Bridging ecosystems, fueling innovation, and redefining entrepreneurship.

Robin Haak: Hello, Julius. I wanted to start with your philosophy for investing: to invest with passion. How does passion influence what you invest in, and why is it so important to you?

Julius Göllner: I truly believe that passion is one of the strongest drivers of success—whether you’re running a bakery, a restaurant, or a VC fund. Passion doesn’t guarantee success, but in many cases, it’s what keeps you pushing through the lows and makes the highs even more rewarding. When you’re deeply excited about what you do, you naturally bring more energy, resilience, and creativity to the table.

For me, building companies has always been my passion. I’ve been doing it for many years, and what excites me the most is the zero-to-one phase—those crucial early stages where founders take an idea and turn it into something real. I love helping teams navigate that journey, particularly in SaaS, where product-market fit can be a complex but rewarding challenge.

When I invest, I’m not just looking at the business model or market opportunity—I’m looking for founders who share that same deep passion for what they’re building. Because at the end of the day, it’s that drive, energy, and commitment that separates great companies from those that don’t make it.

Speaking of founding companies —you’ve been involved in 16 companies and had two exits. What does it take to found 16 companies?

First and foremost, founding 16 companies requires a strong entrepreneurial foundation, which I was fortunate to develop during my time at Zalando. Before starting my first company, I worked at McKinsey, then joined Zalando at a high-impact level just below the founders. I was responsible for all non-full-price topics, and it was an incredibly intense, high-pressure experience—full of highs and lows but also immense learning opportunities.

What made that time so valuable was the entrepreneurial freedom I had, while still operating within the safety net of experienced founders and investors. That experience made me realize that my real strength and passion lie in the early-stage, “speedboat” phase of building companies—taking something from zero to one. Scaling and managing large corporate structures? That’s not my thing.

After Zalando, I founded my first company, a B2B trading business tied to the Zalando value chain, which is still running today. That’s when I truly discovered my passion for spotting opportunities, generating ideas, and bringing them to life. Over the past 12–13 years, that’s exactly what I’ve been doing—launching, building, and scaling new ventures.

Of course, I haven’t done it alone. Typically, I focus on one or two early-stage projects at a time alongside co-founders, who often take the driver’s seat as the company matures. I love the process of bringing something to market, finding the right customer profiles, refining the messaging, and watching the product gain traction. But once a company reaches a certain level of scale or operational maturity, I prefer to step back, hand over the reins to a CEO or COO, and move on to the next challenge.

To be completely transparent, not all 16 companies are still around. There have been two exits, some highly profitable businesses, and some ventures that didn’t work out. But that’s the nature of entrepreneurship—you take risks, you learn, and you keep building.

What have been some of the biggest challenges you’ve experienced in the early stages of a startup?

One of the biggest challenges in the early stages of a startup is aligning your idea with a real, significant customer pain point—and determining whether that pain is not just frustrating but urgent enough for people to actively seek a solution.

It’s not enough to solve a problem; the key question is: Is this problem painful enough that people are willing to pay for a solution? Many early-stage founders are incredibly passionate and full of energy, which is great, but it can sometimes lead to overlooking market validation in the rush to build.

One of the most valuable early-stage lessons is to step back and talk to potential customers, prospects, and industry experts. It’s about validating not just the pain point but also the willingness to invest in solving it. The difference between a great idea and a successful business often comes down to this: Is the perceived value big enough to drive real demand?

Founders who take the time to test and validate their assumptions early on put themselves in a much stronger position to build something truly scalable and impactful.

As an investor and business angel, you’ve talked about being quite hands-on. What kind of support do you offer to the startups you invest in?

I’m an angel investor through eNugget as my own vehicle. As a GP of eNugget, I’ve done around 70 investments, always trying to be as early as possible. So, the things I mentioned earlier are exactly where I can help the most.

I work with teams to identify pain points, shape their product, and define or refine messaging that resonates with the personas they’re targeting. I help build their initial sales motions—like outbound efforts for example—to reach those personas. Once they reach a product-market fit or product-segment fit, I help them create a repeatable, scalable engine up to a certain stage, let’s say up to a Series A round or around €2 million in revenue.

At that point, I think there are better people to help scale from €2 million to €10 million or beyond. But for those early stages, I believe I can provide significant value.

That’s quite specific…

I think as a business angel, this is exactly what you need to do—to build a profile and an angel brand. Usually, at least with AAA teams, they’re not just looking for money. They want dedicated support in certain areas.

And I can tell you that sales or go-to-market strategies, for example, can be particularly painful for teams that don’t have super-experienced founders or sales professionals. If you’re an angel who has experience in those areas, you can bring a lot of value to the table.

How would you describe your investor profile?

I think others should judge that, but if I had to describe my investor profile, I’d say I’m extremely hands-on and always accessible. My approach is to position myself as a resource, adapting to how founders prefer to engage.

Some founders like fast, iterative support—sending WhatsApp messages throughout the day to refine messaging or tackle urgent challenges. Others prefer a structured, scheduled approach with deep-dive sessions. I’m comfortable with both, but what really drives me is being in the “machine room”—getting operational, helping solve real problems, and actively contributing to sales and go-to-market strategies.

At the core, I’d describe my profile as sales- and GTM-focused, highly energetic, and deeply involved—but always based on what the founders need. Some teams leverage this a lot, others less, and that’s completely fine. It’s about providing the right level of support to help founders build and scale successfully.

Highly energetic—I love it. You also founded ARRtist, a network for people working in SaaS, right? It’s mainly for founders, C-level executives, and similar profiles. How did you discover there was a need for this kind of network?

It started from a pain point I recognized and experienced through my angel investments and conversations with people in the SaaS ecosystem. I noticed that, at different stages, founders face very repetitive problems.

As I said—messaging, ICP definition, scaling—it all varies depending on the stage. We have a lot of super-strong founders in the ecosystem who’ve solved many of these topics before. We also have a lot of investors and service providers who can help.

But my perception—and this was a personal one—was that we didn’t have an infrastructure for this exchange, this kind of ecosystem approach, to work. Taking a look at other geographies, like the U.S. with SaaStr or the UK, you see established ecosystems in SaaS and the positive effects of having these kinds of communities. So, that was why I said, "Hey, let’s start building something small." Maybe a conference where we bring together a very curated group of people–as you said, founders, C-level profiles, investors, and a couple of industry partners.

At that time, I found my two co-founders, who both have an events background. I had invested in their XletiX event chain before, which they sold. So, they were on the beach taking a break. I had a clue about SaaS but no idea about events; for them, it was the other way around. And we started to draft ARRtist. Now, I think it’s developed into the leading ecosystem in B2B SaaS in DACH and beyond. It’s a lot of fun. I learn something new every day. Very inspirational, I really like what we’re doing there.

And you have a new event coming up in April—ARRtist Circus. Could you tell us a bit about how this is slightly different from the ARRtist Summit, which takes place in October?

So, with the Summit, as I said, we’re focusing on a super-curated audience—C-level founders, and investors. It’s 625 people only, and we call it the "SaaS Davos " with a big smile. No sellers, decision-makers only. So, people aren’t annoyed, and they’re there to build connections and exchange ideas and experiences.

But we see a big demand, especially among go-to-market teams—sales, customer success, pre-sales, partnerships, and RevOps. They have a demand for education, enablement, and exchange. If you look at the landscape of events, there are very old-fashioned sales conferences—old white guys in suits drinking beer.

We wanted to build something new. With ARRtist Circus happening in April, we’re creating the Tomorrowland for revenue teams—Europe’s biggest festival for revenue teams. It’s a full day of entertainment but, first and foremost, education. The best revenue people in Europe and their teams come together to have fun, learn, and compete. Of course, we have a lot of super fun team challenges.

What do they compete for?

So, usually, you come as a team. It’s a B2B-focused concept. The leader brings their team as a kind of training or team event. And, of course, revenue people are usually highly competitive—they enjoy competing. We’ve designed a lot of challenges during the day where teams can compete against each other. For example, HubSpot versus Salesforce. You can imagine the energy that gets unleashed there. It’s quite crazy.

What do you think makes this approach of the ARRtist Summit in October so appealing to participants?

The ARRtist Summit has been sold out every year, and the reason is simple: it’s highly curated and intentionally kept small. Unlike many large-scale conferences, our focus isn’t on growing attendance numbers—it’s on constantly increasing the quality of participants.

This means that every conversation, every connection, and every session is highly relevant for SaaS founders, executives, and investors. It’s an event where real relationships are built, where people engage in deep, meaningful discussions rather than just surface-level networking.

If you’re a SaaS founder or C-level executive, I’d love to share more about what makes this event so unique. It’s not about scale—it’s about impact. And that’s exactly why people keep coming back.

Is it invite-only, or do people have to qualify for it according to their job role?

It’s a mixture of both. You need to go through a registration process where we check if you’re a SaaS founder or C-level Executive. We typically accept 20-25% of the applications and see a lot of value in this high degree of curation. Just to give you an example—on the investor side, we have 125 investor tickets per year, and all the big brands participate. This year, we had 255 applications for those 125 tickets so it's in high demand.

How do you generate this high demand?

I think the high demand comes from a combination of factors that make the ARRtist Summit truly valuable for the SaaS community.

First and foremost, high-quality content plays a major role. We’re fortunate to have some of the best founders and operators giving back to the community by sharing their mistakes, learnings, and best practices. This makes the event incredibly insightful and practical, attracting other founders, executives, and industry leaders who want to learn from real, hands-on experiences.

Another key driver is the unique networking value. The Summit isn’t just about listening to great talks—it’s about connecting with the right people in an intimate setting. Founders and operators come to exchange ideas and build relationships that help them grow their businesses. For investors, it’s an opportunity to spot rising stars, connect with promising pre-seed and early-stage companies, and, for growth investors, engage with high-performing SaaS businesses at the right moment.

Finally, the personal network effect is huge. Many attendees leave with two, three, or four highly valuable new contacts, people they can stay in touch with all year. Whether it’s via WhatsApp, quick calls, or follow-up meetings, these relationships enable founders and executives to solve challenges faster and access new opportunities effortlessly.

It’s this curated mix of content, connections, and high-value networking that keeps demand consistently high.

You also create a safe space for people within this environment…

Absolutely. Creating a safe space for meaningful conversations is a core principle of the ARRtist Summit.

That’s why we don’t allow media—every press request for the conference is declined. This ensures that founders, executives, and investors can speak openly and honestly, without the pressure of being quoted or misinterpreted.

We also maintain a strict no-sellers policy. The only exceptions are a handful of carefully selected partners, and you can’t attend as an SDR or AE. This means that every interaction at the Summit has a high likelihood of being valuable, with minimal distractions from people trying to pitch their services. This creates an authentic, high-trust environment where attendees can focus on real connections and knowledge exchange.

For those who don’t qualify for the conference itself, we’ve built the Berlin SaaS Week, which has grown into an incredible platform. This year, we ran it for the second time with 30+ satellite events happening across Berlin.

I truly believe that every SaaS founder—C-level or below—should spend four days a year in Berlin during SaaS Week. The market is still huge and under-digitized, making it a prime opportunity for those building digital software solutions in and for DACH.

Where do you see the potential for building SaaS companies in the DACH region??

The potential of SaaS models in the DACH region is immense – and we are only at the beginning of this development.

SaaS has gained significant traction in recent years, but compared to the US, there is still substantial room for growth. Many companies, especially in the mid-market, are just starting their cloud transformation. Strict regulatory requirements, such as GDPR, pose challenges but also create opportunities for European solutions that meet these standards from the ground up. One of the key growth drivers will be vertical SaaS solutions tailored to specific industries like manufacturing, healthcare, or legal tech. While horizontal solutions like CRM or HR tech are already well established, industry-specific software still has a lot of untapped potential.

Another crucial factor is the B2B SaaS market, which offers great opportunities. Many enterprise processes are still dominated by on-premise solutions or manual workflows, and cloud-based automation presents a clear efficiency advantage.

In short, the DACH region has all the ingredients to become a leading SaaS hub in Europe but we alo need to thing beyond the fragmentation of the European market.

That is also the reason you collaborate with the SaaS Summit Benelux, right? Do you support them in their events too?

We have very strong connections with SaaS Benelux, with Johan but are also well-connected with B2B Rocks in France or SaaStock in the UK. A connected European B2B SaaS ecosystem is stronger, more resilient, and more competitive. By fostering collaboration, sharing knowledge, and enabling cross-border growth, we have the potential to become a leading, AI-enabled global SaaS powerhouse. Now is the time to build those bridges and unlock the full potential of the European region!

If we can champion SaaS in Europe, then we have a better chance of–not competing with the US–but raising the quality of startups we have in Europe…

Absolutely. Competing with the US is a long-term game, but our immediate opportunity lies in strengthening the framework and ecosystem for the SaaS companies already thriving in Europe. If we create better conditions for growth, funding, and scaling, we can not only elevate the quality of startups but also retain top-tier founders who might otherwise take their ideas to the US.

Unfortunately, we've seen an increasing trend over the past few years where AAA founders choose to start their journeys outside of Europe due to better funding opportunities, market access, or ecosystem support. By collaborating across borders, improving regulatory conditions, and fostering stronger SaaS communities, we can reverse this trend and position Europe as a true SaaS powerhouse. This is something we are actively working on every day.

What do you think has changed in the last few years that’s causing more founders to leave Europe and go to the US?

Indeed, we've been seeing more and more top founders leaving Europe for the US. The key reasons for this shift are structural challenges in the European startup ecosystem—particularly for SaaS companies.

One of the biggest barriers is that starting and scaling a company in Europe remains far more complex and bureaucratic than in the US. Access to early-stage and growth capital is more difficult, and founders often struggle to find the same level of risk appetite among European investors as they would in Silicon Valley.

However, I believe the biggest issue in Germany, and much of Europe, is speed—we move too slowly in supporting the startup ecosystem. While the US fosters a highly dynamic and agile environment, Europe is still playing catch-up in terms of funding availability, regulatory frameworks, and support structures for SaaS companies.

This is something we urgently need to counteract. We can do a lot ourselves through community-building, private initiatives, and cross-border collaboration, but we also need stronger, Europe-wide efforts to push SaaS forward. A great example of this is the recent launch of European Inc. by my good friend Philipp Herkelmann, an initiative I strongly support.

And last year was particularly tough for startups in the SaaS arena. Do you think there’s a new type of founder emerging?

That’s a big topic, but one thing is clear: the mindset of SaaS founders has fundamentally shifted over the past two years.

The challenges of 2023 weren’t just about tough market conditions—they were a correction after years of excess capital and aggressive growth strategies. Funding markets normalized, and as a result, we’ve seen a new generation of founders emerge with a much more pragmatic and capital-efficient approach to building their companies.

For today’s early-stage founders, capital efficiency is a core principle from day one. Unlike five years ago, when cheap capital fueled rapid, often unsustainable growth, new founders are more focused on sustainable unit economics, profitability, and strategic scaling rather than growth at all costs.

At the same time, we’re seeing early signs of recovery on the funding side. As interest rates decrease and stabilize, more capital is likely to flow back into the public markets, which will eventually translate into stronger investment activity for VC-backed companies of all stages again.

So yes, we are witnessing the rise of a new type of founder—more disciplined, more efficient, and better prepared for long-term success in a world where capital is no longer unlimited.

We’re going to shift focus a bit now. I just wanted to ask—what’s your background, and where did your entrepreneurial drive come from?

That’s a good question. To be very honest, I need to ask myself sometimes. My family has no entrepreneurial background at all. My father was a teacher, and my mother still works for an insurance company.

I think I just grew up in very normal circumstances—not a lot of money—but I was always ambitious. Maybe that drive came from sports or school. I was just intrinsically motivated to do something. I tried a lot of different things during my early days, and I think I first learned what I didn’t like to do—like consulting. I learned a lot there, and it was a super good education, but I quickly understood it wasn’t for me.

Then I got super lucky with an opportunity to go to Zalando, which at that time nobody really understood. Everyone was like, “Why are you doing this? Selling shoes online will never work.” They thought I was leaving a good career at McKinsey behind. At Zalando, I had the chance to figure out what I was good at—early-stage work—and what I didn’t like: managing corporate structures, which are very political. It was painful and not easy, but in hindsight, it was the best thing that could have happened. I clearly understood what I’m passionate about—and that’s entrepreneurship.

You’ve talked before about the importance of balance in life. You’re on holiday right now, which is great! How do you find the balance between running ARRtist, being an investor, running a podcast, and being a serial entrepreneur?

It’s definitely a lot to juggle, but balance isn’t about strict separation—it’s about flexibility and integration.

Even this call is part of that balance—because after two weeks of holiday with two kids (whom I love dearly!), sometimes a bit of work feels like a break too!

I’m lucky to have a high degree of flexibility in how I structure my work. I’m not a fan of rigid schedules, and this agility allows me to adjust my priorities on short notice. If I want to spend time with my family tomorrow, I can make it happen. And if an important call comes up during my holiday, I can fit it in without it feeling like a burden.

Last question before we wrap up: What would you say are your top three achievements, either in your career or personal life?

That’s a tough one. I think one achievement is understanding what I’m good at and what I’m not good at. That’s been super helpful for my decision-making and knowing what I want to do moving forward. The second one, given my very normal family background, is reaching financial freedom early in life. That’s something I’m very thankful for, and it’s had a big impact on my life.

And the third?

The third would be being able to understand very different business models and finding solutions for them. I’ve worked in consulting, e-commerce, SaaS, and now building an ecosystem. Being able to take an idea, execute it, and make it work—that’s something I’m proud of. I think it’s an achievement to be diverse in thinking and still manage to execute successfully.

You make things happen, which is cool. Thank you so much for your time today, especially since you’re on holiday. I hope this call felt like a bit of a break, even with two kids keeping you busy!

Thank you, Robin! It’s been a great conversation, and I appreciate the thoughtful questions. Let’s stay in touch!