MVST’s Journey – Get to Know our Co-Founder Niklas

Freelancing, founding your own business, taking the risk – for many people working independently is the dream but at the same time they are afraid of jumping into the deep end. But our Co-Founder Niklas thinks that the world we live in right now offers the perfect place and time to realize your goals.

Why? The opportunities to share your ideas have never been greater.
And how do we know that? Because MVST itself was founded only three years ago and made huge progress.
Want to know more? Just read on what our Co-Founders want to share.

Story Time: Our very Beginning

So here we want to tell our very personal story about how MVST was founded. You may wonder why we even took that risky step and what needed to be done to gain the company’s success we have today. Here’s how it all started:

Philipp, my Co-Founder of MVST, and I have been friends since forever. We went to school together and started studying afterwards. After that, I worked for both big corporates and tech startups, like Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Shore, Autoscout24, Swisscom, Ottonova and many more. My work as a Product Manager spanned multiple industries, were on-site and remote, and completed both long-term and short-term projects.

With so much variety, I learned a lot. And gained genuine interest in becoming a founder.

After working in various companies and projects, we wanted more. Our goal was to get rid of average 9-5 jobs at an office or a big corporate, so that we could work independently and create our very own company culture. Working on our own sounded so good, we just had to take the risk and give it our all. We were sure about our decision, because we share the same company values and visions.

But, first things first.

Every company needs a meaningful and unique business model. And from the beginning we knew exactly what we are best at.

Our professions concentrate on Scalelable Backend/Frontend Solutions, Development of Web-/Mobile-Apps, Product Management and overall UI/UX Design. Launching products and bringing them from 0 to 1 are our strongest skills. In all the previous companies we have been involved with, we have seen that the topic of product development (i.e. design, product development) was and mostly is a bottleneck.

We needed to identify our stakeholders, how to ensure employee engagement and what a good and successful Co-Founder needs to embody.

Our evaluated goals covered up perfectly with the wide-spread need for high-quality product development. We also talked to a lot of startups and companies to evaluate their exact needs. That way, we were reinsured the issues that we wanted to tackle and what we definitely should follow up.

Then it all really got going: Launch Day!

On day 1, Philipp and I rented a really small office where we started the first projects and also hired our first employees. While I was dealing with organizational structure, hiring and sales, Philipp was putting his heart and soul into projects.

Fun fact: For a really long time we didn’t have a website, because we never saw an urgent need to. But some candidates asked us in interviews if MVST was an actual business or a scam. Shortly after we built our website

What followed in 2021 was something we could only dream about at the beginning: We managed to open a second office in Barcelona!

Up's and Down's

We’d have to lie if we’d say that everything went perfectly fine and there were no hassles to overcome. Emotionally, financially and privately we were challenged more than ever before.

In July/August 2019 the MVST journey started: The Launch Day felt like a milestone and we both were super nervous when it all got rolling. Because, as you can imagine, the risk and the stakes we set ourselves were high. In October the same year my first son was born. The lack of sleep paired with a freshly started business – probably not the best combination but I still loved every second of this exciting time!

One of our biggest challenges probably were the financial ones in the beginning of MVST. For the first 7-8 months Philipp and I didn’t earn a coin. All revenue went to the first hire.

As a new CEO in 2019 I learned a lot about myself and my new skills at that time. Everything we were planning beforehand now became a hands-on experience. It felt awesome to finally see our dream become reality and us both doing a CEO’s job. And luckily, as time went on, MVST became a great success.

How to cope with Stress: Importance of Work-Life-Balance

As a Co-Founder, times can really get stressful and too much to handle. So the central question is: How to cope with this stress?

Blue clock on a pastel background — Photo by Icons8 Team / Unsplash

Firstly, the most important thing was the enormous support of our families and friends. They believed in our visions, in our team and in our skills which is not just emotional support but also something that really helps you move forward.
Take breaks when you need them. Quality time with family and friends is as important as a running business!
Celebrate even little achievements! This way, you can really see what you reached so far and you can be proud of.
Don't let some setbacks affect you too much. There's a difference between positive and negative stress. And the latter should not be taken to heart that much since it only stops you from seeing the good outcomes of your work.
If you don’t want to take this journey alone, then look for a strong and reliable partner. Philipp is the one I can always share good and bad news with. We respect and support each other, while trusting blindly in us and our talented team members.

Pro’s and Con’s

We will be honest with you here and give you some valuable insights of the Pro’s and Con’s of being in the Co-Founder role.

Laughing Man with glasses and a beige button down laughing into the camera — Philipp Klaus, Co-Founder at MVST

Pro’s

You get the chance to speak and connect with your clients directly. Some awesome partnerships started this way!
You can shape and shift your brand the way you want. That’s how you can keep your career going!
Making independent decisions within a relaxed workspace – that’s what is motivating us day by day!
No upper management anymore! Work on an equal footing with all of your team members.
Being included in the hiring process from the beginning, so that you can put together your executive team yourself.
You can improve your business knowledge day by day which will guarantee your future success.

Con’s

It can get stressful – especially in the beginning of your journey!
You often have to be the one that takes the initiatives – be open for new stuff!
You take a risk. That’s what you always need to keep in mind!

But in the end and most important of all: We really had fun creating and launching our very own brand. We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished so far, but know we have a lot more to offer. So stay tuned and follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram to keep up with the MVST Family!

Why are stories like this even important? 50 percent of Millennials are already freelancing and the market for startups, new businesses and freelancers is growing each year. We know all too well the hassles people in the c-suite face, so this could offer you a better understanding of our and maybe your future work.

Oh, and if you ever wondered why the name of our brand is MVST: Well, MVST stands for Maxvorstadt, the district in Munich where our office is and – of course – our hearts are.