Claim OwnershipBeginner's Mind
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© 2025 Christian Soschner
Description
Blueprints for Builders and Investors
Hosted by Christian Soschner
From pre-seed to post-IPO, every company—especially in deep tech, biotech, AI, and climate tech—lives or dies by the frameworks it follows.
On Beginner’s Mind, Christian Soschner uncovers the leadership principles behind the world’s most impactful companies—through deep-dive interviews, strategic book reviews, and patterns drawn from history’s greatest business, military, and political minds.
With over 200 interviews, panels, and livestreams, the show ranks in the Top 10% globally—and is recognized as the #1 deep tech podcast.
With 35+ years across M&A, company building, board roles, business schools, ultrarunning, and martial arts, Christian brings a rare lens:
What it really takes to turn breakthrough science into business—how to grow it, lead it, and shape the world around it.
🎙 Expect each episode to deliver:
- Founder & Investor Blueprints: How breakthrough technologies scale from lab to IPO
- Historical & Biographical Frameworks: Timeless playbooks from the world's great builders
- Leadership & Communication Mastery: Tools to inspire, persuade, and lead at scale
Whether you're building the next biotech success, investing in AI, or leading a climate tech company through hypergrowth—this podcast gives you the edge.
Listen in. Apply what matters. Build companies that last.
📬 Join the newsletter & community: https://lsg2g.substack.com/
206 Episodes
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Most founders obsess over products. Jensen Huang built a $3 trillion company by obsessing over inevitabilities. This episode unpacks The NVIDIA Way by Tae Kim—the definitive account of how NVIDIA went from near-death startup to the world’s most valuable chipmaker. More than a history, it’s a manual for founders and VCs navigating the messy, high-stakes stretch between Series A and IPO. But this isn’t just about NVIDIA. It’s about you—if you’re scaling in deep tech, wher...
How do you succeed in a business where being wrong is the norm? Marc Penkala has lived both sides of the table: as an entrepreneur who built, sold, and failed with companies—and now as a venture capitalist running his own fund. What makes his story different is the radical honesty about what actually drives success in venture: failure, timing, and taking risks that look stupid at first. This Spark20 episode distills Marc’s hard-earned lessons into a 20-minute masterclass for founders, investo...
Here’s the harsh truth: If your business model can’t survive a spreadsheet, it won’t survive the market. Every year, ambitious founders pour months into product, pitch, and brand—yet the single biggest reason startups die isn’t funding, it’s flawed modeling. What are the four variables investors use to spot winners before anyone else? In this episode, investor and hands-on builder Alex Oppenheimer (Founder & GP at Verissimo Ventures, ex-Facebook IPO, ex-NEA, Monday.com advisor) reveals wh...
Why do Europe’s brightest founders still feel forced to leave for Silicon Valley—no matter how much money or talent we pour into the region? Every year, ambitious startups across Europe and CEE struggle to scale—not for lack of ideas, but because of invisible barriers that keep global success out of reach. Is it really just about capital—or is there a deeper mindset and playbook that only a handful of founders ever discover? In this episode, venture insider Enis Hulli (General Partner a...
Still trying to optimize your health with guesswork and generic advice? Most people settle for “one-size-fits-all” supplements and hope for the best-missing out on the breakthroughs that only real data and personalization can offer. In a world flooded with empty promises, few realize how quickly tailored, science-backed solutions can transform energy, focus, and longevity. Enter Vadim Fedotov—ex-pro athlete, CEO, and co-founder of Bioniq, the health tech company bringing truly personalized ca...
How do you lead at the cutting edge of health, data, and AI—while staying deeply human? Angeli Möller has led global data science teams across pharma giants, co-founded one of Europe’s most ambitious AI alliances, and now builds high-performance biotech strategies with precision. But what truly sets her apart isn’t just her technical fluency—it’s her clarity, courage, and care in how she builds teams, solves problems, and pushes the boundaries of innovation. In this episode, Angeli opens up a...
Most founders add layers to gain control. Reed Hastings built an empire by removing them. This episode unpacks No Rules Rules—the leadership playbook behind Netflix’s rise from a DVD mail service to a global entertainment powerhouse. Co-authored by founder Reed Hastings and INSEAD professor Erin Meyer, the book reveals how to scale not through policy, but through trust, talent density, and extreme transparency. But this isn’t just about Netflix. It’s about you—if you’re buil...
Most cancer drugs fail. Not because the science is wrong—because we’re solving the wrong problems. The cost? Over $2 billion per failure. And for the patient waiting on a miracle—there’s no second chance. Behind the headlines of “precision medicine,” there’s a deeper story nobody’s telling. Until now. 🎯 Enter Rafael Rosengarten, the scientist-turned-founder who’s rewriting the rules of drug development. In this gripping conversation, we unpack how RNA, AI, and deep empathy c...
Europe has the science. The talent. The breakthroughs. But when an idea feels too uncertain, our systems shut it down before it has a chance to breathe. And with every safe bet… we quietly lose the next cure, the next Car-T, the next AI that could change everything. 🚨 Risk-aversion, fragmentation, and bureaucracy are draining Europe’s innovation power—and nobody dares to name it out loud. But Fabrizio Conicella, VP of Open Innovation at Chiesi Group, isn’t holding back. 💡 In this ...
What if the only way to save the planet... is to cool it? Not figuratively—literally. Because the heatwaves, floods, and fires you’ve seen so far? They’re just the beginning. 🌍 Emissions keep rising. Global cooperation is slowing. And the window to act is closing fast. Now, world leaders are quietly weighing a radical idea: Should we artificially cool Earth before it’s too late? 💥 In this explosive episode, we dive into the most controversial climate strategy on the table today: solar...
What if your business ran like a well-designed machine—one that could evolve, self-correct, and outperform your competition over decades? In this episode, I unpack Principles by Ray Dalio, the billionaire investor and founder of Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund. It’s not a traditional business book—it’s a blueprint for decision-making, culture design, and long-term scaling, rooted in clarity, transparency, and radical self-honesty. This episode is built for venture ...
What does it take to turn extreme adversity into extraordinary leadership? Suzanne Heywood’s life reads like a novel—shipwrecked at seven, isolated at sea for a decade, forging her father’s signature to survive, and ultimately earning a place at Oxford through sheer determination. Today, she’s a top executive and investor, steering multi-billion-dollar companies with resilience, clarity, and innovation. In this episode, Suzanne shares the defining moments that shaped her, the mindset that hel...
ATMPs, gene therapies, and cancer breakthroughs are here—but outdated regulations, high costs, and logistical bottlenecks are blocking access. What needs to change for hospitals to deliver these cures to patients who need them most? 💡 Here’s the harsh reality: Patients are waiting, but hospitals aren’t ready.The science exists, but regulations haven’t caught up.The treatments work, but they’re too expensive to scale.So what’s the solution? And who’s taking action? 📌 In this episode, Kristina ...
In 2021, biotech IPOs were soaring. Valuations hit record highs. Investors were throwing money at anything that moved. Then… the market crashed. Funding dried up. Growth stalled. Biotech founders and investors were left scrambling. So what really happened? And more importantly—how do you navigate what’s next? 📌 In this episode, Christopher Uhde—Senior Pharma & Biotech Equity Analyst at SEB—breaks down the brutal realities of biotech IPOs, investor sentiment, and the high-stakes game of su...
🚀 Most investors chase consensus. The best ones? They bet against it. If everyone agrees on an investment, it’s probably not bold enough. That’s why the greatest venture capitalists don’t just follow trends—they seek out the hidden outliers that redefine industries. But how do they spot the next Amazon, Google, or Tesla before anyone else? And why do so many leaders play it safe and miss out? 📌 In this episode, Alex Dang—former Amazon and McKinsey leader—breaks down how elite investors think,...
What if your greatest asset in business was how you think under pressure? In this episode, I dive into The Venture Mindset by Alex Dang and Ilya Strebulaev, unpacking seven transformative lessons drawn from the world of venture capital and deep-tech entrepreneurship. These principles aren’t just for investors—they’re a roadmap for anyone navigating uncertainty, from startup founders to corporate innovators. Alex Dang, a veteran innovator, and Ilya Strebulaev, a leading academic in ventur...
What does it take to redefine venture capital while empowering founders to disrupt industries and drive meaningful change? Meet Dan Bowyer, a bold investor from Superseed VC reshaping the game with a no-nonsense approach and a passion for impactful innovation. In this episode, Dan shares his journey from entrepreneur to VC and dives deep into what’s wrong with traditional venture capital. He reveals the personality traits that define world-changing founders, the importance of customer obsessi...
What makes a year unforgettable? Is it the challenges conquered, the bold ideas pursued, or the connections that shaped us? As 2024 comes to a close, this special episode celebrates the lessons, breakthroughs, and visionary insights that defined the year. Through 9 remarkable stories, hear from leaders, investors, and innovators who are shaping the future. 🎙️ In This Episode: Suzanne Heywood: Discover the balance of trust and challenge that makes great leaders.Shlomo Noy: Explore how Israel t...
Our global food systems are at a breaking point. Climate change, geopolitical tensions, and industrial farming are pushing us closer to food insecurity every day. Can we find a way to feed 10 billion people while safeguarding the planet? Marina Schmidt, founder of Red to Green Solutions, reveals groundbreaking ideas that reimagine how we grow, consume, and sustain food for a resilient future. 🎙️ What’s in the Episode: 1️⃣ Building Food System Resilience: How to adapt agriculture to survive d...
What does it take to tackle the world's biggest challenge—climate change—while driving profit and innovation? Meet Doerte Hirschberg, a visionary investor reshaping industries with bold ideas and data-driven solutions. In this episode, Doerte takes us on a journey of how her team at Climentum Capital uses measurable CO2 impact as their guiding star. She shares insights into why the future of sustainable industries lies in rethinking systems, embracing new technologies, and focusing on the big...
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