🎙 Welcome back to Mayhem & Masterplans, the podcast where Max, Simon, and Andreas prove once again that strategy, AI, and business life are never as smooth as your favorite startup slide deck. This week, we go full AI in everyday life, get lost in Mittelstand nostalgia, and Simon tries (and fails) to talk about cycling.

In this episode, we:

🔹 Chased Andreas across Germany – From Berlin to the West and back, while fighting off the sniffles, Andreas gives us a crash course in how to do conference hopping, sick mode included.

🔹 Debated Mittelstand vs. startup mindset – Andreas shares impressions from the Zukunftstag Deutscher Mittelstand and why SMEs still struggle with vision. Max and Simon argue that startups could learn a thing or two from German SMEs about profitability—and vice versa.

🔹 Talked subtle AI – Forget ChatGPT and robot overlords. We dive into the quiet side of AI: smarter customer service bots, auto-improved audio, and the kind of small automations that make life just a bit smoother (and less bureaucratic).

🔹 Roasted AI hype – Are we falling for the same old tech hype cycle? Max argues we’re overestimating the short term and underestimating the long term—again.

🔹 Fought about branding and sports – Simon tried (and failed) to steer the show into cycling’s five monuments and the power of sports branding. Max pulled the emergency brake, promising a dedicated episode (eventually).

🔹 Shared social media hacks – Max breaks down how he trained his Instagram algorithm to show more useful, entertaining, and business-relevant content—without falling into the influencer rabbit hole.

🔹 Closed with an AI should be invisible but delightful rant – Software should be forgettable and still make you smile. That’s the Hypecast way.

And of course, we wrapped with our musical picks:

🎵 The Four Horsemen – Metallica (Andreas keeping it old-school heavy)

🎵 Gone Away – The Offspring (Max going full 90s heartbreak punk)

🎵 Jetzt kommt die Osterzeit – Rolf Zuckowski (Simon... well... kids music wins again)

🎧 Subscribe to Mayhem & Masterplans wherever you get your podcasts—and follow us for chaotic strategy debates, AI skepticism, and the occasional off-topic cycling chat:

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📍 Simon on LinkedIn

📍 Andreas on LinkedIn

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🎙️ Produced by: Hypecast

#MayhemAndMasterplans #MittelstandMeetsAI #SmallStepsBigImpact #CorporateChaos #PodcastingInTunisia #AIShouldJustWork #HypecastProductions

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Welcome back to Mayhem & Masterplans, where Max, Simon, and Andreas explore the sweet spot between structure and spontaneity—one spreadsheet, one leadership anecdote, and one interrupted intro at a time. This week, we ask the question: Do numbers kill creativity - or can they be the foundation for trust, stability, and a healthier workplace culture?

In this episode, we:

🔹 Argued about analytics and intros – Do Max’s musical openings cause YouTube drop-offs? Is there such a thing as overcommunication? Simon investigates the stats. Andreas just wants to move on.

🔹 Dug into the difference between Entrepreneurs and Unternehmers – Is your business built for a flashy exit or for generational wealth? Max lays out the distinction, Andreas challenges the definitions, and Simon quietly contemplates the future of Mittelstand legacy.

🔹 Talked numbers vs. narrative – Are spreadsheets your north star, or just a safety blanket? From miller beer imports to stock photo disruption, we break down how numbers tell a story—but never the whole one.

🔹 Explored trust in the workplace – With declining faith in media and politics, the company you work for might just be the most trusted institution in your life. We unpack what that means for internal comms, leadership, and long-term employee engagement.

🔹 Highlighted the human factor – From Max’s sister in Tunisia to Duncan Donuts’ loyal staff, it turns out clear expectations, mutual respect, and being treated like a person (not a “resource”) can drive retention and culture better than free pizza ever could.

🔹 Got real about leadership comms – Overproduced videos don’t create connection. Instead, we make the case for informal, eye-level communication—think internal podcasts, weekly check-ins, and just talking with people, not to them.

🔹 Ended on a musical note – New week, new streaks, and no kid songs in sight:

🎵 Countless Skies – Be'lakor (Andreas leveling up his melodic death metal game)

🎵 Over & Over (Marsh Remix) – Leo Wood, Marsh (Simon finally breaks the children’s music curse)

🎵 Trying to Find a World That’s Been and Gone – Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds (Max getting wistful with Britpop brilliance)

Subscribe to Mayhem & Masterplans wherever you get your podcasts—and follow us for business takes, leadership therapy, and the occasional mic drop moment:

📍 Max – LinkedIn

📍 Simon – LinkedIn

📍 Andreas – LinkedIn

📰 Don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter: The Mic Drop

🎙️ Mayhem & Masterplans is produced by Hypecast Productions

#MayhemAndMasterplans #LeadershipMatters #CompanyCulture #InternalComms #TrustInBusiness #HypecastProductions

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Welcome back to Mayhem & Masterplans, where Max, Simon, and Andreas prove once again that you don’t need a unicorn valuation to have sharp insights - just a mic, a business model, and maybe a good Italian espresso. This week, we dig into the story behind Bending Spoons, the Milan-based tech juggernaut quietly building an empire by acquiring apps, cutting costs, and rewriting the playbook on buy vs. build.

In this episode, we:

🔹 Unpacked the rise of Bending Spoons – From building mobile apps in Milan to acquiring Evernote, Meetup, Komoot, and even WeTransfer. Simon walks us through how they buy, refactor, and relaunch tools with leaner teams, and Andreas wants to know: does gutting the original dev team ever work?

🔹 Debated tech takeovers – Can you really hand over a full product to a new engineering team and expect it to thrive? Simon breaks down the logic behind rewriting from scratch, and Andreas asks what’s actually preserved: the user base, the logo… or just the brand equity?

🔹 Explored business model evolution – Is this the anti-VC model Europe’s been waiting for? Max contrasts Bending Spoons with Germany’s Platform Group and argues we might be seeing the rise of private equity for product-led growth.

🔹 Talked synergy and scale – From shared analytics stacks to AWS discounts and centralized marketing, the crew discusses how backend efficiency fuels Bending Spoons' operating model—and where that can (and can’t) scale across different tech stacks.

🔹 Questioned the VC hype cycle – Remember 15-minute grocery delivery apps? So do we. Andreas and Max unpack the problem with unicorn chasing and argue for building long-term category leaders instead of burning cash on blitzscale dreams.

🔹 Got real about European ambition – Are European founders too cautious—or just more sustainable? Max argues that Germany’s family-owned Mittelstand is ready to think global, while Andreas points out that most prefer stability over scale.

🔹 Found some mayhem in Berlin’s public transport – Spoiler: random strikes are not a scalable mobility solution.

And, of course, we are closing the episode with our musicial choices for the week – From metalcore to moody pop to mellow guitar solos, here’s what’s been in our ears last:

🎵 Evidence – Lamb of God (Andreas repping metal and coincidence-core)

🎵 Watch – Billie Eilish (Simon brings mayhem with moody minimalism)

🎵 Last Train Home – John Mayer (Max cools it down with some soft rock soul)

Subscribe to Mayhem & Masterplans wherever you get your podcasts - and follow us for behind-the-scenes chaos, unsolicited business takes, and occasional existential crises:

📍 Max

📍 Simon

📍 Andreas

This podcast is produced by Hypecast Productions

#MayhemAndMasterplans #BendingSpoons #TechAcquisitions #BuyVsBuild #CategoryPlays #EuropeanTech #PodcastingWithPurpose #CorporateChaos

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.