Entrepreneurial Realities

In this episode, I speak with Michael Brand, CEO of TraxSurf and Jonas Dunkel, CEO of DeepGolf, two German entrepreneurs applying AI to elite sport performance. Different sports but same ambition: replace guesswork with data, and help athletes improve with precision. A conversation about technology, entrepreneurship, and building something new far from the traditional hubs of surf and golf culture.

Rabbi Mois Navon is one of the founder engineer of MobilEye. He is also an advisor to the Israeli Government on the theme of AI and Ethics and a lecturer at ben Gourion University.Join us on our discussion on why ethical considerations profoundly matter for AI entrepreneurs and how to take these into considerations for your AI startups.

Sebastian Bastek, co-founder of Valoron, takes you on a journey of transforming mixed waste into virgin-quality fuels and chemicals, scaling a bold climate tech vision from the lab to industry and literally turning trash into treasure.Dive into the breakthroughs, the entrepreneurial journey, and how Valoron is turning circular economy ideas into reality. Hosted by Lucia Lara from the Climate & Circular Lab.

This episode concludes our special series during the ⁠⁠Munich Security Conference⁠⁠⁠, where we explore the entrepreneurial realities behind defense and dual-use innovation.We speak with my colleague Florian Doetzer⁠⁠, who is the Managing Director of the TUM Venture Lab for Aerospace and Defense. The name of Florian’slab was changed from Aerospace to Aerospace and Defense and announced at the MSC (see here).Together, we discuss how Florian’s lab supports Defense related startups and the underlying ecosystem which is being build in Munich for develop and support a competitive European defense industry.

This episode is part of our special series during the ⁠Munich Security Conference⁠⁠, where we explore the entrepreneurial realities behind defense and dual-use innovation. We speak with Nicolas Tenzer⁠, a French senior policy expert who was among the first voices to warn of the dangers posed by Europe's sustained disinvestment in and neglect of its defense capabilities.Together, we explore the current state of European security and draw parallels between the challenges of building the next generation of entrepreneurs and those of developing a competitive European defense industry.

This episode is part of our special series during the Munich Security Conference, where we explore the entrepreneurial realities behind defense and dual-use innovation.We are joined by Khrystyna Rozhenko and German Stelmakh, founders of Drone Aide Collective.Khrystyna and German explain how they have mobilized funding to support drone production for Ukraine and organized hands-on workshops across Europe to transfer criticaltechnical know-how. Tune in for an inside look at innovation, resilience, and action at the intersection of defense, technology, and civil society — and please donate here.

This episode is part of our special series during the Munich Security Conference, where we explore the entrepreneurial realities behind defense and dual-use innovation. Dariia Rekun speaks with Oleksii Markhovskyi, co-founder of Ukrainian defense tech company Frontline Robotics, and Alina Kizlevych, who works on partnerships at Darkstar and brings deep experience working with defense startups.The conversation explores what it takes to build a defense tech startup in Ukraine: how teams develop and test products in real battlefieldconditions, what “product market fit” means during wartime, and the mainchallenges Oleksii has faced as a founder, from operations and hiring tofundraising and executing fast.Together, they discuss what building a company in Ukraine looks like today, the challenges founders face in high-stakes environments, and how Frontline Robotics’ cooperation with Quantum Systems gave rise to e a new German-Ukrainian joint venture strengthening European security.

This episode is part of our special series during the Munich Security Conference, where we explore the entrepreneurial realities behind defense and dual-use innovation.Anastasia Lala⁠, pipeline manager at the TUM Venture Lab Aerospace and Defense, speaks with Artem Moroz ⁠, Head of Investments at Brave 1⁠ — a Ukrainian government initiative designed to fast-track DefTech solutions through asymmetric innovation.Together, they discuss the transition of civilian entrepreneurs into defense founders, the high-stakes reality of development cycles where technology often only has a three-month lifespan on the front line, and how Ukraine is building a sustainable defense ecosystem to support NATO and long-term European security. Do listen to this conversation to understand how agile startups are redefining modern warfare and creating the future of defense technology

This episode is part of our special series during the Munich Security Conference, where we explore the entrepreneurial realities behind defense and dual-use innovation.We speak with Benjamin Wolba, co-founder of the EuropeanDefense Tech Hub .Benjamin co-created what has become Europe's largest network of defense tech hackathons — bringing together engineers, students, researchers, and early-stage founders across cities including Munich, Berlin, Copenhagen, Paris, London, and more importantly, Lvyv and Kyiv.Each event gives participants 48 hours to prototype real solutions to challenges sourced directly from frontline partners in Ukraine and NATO allies, with the explicit goal of continuing toward deployment after the weekend ends. What started as a single event with 150 participants has grown into a movement on track to run over twenty hackathons in 2025 alone, with each edition producing ten to twelvestartups.Together, we explore what it takes to build an efficient grassroots innovation movement in defense, how hackathons can serve as an on-ramp for civilian technologists entering the sector, and what Benjamin has learned about the gap between ideation and real battlefield deployment — and how to close it.And for those that want to attend the Demo Day on Sunday in Munich, the link is here.

Former BCG consultants and now founders Benedikt Wiechers and Michael Spira share an honest, behind-the-scenes perspective on their transition from consulting to entrepreneurship — and what it really takes to build AI-driven companies in Europe.The conversation explores the realities of leaving a secure consulting career, why execution quickly matters more than strategy once you start building, and what makes Europe — especially Germany — a viable place to build AI startups. They also discuss how to think about talent, curiosity, and continuous learning in fast-moving AI fields, and why founders need to cut through startup hype to focus on solving real problems.Hosted by Claire Schwarz, former member of the Software / AI Lab and now consultant at BCG.