Career Stories
Real stories from 20+ years of building products, companies, and ecosystems across four countries.
55 articles
Why I Wrote 6 Books (The Real Reason)
The real reason behind writing six books wasn't productivity. It was a strategic decision about leverage and legacy.
From Engineer to Entrepreneur: The Mindset Shift That Took Years
The transition from engineering thinking to entrepreneurial thinking took a decade. Here's what actually had to change.
What RHI Magnesita Taught Me About Enterprise Innovation
Working with a multinational industrial company showed me what enterprise innovation really requires — and it's not what you think.
The Pitch That Got Laughed Out of the Room
And why I'm glad it did. Some rejections are redirections.
From Zero Revenue to Profitable in 90 Days
The Vulpine Creations launch story. No funding. No audience. Just products.
The Board Meeting That Almost Killed a Good Idea
How corporate decision-making nearly destroyed an innovation project — and what it taught me about organizational resistance.
Three Continents, Four Offices, One Lesson
Austria, Poland, the US, and what each market taught me.
The Product That Took 3 Years to Ship (And Was Worth Every Day)
Some things can't be rushed. The story of our most complex build.
Shipping Products to 50+ Countries From Austria
The logistics, surprises, and lessons of building a global product business from a small European city.
How I Built My First Team (And Every Mistake I Made)
Hiring, firing, culture, and the lessons that only come from doing it wrong.
Why I Chose Austria Over Silicon Valley
I lived in both. Here's why I came back — and what I miss.
The Partnership With Adam Wilber: What Made It Work
How a transatlantic business partnership between an Austrian consultant and an American magic inventor actually succeeded.
A Letter to My 25-Year-Old Self
What I'd tell the engineering student who thought he had it figured out.
Why I Started Learning Magic in My Thirties (And What It Taught Me About Business)
Picking up magic as an adult taught me more about business than any MBA program. Here's the unexpected connection.
How Performance Magic Made Me a Better Keynote Speaker
The skills transfer between the stage and the boardroom.
The Innovation Lab That Changed a Region
How one small lab in Burgenland put an entire region on the startup map.
What I Learned Building Products in Four Countries
Four countries, four operational realities. What building Vulpine across borders actually required.
The Year Everything Fell Apart (And What I Built From the Rubble)
When the pandemic hit, my business model died. What came next was better.
The Client Project That Changed My Definition of Innovation
One enterprise project forced me to rethink everything I believed about innovation. The answer was subtraction, not addition.
How I Learned to Delegate After Doing Everything Myself for 15 Years
The painful, humbling process of learning that doing everything yourself isn't a virtue — it's a bottleneck.
My Worst Keynote Ever (And What I Learned)
A keynote that went spectacularly wrong taught me more about public speaking than all my successful ones combined.
The Day I Realized My Accelerator Was Actually Working
Running Startup Burgenland, I had no idea if our approach worked — until one afternoon changed my perspective completely.
Building Vulpine Creations From a Home Office During Lockdown
The full story of starting a magic product company during a pandemic — from first prototype to global shipping in twelve months.
How the Pandemic Became the Best Thing for My Career
The pandemic destroyed my speaking calendar and created space for the two most important projects of my career.
The First Product I Ever Shipped (And What Went Wrong)
The story of my first product launch, the mistakes I made, and the lessons that shaped everything I've built since.
What Scaling to San Francisco Taught Me About Ambition
An Austrian founder's encounter with Silicon Valley ambition — what I learned, what I rejected, and what I brought home.
Shipping Products Into the US From Austria
Dual fulfillment, customs, tariffs, and the logistics nobody warns you about.
Building a 4.9-Star Brand in a Skeptical Market
How we earned trust in an industry full of broken promises.
What I Wish I Knew at 25 About Building a Career
Advice from someone who took the long, winding road.
The Conference That Changed My Career
One conversation at one event. Everything shifted.
Working With Industrial Giants as a Tiny Company
When your client is a FTSE 250 company and you're three people.
The Automation Project That Saved 40% of a Factory's Time
Innovation isn't always software. Sometimes it's a better process.
The Mentor Who Told Me I Was Wrong (And Why I'm Grateful)
The best advice often sounds like criticism.
How a Failed Product Launch Became My Best Framework
The Ship It Ugly principle was born from a product that shipped too late.
Rebuilding at 40: Starting the Next Chapter
After the exit, the question isn't 'what next.' It's 'who next.'
Why I Write Books Nobody Asked For
The methodology existed in my head. Writing it down changed everything.
The Project That Nearly Bankrupt Us
Scope creep, under-pricing, and the lesson in knowing when to walk away.
The Partnership That Worked (And Why Most Don't)
Adam and I built Vulpine Creations together. What made it work.
How I Accidentally Became a Programme Director & Startup Coach
I said yes to a side project. It became a five-year mission.
What Magic Taught Me That Business School Never Could
I picked up a deck of cards at 2am and found a missing piece.
Building a Global Supply Chain From a Kitchen Table
Manufacturing in three countries. Shipping from two continents. Staff of two.
The First Time I Spoke to 3,000 People
4GAMECHANGERS. Main stage. And the moment I nearly froze.
How I Learned to Sell (And Why It Took 15 Years Too Long)
I was allergic to sales. Then I realized everything is selling.
The Company That Changed How I Think About Innovation
My time at RHI Magnesita redefined my approach forever.
From Engineering to Entrepreneurship: The Mindset Shift
Engineers optimize. Entrepreneurs ship. The gap between them nearly broke me.
What 40+ Startups Taught Me About What Actually Works
Patterns from directing Austria's youngest accelerator.
My Worst Business Decision (And What It Cost Me)
The investment that shouldn't have been. Lessons in due diligence.
Why I Left a Comfortable Consulting Career to Start Over
20 years of experience. Zero guarantees. The decision that changed everything.
The Day I Realized I Was the Bottleneck in My Own Business
Owner dependency isn't theoretical when you're living it.
Building During a Pandemic: The Vulpine Creations Story
While the world paused, we built a global product company from a home office.
12 Products, Zero Returns: How Obsessive Testing Created a Standard
Every product was tested thousands of times before release. Here's why.
The San Francisco Years: What Silicon Valley Gets Right and Wrong
I moved to SF to learn. What I learned wasn't what I expected.
Exiting Vulpine: What Selling a Company Actually Feels Like
Nobody tells you about the relief, the guilt, and the emptiness after.
What Running a Makerspace in Graz Taught Me About Innovation
360 Innovation Lab wasn't a startup. It was a laboratory for everything that came after.
How I Shipped My First Product (And Everything That Went Wrong)
The origin story. Engineering background meets entrepreneurial chaos.