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Follow the Gradient

Follow the Gradient
Startups
Entrepreneurship
Leadership
Fintech
Crisis Communication
Storytelling
Venture Capital
Mental Health
Burnout
Product Market Fit
Customer Acquisition
Brite Payments
Startup Culture
European Startups
Team Performance
Delegation
Employee Engagement
AI Leadership
Startup Growth
Startup Founders

Insider knowledge and real stories about how to build a business from Europe while staying sane. Each week founders Melanie Gabriel and Christian Woese dive deep into one specific topic on a founder's or startup operator's mind and share how to solve the challenge together with an expert. Follow the Gradient and stay tuned. followthegradient.io/

PublishesWeeklyEpisodes80Founded2 years ago
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BusinessEntrepreneurship

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Artwork for Follow the Gradient

Latest Episodes

What if every metric your product team is optimizing for is already a debt? Daily active users, monthly active users, weekly logins. They were all built for a world where humans were the primary users of software. That world is ending.

In this episo... more

What if the real inflation rate is not 2-3%, but 7-10%? And what if most of your investments are not even keeping up?

In this episode of Follow the Gradient, Melanie Gabriel and Christian Woese sit down with Pascal Hügli, crypto researcher, lecturer... more

What happens when the person allocating capital has never been told they don't belong? The founders who face the most barriers often carry exactly the traits investors say they're looking for.

In this episode of Follow the Gradient, Melanie and Chri... more

Europe produced a €690 billion deep tech sector. So why does 70% of its late-stage funding still come from outside the continent?

In this episode of Follow the Gradient, Melanie Gabriel and Christian Woese sit down with Nicolas Autret, partner at Wa... more

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Recent Guests

Tony Beltramelli
Leader in AI product development; formerly involved with Pix2Code and founder-level work; led AI initiatives at Miro
Miro (AI product leadership)
Episode: 55 Employees, 3 Million Users, $0 Marketing Budget. Then a Miro Exit | Tony Beltramelli
Pascal Hügli
Crypto expert, lecturer, advisor
Zurich-based cryptography and finance expert
Episode: $14bn profit, 150 employees: stablecoins are the real business model | Pascal Hügli
Gülsah Wilke
Partner at DN Capital; advocate for migrant founders and diversity as ROI
DN Capital
Episode: Germany's vertical AI opportunity is bigger than anyone admits | Gülsah Wilke, DN Capital
Nicolas Autret
Investor and deep tech veteran, on the board of Graphcore and co-author of the 2026 European deep tech report
Walden Catalyst / Samsung Catalyst Fund
Episode: "We need 10 DeepMinds" | Nicolas Autret on what's missing in European Deep Tech
Max Buckley
Exa founder/CEO discussing why he left Google
Exa
Episode: Why I left Google after 12 years to compete against them | Max Buckley, Exa
Julia Bösch
Co-founder of Outfittery
Outfittery
Episode: Motherhood made me a stronger CEO | Julia Bösch, Outfittery
Lukas M. Ziegler
Robotics influencer and venture partner, global voice in robotics
Self-employed / media entrepreneur and investor
Episode: How Robotics Startups Actually Survive | #1 Robotics influencer Lukas Ziegler
Andreas Goeldi
Partner at B2 Venture; veteran technologist and investor
B2 Venture
Episode: The SaaS playbook is dead. What replaces it? | Andreas Goeldi, b2venture
Tom Wehmeier
Partner at Atomico, expert in the State of European Tech report
Atomico
Episode: Europe's talent flywheel has finally kicked in | Tom Wehmeier, Atomico

Hosts

Melanie Gabriel
Co-Founder and Host. Melanie offers insights drawn from her extensive experience in the startup world.
Christian Woese
Co-Founder and Host. Christian brings a wealth of knowledge about the startup landscape and operational challenges.

Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars from 55 ratings
  • Highly recommended - insightful, real & refreshingly honest podcast

    “Follow the Gradient” is a gem for anyone building or working in a scaleup. Melanie and Christian bring not only insider knowledge but also real, relatable stories. It’s insightful, grounded, and genuinely helpful. I can highly recommend for founders, operators, and anyone curious about the startup / scaleup ecosystem.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Maushart13
    Switzerlanda year ago
  • Priceless start-up podcast!

    Melanie and Christian tell it like it is. The highs, the lows, and how to best manage start-up life. Every week they invite founders and leading experts, serving up invaluable tips and tricks, and brutally honest experiences, to help start-ups learn from their mistakes and also focus on what matters. Love it!!

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Alice the Malice 666
    Switzerlanda year ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Many find the discussions valuable for understanding the intricacies of entrepreneurship and often highlight the mental health aspects of running a business as particularly relevant.
The show is frequently praised for its blunt honesty about the highs and lows of the startup journey.
Listeners appreciate the practical insights and relatable stories shared by the hosts, which help them navigate the challenges of startup life.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

55 Employees, 3 Million Users, $0 Marketing Budget. Then a Miro Exit | Tony Beltramelli
Q: What were the key cultural and organizational steps you took to integrate into a larger company like Miro?
Create a dedicated AI team to move fast and demonstrate value end-to-end, then gradually re-inject those capabilities into the broader organization, ensuring alignment with security/compliance and maintaining a European DNA within a multinational framework.
55 Employees, 3 Million Users, $0 Marketing Budget. Then a Miro Exit | Tony Beltramelli
Q: How did you manage the board and investors during the Miro negotiation and decision-making process?
We involved the board early as interest grew, set a clear multi-month process to explore options, and then made the final decision as a group at the next board meeting, balancing employee impact, investor interests, and long-term strategic fit.
55 Employees, 3 Million Users, $0 Marketing Budget. Then a Miro Exit | Tony Beltramelli
Q: What was your approach to hiring when you had nearly no funding and limited resources?
Hire when it hurts; start with non-scale efforts like founders reaching out directly, then bring in recruiters or specialists as things become painful and non-scalable; align hiring with actual demand and clear task scoping to avoid misalignment.
55 Employees, 3 Million Users, $0 Marketing Budget. Then a Miro Exit | Tony Beltramelli
Q: Take us back to that very moment. When did you realize this was going to become an actual company, not just a side project?
There was a viral moment and growing inbound interest that signaled broader adoption beyond our weekend/early work; the feedback from alpha customers and journalists showed people wanted to use it for work, which helped validate the move from side project to company.
"Organic growth won't get us to 100 million" | Francine Gervazio, Shiftmove
Q: How do you decide between debt and equity for financing an acquisition?
Debt preserves current ownership and can be faster if you have solid cash flow and a supportive covenant headroom, while equity can be quicker to close in some cases and might be necessary if the target requires a larger upfront investment or if balance-sheet constraints exist.

Audience Metrics

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Frequently Asked Questions About Follow the Gradient

What is Follow the Gradient about and what kind of topics does it cover?

This podcast offers listeners an authentic exploration of the challenges faced by founders and startup operators in Europe. Each episode features in-depth discussions around critical topics relevant to building and scaling businesses, often complemented by insights from industry experts. Common themes include effective hiring strategies, the pressures of scaling operations, mental health challenges among entrepreneurs, and navigating the European tech landscape. The hosts strive to provide a relatable narrative filled with valuable lessons, personal experiences, and practical advice that resonates with anyone involved in the startup ecosystem.

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How many listeners does Follow the Gradient get?

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What are the audience demographics for Follow the Gradient?

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To see how many followers or subscribers Follow the Gradient has on Spotify and other platforms such as Castbox and Podcast Addict, simply upgrade your account. You'll also find viewership figures for their YouTube channel if they have one.

Which podcasts are similar to Follow the Gradient?

These podcasts share a similar audience with Follow the Gradient:

1. OMR Podcast
2. The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch
3. Hotel Matze
4. Focus
5. Servus. Grüezi. Hallo.

How many episodes of Follow the Gradient are there?

Follow the Gradient launched 2 years ago and published 80 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

How do I contact Follow the Gradient?

Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.

Where can I see ratings and reviews for Follow the Gradient?

Rephonic pulls ratings and reviews for Follow the Gradient from multiple sources, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, and Podcast Addict.

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What guests have appeared on Follow the Gradient?

Recent guests on Follow the Gradient include:

1. Tony Beltramelli
2. Pascal Hügli
3. Gülsah Wilke
4. Nicolas Autret
5. Max Buckley
6. Julia Bösch
7. Lukas M. Ziegler
8. Andreas Goeldi

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

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