The People Factor Podcast with Thomas Kohler

The startup ecosystem is a dynamic and challenging environment where success hinges on a multitude of factors. From early-stage ventures to scaling businesses, understanding the intricacies of venture capital (VC) collaboration, talent acquisition, and strategic growth is essential. This blog post delves into these critical areas, drawing on the expertise of Adriana Hurduc, a seasoned Strategic Talent Acquisition Manager with a track record of driving growth in several high-profile startups and VC firms.

In the journey of scaling a business, understanding how to lay a robust foundation is key. Drawing upon the experience of seasoned People/HR leaders like Peter van Kersen, this post explores critical insights and strategies for startups and corporations aiming for sustainable growth. Through his work with companies such as Catawiki and Delivery Hero, Peter has identified common pitfalls and effective practices in building a solid operational framework.

Alla Pavlova, is an Interim IT Recruiter based in Amsterdam. Passionate about technology, Python programming, computer games, and space exploration. She has shared her insights through talks and interviews on platforms like YouTube and Recruiting Brainfood. Currently, focused on sourcing top talents for Riot Games, coaching sourcing teams, crafting exceptional candidate experiences, building the Slack Community in Amsterdam, and hosting WAN-party sessions for sourcers across different countries. Proudly recruited for Riot Games and spoken at various conferences like Sourcing Summit, SOSU Tech, SourceCon, VanHackCon, and HRTX. Connect with her through email, website, Twitter, or YouTube for engaging in discussions on tech and recruitment

André has an impressive background in shaping tech environments and possesses extensive experience in software engineering, product development, and leadership as a Chief Technology Officer. With a strong passion for technology trends and innovation, André has successfully led various projects, including technical migrations and post-acquisition integrations. They are also a proponent of modern leadership and progressive organizational design, guiding companies towards becoming sustainable technology powerhouses. As an advisor and business angel, André provides valuable support to companies, helping them overcome technical challenges and benefit from their wealth of experience.

Anna is a Business Coach and Consultant with a specialisation in Strategy, Performance Culture and Organisational Design. Based on her own experience both as a former serial entrepreneur and scaleup coach, Anna helps leadership teams navigate the strategic transformations that are paramount to long-term business success. She combines a select toolkit of frameworks and methodologies with an experienced practitioner’s best-practice know-how to create an ideal management operating system for scaling companies and teams. Applying a holistic view, she helps founders and their teams identify and resolve blind spots throughout the entire organisation, enabling companies – and the people within them – to thrive.

René Insam is a Digital Product Strategist with close to 20 years of experience working for large financial services companies in the United States, including American Express, Charles Schwab, AIG, and most recently Morgan Stanley. René was born in Luxembourg and spent his childhood living in Germany and Greece before immigrating to the United States, initially to earn his MBA, then to embark on his professional career. He lives with his wife and son in Denver, Colorado. Read more about him in his blog: www.insamity.net

Johanna is Chief of Staff at Haiilo with 8+ years of global operations management experience in a global SaaS scale-up, building the company from seed round to acquisitions and integrations. She has managed various aspects of business operations at Smarp (now Haiilo) to ensure efficiency and achieve growth targets and has diverse experience in HR, talent acquisition, fundraising, legal, finance, strategy, and leadership in operations and sales across key markets like the Nordics, DACH, United Kingdom, and North America.