Ronan Liedmeier and Robin Salimans on Entrepreneurship, Tech, and Culture

My guests this week are Ronan and Robin, the co-founders of StudentUp – a social media for student entrepreneurs to connect and build together. As a disclaimer, since the recording of this podcast in early January, the team has pivoted to a different business model addressing the same underlying problems. Our conversation is about the intersection of entrepreneurship, technology, and culture. We discuss their personal hurdles, what they have learnt along their journey, and how they keep each other motivated. Given that they got started in Silicon Valley, we also discuss the entrepreneurial ecosystem there and compare it to the European landscape. Ronan and Robin are entrepreneurs at heart so I enjoyed their energy and all that they have learnt. So much so that I decided to invest in them and help them fulfill their ambitions. This was one of my favorite conversations on the podcast, I hope you enjoy it!

Show Notes

02:40 – Who inspired you get started?

04:00 – Robin’s story

05:20 – Ronan’s story

06:45 – The hurdles of starting a business as a student

10:55 – U.S.A. vs. European entrepreneurial ecosystem

13:30 – How do you stay on top of the game?

14:40 – The trip to San Francisco

18:10 – Why are students not starting more businesses?

21:00 – What are your next steps?

22:10 – How do you measure your impact?

23:00 – What advice do you have for aspiring entrepreneurs?