Fast Growth Icons

Last week we welcomed 100 founders and CEOs from recognized scale-ups at Fast Growth Icons Berlin. This gathering of creative minds began with an exclusive session for women followed by a seated dinner for all founders. On the main day, speakers from European advanced-stage tech scale-ups provided open and honest insights about what worked (and what didn't work) while scaling to the several hundreds of staff in multiple countries. J.P. Morgan Private Bank and Global Corporate Banking colleagues moderated break-out sessions on some key growth challenges founders face. Manoj Asnani, Marta Czekaj, Catrin Hassdenteufel, Saleem Mida, Thomas Steinrötter, CFA

Fast Growth Icons 2024 🙌 A huge thank you to Uday Singh and 🎢 Ben Fletcher 🎢 for organizing such a successful gathering. The event was filled with inspiring individuals and fostered an enriching exchange of ideas. I was particularly delighted to share my perspective on "Managing the Shift in Expectations." Looking forward to next year!

This was probably the most exclusive invitation I've ever received 😅. 120 founders and me and the Fast Growth Icons event in Berlin. ⭐️ My absolute highlight: The keynote speech by Lubomila Jordanova. She questions traditional metrics like money, profit, and cash flow as measures of success. We need a new currency that ensures our survival, which will ultimately pay off economically. However, behavioral change is hard for everyone. 𝐖𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐫 (𝐮𝐧𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬?), 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐰𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐧 (𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬)?  In her case, with Plan A, the focus is on decarbonization. Another angle of sustainable corporate leadership is the 𝐒 in ESG goals: 𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥. Our goal with myndpaar: A social and appreciative community. Who can resist that? Do we want to be a country where CEOs, leaders, and employees say "I don't care, as long as it's all about ME"? Especially in these times, when community should matter more than individualism? Thank you, Lubomila! This has only reinforced our vision. 🙌 Thanks also to Uday Singh for the invitation and Leonie Ellerbrock, Dr. Elena Heber, Joscha Raue, Johanna Zara Zoern & Florian Christ for the honest exchange. I look forward to seeing you all again in person.

The journey, the challenges, the victories An exciting time of open and honest conversations with 100 founders and CEOs at #HotelDeRome filled with inspiration, camaraderie, and new friendships at #FastGrowthIcons #Berlin 2024! A heartfelt thank you to: 🎙️ Luisa Haxel - #Evernest, on "Managing the shift in expectations" 🎙️ Martin Ott - #Taxfix, on "Developing personal and institutional resilience" 🎙️ Lubomila Jordanova - #PlanA, on "Building the machine: professionalising the HR function" 🎙️ Lukas Zörner - #Qonto, on "Exiting your company: personal impact and learnings" 🎙️ Fritz Trott - #Zenjob, on "Operating a high-performance culture" Expertly chaired by Ben Fletcher, founder and CEO at #TheMothership and Uday Singh, founder at Fast Growth Icons. Deep gratitude to; Manoj Asnani, Saleem Mida, Catrin Hassdenteufel, Marta Czekaj and Thomas Steinrötter, CFA - J.P. Morgan; Falk Mueller-Veerse, Martin Eichler, Maximilian Thyssen, Regina A., Sebastian Schirl, Serge Licht and Viktoryia Marchanka - Bryan, Garnier & Co; Alexandra Veth, Florian Merkel, Stefan Kimmel and Tim Dümichen - KPMG; Angus Nunn and Johannes P. Goossens and Thilo Diehl - White & Case LLP; Anna-Lena Haggeney, LL.M., Felix Stützer and Dr. Erik Göretzlehner - LUPP PARTNER; Aoife Madden and Charlie O'Donoghue - IDA Ireland; Philipp Bose, CFA and Rory O'Sullivan - Kroll; and Tino Albrecht and Jan Gutknecht - SAP. #FastGrowthIcons #Berlin

🎙️ "Operating a high-performance culture" Fritz Trott, CEO at Zenjob on stage Fast Growth Icons #Berlin The key to success is effective execution at speed. Fritz talked about what goes into an effective execution strategy and how to get the most out of people, how they combined objectives, values, management principles, and effective feedback to create a dynamic working environment. A big thank you to J.P. Morgan, Bryan, Garnier & Co, KPMG, White & Case LLP, LUPP PARTNER, IDA Ireland, Kroll and SAP. #FastGrowthIconsBerlin

🎙️"Exiting your company: personal impact and learnings" Lukas Zörner, Managing Director Germany at Qonto at Fast Growth Icons #Berlin Lukas grew Penta from 0 to more than 50,000 businesses. When Penta was acquired by French neobank and celebrated unicorn Qonto, he stayed on as part of the team till recently when he begins a new entrepreneurial journey. Lukas shared how he made the transition, what he would have done differently, and the insights he gained from seeing product development & growth across multiple markets. Thanks to J.P. Morgan, Bryan, Garnier & Co, KPMG, White & Case LLP, LUPP PARTNER, IDA Ireland, Kroll and SAP. #FastGrowthIconsBerlin

The collective wisdom of the group 100 founders and CEOs of scale-ups engaged in deep discussions on navigating exits, international expansion, VC funding stages, growth financing options, maximizing share options, and strategies for growth through acquisitions. While most businesses have common problems, the solutions are quite individual. Giving CEOs the opportunity to discuss those challenges openly and honestly, ask, and provide support goes a long way in achieving breakthrough success. Meaningful conversations are central to our ethos at Fast Growth Icons, there’s a magic in collaboration and the collective wisdom of the group. #FastGrowthIconsBerlin

🎙️ "Building the machine: professionalising the HR function" Lubomila Jordanova, Co-Founder and CEO at Plan A on stage at Fast Growth Icons #Berlin With her characteristic dynamism, Lubomila explored crucial strategies for navigating IPO preparations, highlighting the pivotal role of sustainability in modern fundraising efforts and discussed the burgeoning opportunities within the climate tech sector. She shed light on innovative pathways to secure funding and drive growth amid economic challenges. Thanks to J.P. Morgan, Bryan, Garnier & Co, KPMG, White & Case LLP, LUPP PARTNER, IDA Ireland, Kroll and SAP. #FastGrowthIcons #Berlin

🎙️ "Developing personal and institutional resilience" Martin Ott, CEO at Taxfix on stage Fast Growth Icons #Berlin Times are definitely harder for founders now. The economy is sluggish, interest rates are higher and funding is harder to come by. Martin was refreshingly open and honest in his talk on; How to maintain a positive mindset and create a company that can deal with the inevitable ups and downs. He has a wealth of experience – from developing disrupting business models, and navigating businesses through banking and economic crises to successfully scaling high-growth companies" Thanks to to J.P. Morgan, Bryan, Garnier & Co, KPMG, White & Case LLP, LUPP PARTNER, IDA Ireland, Kroll and SAP. #FastGrowthIcons #Berlin

J.P. Morgan leads with #EuropeanTech at Fast Growth Icons #Berlin We are honoured to have J.P. Morgan host Fast Growth Icons #Berlin 2024! With 100 visionary scale-up founders and CEOs gathered at Hotel de Rome, a Rocco Forte Hotel, their support and deep expertise help fuel ambitions as they help founders navigate the journey from growth to funding, international expansion, IPOs, Exits and beyond. A heartfelt thank you to the team, Manoj Asnani and Saleem Mida, for their warm welcome to the founders, and Catrin Hassdenteufel, Marta Czekaj and Thomas Steinrötter, CFA, for their invaluable contributions.