Ep 50 | Resilience Is Born From Struggle and Grit (w/Nikolai Ensslen)

I sit down with the Founder and CEO of Synapticon, Nikolai Ensslen:

Nikolai Ensslen and Andrija Feher are the founders of Synapticon, a company reshaping motion control for robotics and industrial automation.

He shares his journey from studying Engineering Science at the University of Bayreuth to building and leading a global company that seamlessly integrates servo drives, sensors, brakes, and functional safety into AI-powered systems.

Nikolai shares his early influences - growing up in a creative household, with parents deeply involved in art and design, and a father renowned in marketing. Despite this artistic environment, Nikolai gravitated toward technology from an early age.

He reflects on the challenges of standing out (like carrying a laptop in the mid-90s) and how countless hours spent with his university’s first racing team shaped his resilience. That resilience, he says, has been invaluable in his entrepreneurial journey.

Also about the real economics behind robotics, and how Europe stacks up against the rest of the world in deep tech innovation.

A fascinating conversation with strong opinions—don’t miss this one!