is of secondary importance. And the answer to
that can be found through thorough research
of the situation on the ground.
Once you have done your homework, I
myself find it important to subject those results
and assumptions to a thorough reality check.
This should be carried out as early and as
cheaply as possible. So don’t just concentrate
on your business cards and a stylish website,
talk to the people who might be interested in
your idea – potential customers. Early on,
Claudia Gellrich asked the yoga enthusiasts
among her friends and acquaintances what
they thought of her idea of combining yoga,
hiking and digital downtime, in beautiful
surroundings. The response was resoundingly
positive, so she moved onto the next stage of
setting up her own website and registering the
business. I personally would never invest
money in an idea without a certain Proof of
Concept, regardless of how good it looks on
paper.
Have you got any tips for launching campaigns
on Startnext.com?
Startnext is a crowdfunding platform for
financing creative ideas. Here, despite the fact
that it uses expressions like ‘supporter’ and
‘donating’, you should never forget that people
are not just donating their money. They want a
clear return for their money – and this has to
be the focus of every crowdfunding campaign.
Finally, your pitch needs to be as good as it
can possibly be. We spent weeks honing our
campaign until our pitch could not be
improved on any more.
You appear as a speaker on the subject of
start-ups and your presentations are billed as
both interesting and entertaining. Is this talent
or hard work?
Both, of course (laughs). I would have considerably less fun in giving my lectures if that
wasn’t the case. And ultimately that is exactly
what an audience deserves and what enthuses
them: the mix of one’s own enthusiasm and the
willingness to keep on evolving. I compose my
lectures entirely on my own, just as I write my
own books. I am not at all in favour of handing
over something that important to a ghostwriter
or to another service provider.
Your new book ‘Das 4-Stunden-Startup’ takes
us through the steps required to start your own
company while holding down a permanent
job. Have you already had feedback and
success stories from people you have been
able to motivate?
Yes, I really have and I receive more nearly
every day. I think this is because the concept of
trying out a business idea ‘on the side’, in
KarmahiKe was founded by Claudia
Gellrich. She organises combined
yoga and hiking holidays,
including in Mallorca. Her story
is one of those told by Felix Plötz
in ‘Das 4-Stunden-Startup’.
other words in addition to your normal job,
offers great advantages. I believe that only a
few people are such go-getters that they immediately give up everything and hand in their
notice the moment they get a good idea. I am
not like that myself and so have founded things
‘on the side’ a number of times. Up to now
however far too few people were aware that
this was even a possibility. Others can’t work
out how they could manage it timewise. And
this is just what the books clarifies.
You are now a publisher yourself, not only of
print literature but also of audio and e-books.
What market share does each of these enjoy?
How important is print today?
You’re right. Following on from our 2013 selfpublishing project, we founded Germany’s first
publishing house for YouTubers in 2015. This
means that our writers are all social media
stars, some of them with millions of followers.
The result is that our readers are not traditional
book buyers. Despite this the split is pretty traditional - the largest market share for our books
is print. E-books account for only 5 to 15% and
the market for audio books is even smaller.
Do you have any new projects in the pipeline?
Can we expect a new book? Are you planning
any more start-ups alongside your current
career?
No, I am currently incredibly busy (laughs). I
travel a great deal with my presentations and I
am still working as a publisher at ‘Plötz &
Betzholz’ even though it is now part of Ullstein
Buchverlage. However, I can see myself writing another book. I have already assembled
lots of ideas and the most important aspect
continues to be generating enthusiasm for
embracing the start-up spirit by winning over
hearts and minds.
Herr Plötz, many thanks for talking to us.
phOtO Felix plötZ by sarah rubensDörFer
Das 4-stunDen-startup is already one
of the best-selling business books
in Germany. It is both the official
‘Manager Magazin Bestseller’
and the ‘Handelsblatt Bestseller’.
as seen On amaZOn.De
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