Students - HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management

44 Careers
Interview
HHL’s entrepreneurs
In 2008, Dr. Sebastian Siebert (K12) and his
colleague Dr. Fabian Labriola founded their
own company Fashionette. Being inspired by
a movie, they have since turned a passion
many women share into a successful business
model. HHL news interviewed Dr. Siebert.
Brief news on entrepreneurs
VC firm Grazia Equity hosted Businessplan competition
at HHL: The Grazia Equity Businessplan
Competition was hosted by VC firm Grazia Equity
at HHL in Spring 2009. This event has become a
tradition, this year being its seventh consecutive
year. Together with a diverse jury comprising entrepreneurs
(Marcel Radzei [K5] from Billigflieger.de),
academics (Professor Dr. Peter Kesting from Aarhus
University) and VC investors (Jochen Klüppel from
Grazia Equity), HHL students and external partners
presented the business plans they had developed
over the previous months. Active support during this
time was provided by Smile.medibiz, especially by
Matthias Tischner (K21), and enabled by the Chamber
of Commerce and Industry Leipzig (IHK zu Leipzig).
HHL news: Your business idea seems to
be quite unusual. Please tell us: Who are
the people leasing Gucci handbags, for
instance, for one week?
Dr. Siebert: Our customers are fashion-conscious
women who have a passion for luxury
accessories but lack the disposable income
to afford them. An average designer handbag
costs more than EUR 1,000, which is a lot of
money in our current economic climate.
Fashionette provides the opportunity to
access and enjoy more luxury accessories.
HHL news: You work together with other
HHL alumni. Which key competencies
possessed by HHL graduates do you
appreciate most?
Dr. Siebert: What I appreciate most is the
entrepreneurial spirit and high energy levels
of many HHL graduates. I think a positive
attitude that anything and everything is
possible is an important success factor for
start-ups with naturally limited resources.
This of course can be found in graduates at
all universities, but HHL gives a quality
Wirtschaftsbürgermeister of Leipzig new patron
of the HHL business plan seminar: Uwe Albrecht,
Mayor for Business, Economy and Employment in
Leipzig, has become the patron of the new rounds
of the HHL business plan seminar in 2010. We are
very happy to have his support, which highlights the
impact HHL students have on the regional economy.
New HHL start-ups: eCareer Internet: HHL alumnus
Christopher Muhr (MSc2) recently co-founded
eCareer Internet. The company focuses on providing
a job portal for positions above EUR 50,000 annual
salary. With an intelligent matching service in the
backend, eCareer adds a new and interesting twist
to the market for job portals.
Fairix: HHL alumnus Philipp Legge (MSc2) cofounded
this online shopping portal for sustainable
products. The offerings range from electronics
to cosmetics, from furniture to clothing.
The stated goal of fairix is to become the market
leader in Germany for sustainable trade.
HHL News – wiNter 2009/2010
assurance which reduces the risk of hiring
the wrong person.
HHL news: With more than 80 successful
start-ups, HHL has made a name for itself
as an academy for entrepreneurs. How
do you benefit from this network?
Dr. Siebert: Over the past few years, HHL has
created a network of entrepreneurs which is
truly unique in Germany. There is an active
exchange between founders and we try to
support each other, for example in connecting
with potential investors, employees or
cooperation partners. This also applies for
other HHL alumni who themselves are not
active as entrepreneurs. They can open doors
for us as a company and generate new
business opportunities. I believe that access
to this network is by far the most valuable
asset one can gain from studying at HHL.
HHL news: In one sentence: what makes
an internet start-up like yours successful?
Dr. Siebert: The ability to hire the right
people.
Awards: An HHL alumnus is “Germany’s Mr. Startup”:
Techcrunch is one of the most highly reputed
magazines in the start-up and tech-innovation
sphere. Besides many other activities, it regularly
organizes popular entrepreneurship events
throughout the world. Recently, Techcrunch had a
feature on HHL alumnus Lukasz Gadowski (K12)
and named him “Germany’s Mr. Start-up.”
Playnik wins Internet World award 2009: The reputed
publication Internet Business World awarded
the 2009 prize for the best start-up to Playnik, the
gaming company founded by HHL alumnus Malte
Paul (K10). Also among the 20 finalists was smava,
a micro-financing platform where HHL alumnus
Sebastian Rieschel (K11) is in the founding team.
Lecturio wins ugb award: E-lecture company
Lecturio, founded by HHL alumni Tim Koschella and
Martin Schlichte (both K21), won the ugb founders
award which they received at the futuresax Phase
III finals.