Rolf Schroemgens on trivago, Leadership, and Life After the Exit

About this episode

In a special collaboration between Unicorn Bakery and t3n, we conducted a Clubhouse interview with Rolf Schroemgens, founder of trivago and Leadership Sprouts. Together with Jan Christe, co-founder of t3n, we discussed leadership, entrepreneurship, and life after a successful exit.

From trivago to Leadership Sprouts

Rolf Schroemgens is widely known as the founder of trivago – one of Germany's most successful unicorns that went public on NASDAQ in 2016. However, his journey continued after the exit. Today, he dedicates himself to Leadership Sprouts, a new project entirely focused on leadership culture and developing leadership competencies.

The transformation from operational founder to leadership expert shows how successful entrepreneurs reinvent themselves after a major exit and pass on their knowledge to the next generation.

Leadership After a Unicorn Exit

The conversation highlighted how perspectives on leadership change when you've already navigated the path from startup to publicly traded company. Schroemgens brings a unique combination of practical experience and theoretical knowledge that is particularly valuable for other founders.

The challenges of scaling teams, building sustainable company culture, and personal development as a leader – he knows all these topics firsthand.

Interactive Format with Community Questions

Particularly exciting was the interactive format of the Clubhouse talk. Beyond questions from Jan Christe and myself, listeners from the community could also ask their questions directly. This dynamic created authentic insights and spontaneous answers that are often lost in traditional interview formats.

The audience questions brought in perspectives that we as interviewers might not have considered – a clear advantage of the live format.

Collaboration with t3n

The partnership with t3n and Jan Christe enabled us to combine different areas of expertise. While Unicorn Bakery focuses strongly on the practical aspects of founding, t3n brings a broad perspective on digital trends and technology.

This collaboration demonstrates how podcast formats can be enriched through strategic partnerships and reach new audiences.

Leadership Sprouts as a New Chapter

With Leadership Sprouts, Schroemgens pursues the goal of systematically developing and teaching leadership competencies. The project shows how successful founders can pass on their know-how in a structured way – an approach that isn't yet widespread in the German startup scene.

The focus on leadership development addresses an important need: many technical founders struggle with leadership challenges as soon as their teams grow.

Conclusion

The conversation with Rolf Schroemgens offered valuable insights into the journey from successful exit to the next entrepreneurial phase. His experiences at trivago and his current focus on leadership development show how founders can continuously evolve and share their knowledge with others.

I'm happy to receive feedback and continue discussions via LinkedIn, email, or Instagram. The interactive format demonstrated that direct exchange with the community is particularly valuable.