6 Lessons from the Founders' Fireside Chat LMU with Thomas Bernik

Some days ago, 45 founders, students, and startup enthusiasts packed into a room at the LMU Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center in Munich for the Founders Fireside Chat LMU. No keynotes. No slides. Just an honest, unscripted conversation that lasted over three hours.

On stage: Thomas Bernik, serial entrepreneur and CEO of Rebike – Germany's largest recommerce platform for e-bikes – alongside Natascha (Director Entrepreneurship Ecoysystem at LMU) and myself.

The atmosphere was unlike most startup events. Open. Personal. Almost like sitting in a shared apartment, talking late into the night about what really matters.

Many of the most personal moments stayed in the room – as they should. But here's what I can share.

• 1. Speed beats perfection

Thomas shared how he had to pivot Rebike's entire business model almost overnight. The pandemic hit, the market shifted, and there was no time for lengthy strategy sessions.

His takeaway: Adaptability matters more than perfect planning. The founders who survive aren't the ones with the best original idea – they're the ones who adjust fastest when reality doesn't match the plan.

• 2. Protect your cap table like your life depends on it

I shared something I rarely talk about publicly: my first company failed because of fraud.

The lesson I took from that experience is simple but critical: Only give equity to people you truly know and trust. Your cap table isn't just a legal structure – it's protection. One wrong decision early on can haunt you for years.

• 3. Entrepreneurship requires a different relationship with risk

We talked a lot about mindset. One thing became clear: entrepreneurs are wired differently when it comes to risk. If your primary goal is security and guarantees, the startup path will feel like constant torture.

But that doesn't mean we should glorify reckless risk-taking. The real question is: How do we reduce risk structurally – without killing ambition?

Some ideas that came up: creating return paths to academia if a startup fails, removing the stigma around failure, and building support systems that provide safety nets without reducing ambition.

If failure is accepted, more people will take the leap.

• 4. Finding a co-founder is about trust, not credentials

One of the best audience questions: How do you convince someone to join your startup when you have no money, no traction, and no proof it will work?

The answer wasn't about equity splits or pitch decks.

It was about trust, complementary skills, and shared mindset. The best co-founder relationships aren't transactions – they're partnerships built on believing in the same thing and being willing to figure it out together.

• 5. Profit and purpose are not opposites

This came up more than once – and it's a question every founder eventually faces: do you build for impact or for profit?

The honest answer: it's a personal decision, and there is no universal rule.

What I've learned from building NanoTemper is that profit and purpose can reinforce each other. Profit gives you independence. Purpose gives you direction. The best companies I know have both – and they never had to choose.

• 6. People first – always

This one came up again and again throughout the evening.

Founders are people, not case studies. Startup employees need leadership, not just tasks. Scaling a company means taking responsibility for humans, not just metrics.

The best founders I know never forget this. Growth without care isn't success – it's just expansion.

What the Founders Fireside Chat LMU Taught Us About the Ecosystem

We also talked about what the ecosystem needs to support more founders:

• Physical spaces where startups can work and connect

• Access to experienced entrepreneurs – not just capital

• Universities that enable spin-offs instead of extracting early returns

• Faster paths from idea to execution

On the role of universities specifically: they have a responsibility to actively support technology transfer. The goal isn't to extract early financial returns from spin-offs – it's to create strong starting conditions. Successful companies will later contribute through taxes, which in turn support society and universities. That's the long game.

The shared ambition in the room was clear: strengthen the startup ecosystem in Munich, Bavaria, and across Europe.

One More Thing

The evening reminded me why I started doing these conversations in the first place.

Entrepreneurship requires courage. It requires trust. It requires systems that catch you when you fall.

But most of all, it requires an environment where failure doesn't end your career – it becomes part of your story.

That's what we're building. One conversation at a time.

These conversations happen in a room, with the right people. If you want to be one of them – subscribe to my newsletter - that’s where I share it first.