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‘Only person you have to please is the customer’

In our weekly feature series, The Local looks into a successful entrepreneur's life - the story behind his successes, major challenges and how being an entrepreneur changed him forever. This week, Sparsh Sharma talks to Gene Sobolev, co-founder of inboundli.

Published: 3 March 2015 16:20 CET
'Only person you have to please is the customer'
Gene Sobolev. Private photo.

Gene Sobolev co-created inboundli, a platform that lets marketers improve the way they share and curate content on social media.

How did you come up with this business idea?

My co-founder, Yuri Prezument, and me are friends from high school. He is now based in Tel Aviv (Israel) while I live in Berlin.

We had a previous startup where we were trying to build up our social media presence by working tirelessly on Twitter, Google+, Facebook, etc. Like many small businesses, we had little time to create content and were relying on curation to establish thought leadership and presence.

We tried many popular workflows and tools, some better than others, but none helped us deliver considerably better content, faster. We then built our own solution which had a different logic from anything on the market and delivered far better results than anything we have tried.

This convinced us to pivot and start inboundli in July 2014. Our algorithms match relevant content to companies based on their sector and analyze social media signals to help share the most engaging content with their audience. The content delivered is personalized and prioritized.

What were the initial challenges? How did you overcome them?

The first challenge was to figure out whether we were solving a significant problem and who would benefit the most from our solution.

We started by reaching out to various professionals on Twitter, asking for interviews and received a surprising number of replies. The problem resonated with marketers across most sectors. So, after about 25 interviews, we knew who we were aiming at and what their requirements are. Another problem was funding.

We are bootstrapping and offered our platform for free until recently. As with many startups, our perception was that an investment is crucial for the survival of our company. However, the deals we were offered were not in our best interest and we decided to change our approach.

This meant laying out a clear customer acquisition strategy and starting to monetize quicker. From how things look now, we will be able to support ourselves in four months. This makes us less dependent on external capital and gives us tangible KPIs and traction to show, should we need funding in the future.

How has the journey been so far?

We created two startups in one year. That changed our attitudes towards our concept as well as towards how startups should function and business models should be made.

We spoke to more people and made better market research altogether.

While offering our service for free, we optimized the product to make it into one that our customers get significant benefits from using. We save marketers a lot of time and help them establish a unique and relevant voice across their social media assets.

Our biggest understanding, however, was realizing the importance of a well-defined sales and marketing framework. We had a very clear product development processes but a sloppy approach to commercialization. Changing our attitudes resulted in enormous benefits and an ability to monetize much faster than initially expected.

How has becoming an entrepreneur changed you, personally?

It has taught us to be honest with ourselves. This implies admitting mistakes and looking at things realistically. We were misleading ourselves with our first startup, although all the signals of imminent failure were there, which cost us time and resources. When things don't seem to be working, they are not working.
It has also taught us to get stuff done; if we don't do it, nobody else will. We enjoy programming/ coding, customer research and product development but have learnt to appreciate the equal importance of sales and marketing, too. There are no shortcuts in entrepreneurship and you have to do whatever it takes, so being flexible while maintaining a strategic vision is critical in my opinion.

Any other personal reflections and/ or message to budding entrepreneurs?

Our first startup had a business-to-customer (B2C) model, but one shouldn’t get into B2C unless one has a radical idea. For business-to-business (B2B) startups, I think it is crucial to think about customers first.

Startups measure themselves, and their success, in terms of investment received and funds raised, which distorts reality. Customers, and even better, revenue are concrete ways to measure success in a B2B startup.

But even more important is to have a great co-founder. I have known Yuri for 15 years, which allows us to work transparently and not to have to worry about founder issues. I have personally witnessed extremely unpleasant situations between founders and if the circumstances allow it, I would advise against starting a startup with a complete stranger.

Are you an entrepreneur in Germany? Contact us and we might feature your story

Sparsh Sharma works as a freelance journalist for The Local and blogs about his experiences in Denmark. You can follow him on Twitter at @sparsh_s.

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WORKING IN GERMANY

Four steps to take straight away after losing your job in Germany

Losing a job can be a nightmare situation for foreigners in Germany - but following these simple steps will get you back on your feet in no time.

Published: 10 September 2024 16:34 CEST
Updated: 15 September 2024 08:14 CEST
Four steps to take straight away after losing your job in Germany

In times of economic downturn, layoffs are far from unusual – but that doesn’t make it any more difficult for the people who find themselves suddenly left without work.

For foreigners in Germany, the situation is even more frightening. You may wonder whether your residence status is in jeopardy, how hard it will be to find another position, and whether you can support yourself while you look for another job.

Though it may be hard to think clearly at a time like this, following these four simple steps will set you in good stead to move forward – and hopefully, it won’t be long before another dream opportunity comes your way. 

1. Negotiate your terms 

Before signing or agreeing to anything, it’s crucial that you’re familiar with your rights and understand how much notice your employer has to give you and what kind of settlement you may be owed.

Generally, the rule of thumb is that you get half a month of severance for every year you worked at the company. That said, higher settlements can be negotiated in return for signing a termination agreement (Aufhebungsvertrag), so you may want to seek legal advice before settling. 

Even during a probationary period, your employer will also have to give you a certain amount of notice before your last working day. During the interim, you can either work for the company or be put on what is known as gardening leave in English, where you stay home but are paid as if you were working.

This can all be negotiated as part of a termination agreement, so you should think carefully about what works best for you and consider speaking to your labour council (Betriebsrat) or a legal specialist before making any firm decisions. You should also be aware that you have no obligation to sign any agreement and can legally dispute the layoff if you want to. 

READ ALSO: Can I get unemployment benefits in Germany if I quit my job?

2. Get all the necessary documents from your employer

Once the terms of the layoff are final, ensure that your employer gives you all the necessary documents you need to navigate the next phase of German bureaucracy.

The main two to think about first are the confirmation of work (Arbeitsbescheinung) and the confirmation of your holiday entitlement (Urlaubsbescheinigung).

The first can be sent to the Agentur für Arbeit (jobcentre) as proof of your last job and recent layoff, while the second will help your next employer calculate your vacation days for the rest of the year.

An Arbeitszeugnis, or German letter of reference

An Arbeitszeugnis, or German letter of reference. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/dpa-tmn | Zacharie Scheurer

On top of these documents, you’ll want to ask your employer for a letter of reference (Arbeitszeugnis), which is useful for finding a new job in Germany.

You should also keep hold of your last payslip and statement of earnings (Lohnsteuerabrechnung), which are helpful for tax purposes and may also be requested by the Agentur für Arbeit.

Speaking of which… 

3. Register as unemployed with the Agentur für Arbeit

As soon as you know that you are soon to be unemployed, you should register as a jobseeker with the Agentur für Arbeit. To get full unemployment benefits, you usually have to do this within three days of receiving your termination notice or at least three months before leaving.

Depending on what type of residence permit you’re on, you may or may not be entitled to long-term unemployment benefits (ALG II), but most employees are able to get unemployment insurance (ALG I), which covers a proportion of your former salary while you look for a new role.

It’s important to be a little bit careful here, as claiming long-term unemployment benefits (ALG II) can affect any future citizenship applications. Any severance pay you agree to can also result in you losing some months of unemployment benefits, so these are all factors you will have to consider while deciding on the best way forward. 

READ ALSO: What happens to your work permit if you lose your job in Germany?

4. Inform the immigration office 

If you’re on a residence permit that is linked to your job in some way, like a Blue Card or work visa, you’ll need to inform the immigration office about your change in circumstances as soon as possible.

This should be done in writing, and in German, within two weeks of receiving your termination notice.

You should include all relevant personal information, such as date of birth, residence permit type, and nationality, as well as the date of your final day at work. As proof of the layoff, you should also enclose a copy of your termination agreement or a letter from your employer. 

People enter the immigration office

For foreigners who move to Germany and settle in Berlin, a visit to the Berliner Landesamt für Einwanderung (LEA) is ultimately unavoidable. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Britta Pedersen

In most cases, the immigration office will give you between 3 and 12 months to look for a new job. If they give you a shorter period, be aware that you may be able to negotiate an extension later on if you are struggling to find work through no fault of your own.

Above all, stay positive. Though it may feel like one door has closed, another one is sure to open. This being Germany, you may just have to wade through a sea of paperwork to get there.

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