Forto: How Michael Wax Evaluates and Leverages Opportunities | Recruiting: Experienced Managers vs. Startup Culture | Macroeconomic Industry Impact | Managing Your Own Board

About this episode

Michael Wax has built one of Germany's most successful logistics startups with Forto. With over half a billion dollars in investor funding and several hundred employees, the company ranks among Germany's best-known scale-ups. Forto enables companies to transport goods worldwide and provides solutions for selecting and monitoring optimal supply chains.

Winning Customers Without a Finished Product

One of the most remarkable insights from Michael's experience is how Forto won its first customer – before a finished product even existed. This approach demonstrates the importance of conducting early market validation and building trust before investing time and resources in product development.

The transformation from small startup to established player brought unique challenges. The company's image and market perception had to fundamentally change to convince larger enterprise customers.

Recruiting: Balancing Experience and Startup Culture

A central challenge for rapidly growing companies is integrating experienced managers into startup culture. Michael shares his insights on what prerequisites very experienced executives must bring to succeed in a dynamic startup environment.

For employee acquisition, Forto uses innovative approaches like workshops and collaboration with consultants. Openness, curiosity, and independence play crucial roles in selecting new team members. These qualities are often more important than pure technical expertise.

Business Growth and Strategic Partnerships

Forto was able to triple its business volume and establish important partnerships with major carriers. This development shows how crucial it is to make the right strategic decisions at the right time.

Michael also explains how he evaluates different business opportunities – a particularly impressive example was chartering Boeing aircraft during the Corona pandemic. Such opportunistic decisions require quick responsiveness and sound risk assessment.

Macroeconomic Influences on the Business Model

The past year and a half has been marked by significant market changes. Michael describes how macroeconomic and geopolitical developments affect business models like Forto's. Particularly interesting are his insights into the role container margins play in the business and how they impact profitability.

The roadmap to profitability is a central focus for the company – a challenge many scale-ups must face in the current market environment.

Board Management and Investor Relations

An often underestimated aspect of the CEO role is actively managing your own board with shareholders. Michael shares practical tips on what to consider and how to successfully manage this important relationship.

Advice for Early-Stage Founders

As an angel investor, Michael passes on valuable advice to early-stage founders. He observes that founders today may be less risk-friendly than in 2020/21 and shares his experiences with hard red flags in the early phase.

His key recommendations include the importance of experience and reflection in team building and the necessity of conducting early market validation. Particularly valuable are his insights into personal development as a CEO and the associated learning processes.

Michael's experiences at Forto exemplify the diverse challenges scale-up CEOs must master – from product development and team building to macroeconomic influences and investor relations.