Summary of Philipp Klöckner über seine Karriere und Broke Angel Investments

00:00:00 - 00:40:00

In this YouTube video titled "Philipp Klöckner über seine Karriere und Broke Angel Investments," Philipp Klöckner shares insights about his career journey in SEO and affiliate marketing . He discusses his early interest in websites and SEO, his time at idealo, and his work with Rocket Internet and other ventures. Klöckner also talks about his approach to entrepreneurship and being an angel investor, highlighting the importance of expertise and trust in these roles. He reflects on his career choices, mistakes made along the way, and offers advice to listeners. Overall, Klöckner emphasizes the willingness to learn, take risks, and make course corrections in order to achieve success.

• 00:00:00 In this section, the host welcomes Philipp Klöckner to the podcast and they discuss his career in SEO and affiliate marketing. Klöckner talks about how his interest in websites and SEO started when he became the webmaster for his volleyball club. He explains that he began to learn about SEO and affiliate marketing by trying to understand why certain websites weren't showing up in Google searches. He also shares how he started building websites and experimenting with different monetization methods, focusing on niche topics that had high traffic but weren't being monetized effectively. Klöckner also mentions his time at idealo, Germany's largest price comparison website, where he further delved into SEO.
• 00:05:00 In this section, Philipp Klöckner talks about his early career and how he managed to work on his own projects while having a full-time job. He started off working at idealo and quickly became successful and profitable with his own side projects. He would work at idealo during the day and then spend his evenings and weekends working on his own projects. This dedication eventually paid off, as he became an important person within idealo and took on new responsibilities and roles. He worked as a product manager and helped develop new categories and business intelligence tools. He also discusses the advantages of working in a startup, mentioning the steep learning curve and opportunities for advancement. He advises young professionals to carefully choose where they start their careers, whether in a startup or a consultancy firm, as both paths offer valuable learning experiences. After six years at idealo, Klöckner felt that he had reached his maximum potential within the company and decided to move on, although it wasn't an easy decision for him.
• 00:10:00 In this section, Philipp Klöckner discusses how he received offers to recreate the price comparison market for Rocket Internet, but he was hesitant due to the challenges posed by Google's self-promotion in the market. However, he eventually agreed to help Rocket Internet with marketing, SEO, and product understanding for their other ventures, such as Ladenzeile and Wimdu. Ladenzeile quickly became profitable within a year, while Wimdu had a strong SEO marketing team but ultimately failed due to competition from Airbnb. Klöckner also worked with Foodpanda and the Global Sales Group before the companies were eventually acquired.
• 00:15:00 In this section, Philipp Klöckner discusses his career and broken angel investments. He mentions that his work outside of Rocket Internet has been quite rewarding, not just financially but also in terms of the equity he received. He shares that he often didn't receive a salary and instead was compensated with a small stake in the company. He highlights that the returns from his investments in LadenZeile, HomeToGo, and Fewo-Direkt (now HomeAway) have been the most profitable for him, with LadenZeile providing a steady income through dividends. Klöckner also reflects on some mistakes made with Window, suggesting that the company could have focused on rural vacation regions instead of competing with RBMP in major cities. Additionally, he mentions the high cost of acquiring inventory and suggests that a more efficient approach would have been to partner with large intermediaries.
• 00:20:00 In this section, Philipp Klöckner discusses his approach to entrepreneurship and his role as an angel investor. He explains that he prefers to work on various projects and identify inefficiencies rather than solely focusing on building one company. He believes that this approach allows him to constantly learn and avoid losing sight of the bigger picture. Although he is not a traditional founder, he has been involved in many successful ventures and has played a role in their achievements. Klöckner also shares his experience as a consultant and how he was able to participate in companies' success by accepting equity instead of a fixed fee. This model, known as "Broke Angel" or "Bankrupt Angel," allows him to scale his impact without investing significant capital. Despite not being a typical founder, Klöckner considers himself an ultimate entrepreneur due to the risks he has taken and his ability to achieve entrepreneurial returns.
• 00:25:00 In this section, Philipp Klöckner discusses the challenges of finding German companies that are open to angel investments and willing to give up equity. He explains that for investors, it is a low-risk opportunity as they can easily terminate the agreement if things don't go well. It is also a strong signal of belief in one's own abilities as an investor. Klöckner emphasizes the importance of trust between the investor and the founder, stating that if he believes he can positively impact the company's outlook by more than one percent, then it makes sense to invest. He acknowledges the potential for abuse but notes that taking advantage of the situation would lead to the loss of future opportunities and partnerships. Klöckner continues to engage in these types of deals with other companies and offers advisory roles to provide expertise and support.
• 00:30:00 In this section, Philipp Klöckner discusses the importance of having prior experience and knowledge in order to be a valuable angel investor. He emphasizes that while many startup founders may not have significant experience, he has seen a large number of startups and growth companies in the past, allowing him to identify and avoid common mistakes. He also mentions that becoming a successful angel investor requires specific qualifications and expertise, whether it is in a specialized field or having broad experience across different companies. Klöckner suggests that one way to find startups to invest in is to collaborate with local factors such as incubators or tech centers that have mentor networks. Additionally, attending startup events or following startup media can help identify potential investment opportunities. Overall, Klöckner believes that networking and having a strong reputation are crucial in attracting startups who are seeking expertise and assistance. He also mentions that starting off as an angel investor can be challenging, but as one builds their network and reputation, opportunities for collaboration arise more easily.
• 00:35:00 In this section, Philipp Klöckner reflects on his career and investments. He mentions that he finds mistakes acceptable as long as you can learn from them. He talks about some mistakes he made, such as not investing in stocks at the time when it would have been financially smarter. However, he also highlights the positive aspects of his journey, such as the experiences and relationships he gained while working with different teams. He expresses gratitude for the path he has taken and believes that luck and chance have played a part in his success. He also discusses the success of his podcast and his involvement in winning a Google shopping case, although he acknowledges that these achievements were team efforts. He advises listeners to prioritize working with impressive individuals from whom they can learn and to not limit themselves in their career decisions based on predetermined paths.
• 00:40:00 In this section of the video, Philipp Klöckner discusses his career aspirations and how he ended up in the internet industry, which was quite different from his initial dream of becoming a fund manager. However, he now works closely with the largest private equity firms and spends a significant amount of time analyzing stocks, which aligns with his original aspirations. Klöckner also talks about the importance of making corrections and adjustments in one's career path, and recommends books such as "Hard Things about Hard Things" by Ben Horowitz and "Master Switch" by Tim Wu for those interested in marketplace dynamics and competition and regulation. He concludes by emphasizing the importance of taking action in order to achieve success.