The Expanding Mandate
It starts with Can you also... and ends with a project that looks nothing like the original scope. You're doing three jobs for the price of one.
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The One-Basket Rule
60% of your revenue comes from one client. You know it's risky. You'll diversify next quarter. Then that client restructures or ghosts — and your entire business model collapses overnight.
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The Superhero Trap
Every decision flows through you. You're proud of being indispensable — until you get sick, burn out, or simply can't scale. The business IS you.
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The Silence Spiral
Problems exist for weeks before anyone speaks up. By the time bad news reaches the top, it's no longer a problem — it's a crisis.
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The Profitable Bankruptcy
Revenue is growing. The pipeline looks great. But cash is bleeding out faster than it comes in. You can be profitable on paper and bankrupt in reality.
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The Paper Shield
You set up a holding company. On paper, you're protected. In reality: same office, same managing director. When it collapses, the court looks through the paper.
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The Martyr Founder
You pay everyone fairly. Except yourself — you take minimum or nothing. It's been two years. Your team doesn't know you're broke.
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The Long Goodbye
The client relationship stopped working months ago. But you've invested so much that walking away feels like failure. So you stay. And it gets worse.
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Career timeline
2025 – present
Ecosystem Curator & Freelance Consultant
P. Hackländer Unternehmensberatung, Berlin
Ecosystem curation for AI agencies, AI automation (DeepMetis), Belgium CGT Snapshot (own product), FIERCE EU Space Tech programme.
2015 – 2024
Senior PM / Interim Consultant
Freelance — Roland Berger, Porsche Consulting, Kearney et al.
PMO leadership, taskforce management, digital transformation and supply chain projects for automotive, industrial and consumer goods.
2019 – 2020
Interim CFO
CILIAN AG, Münster
Financial planning, investor relations and operational restructuring for a biotech company.
2015 – 2019
Founder / MD
Imaginebeyond / SOLRA GmbH, Berlin
Analytics consulting and software development. Clients: AroundHome/Käuferportal, tech startups.
2012 – 2016
Co-Founder, CFO, COO
DataVirtuality GmbH, Leipzig
Logical DWH software vendor. Gartner Cool Vendor. Silicon Valley accelerator. Exited 2016. Company later acquired by CData 2024.
2007 – 2011
Project Leader
Roland Berger Strategy Consultants
Due diligence, PMI, restructuring, logistics. PMO and financial planning for clients in Western and Central Europe.
2003 – 2007
Senior Product Manager
L'Oréal, Düsseldorf
Product logistics, controlling, SAP implementation and forecasting software for the luxury division.
1999 – 2003
Master, International Business Administration
European Business School (EBS) + University of Sevilla + Ivey Business School
Top of year (Abitur 1.0). Diploma from Germany's leading private business school. ERASMUS Sevilla, HBA exchange Canada.