Encourage confidence in your own strength
The passionate athlete is always on the lookout for new event concepts for his international clientele. Well-known customers such as Red Bull, Audi, Adidas and SAP enjoy working with him.
Apart from his role as CEO in his own company, Martin Kaswurm is also a committed networker and start-up investor. As state chairman of the young economy in Salzburg, the interests of the local start-up scene are important to him. How is the start-up scene in Salzburg doing at the moment? Which general conditions favor the founding of a start-up? What management style does Kaswurm use in his company? New Work expert Chris Holzer conducted a zoom interview with the self-made man.
Is the Salzburg start-up scene doing well?
Something is happening. We get a lot of new, committed entrepreneurs. In Salzburg, the founders find positive breeding ground with the Startup Salzburg initiative, funded by the State of Salzburg and the Chamber of Commerce. Again and again, young people from the technical college find their way into self-employment. Co-working spaces also contribute to the good development of young companies. There is a lot of information, webinars and field reports in digital media. The start-up service of the WKS and assistance from the young economy also provide strong support. But there is always more.
Which framework conditions promote courageous founding?
Because of this, certain personal characteristics are required that may not be as pronounced in employed persons. I should inform myself comprehensively, courage is important and a willingness to go the “extra mile” in order to take on responsibility with an increased willingness to take risks. It takes a willingness to step out of your comfort zone. As soon as I leave this, I have a chance for growth. When I founded my company back then – from a secure salaried job – it may have caused a shake of the head in my environment.
It should be an educational task to introduce the children to independent action. “Enablers” are needed early on to encourage young people to have confidence in their own strengths. Children should be able to have visions and dreams, which they can then live out. This creates a certain mindset that is favorable for founding. What should happen if something doesn’t work out at a young age? I’ve always had the credo: It’s better to start incorrectly than hesitate perfectly.
Do innovation hubs help young, flexible companies and established companies to come together?
A mixture of old and young, experienced and not so experienced is always good. Multiplier platforms are extremely helpful here to combine young, fresh ideas with the advanced wisdom. Clayton Christensen’s book publication “The Innovator’s Dilemma” describes cases of large, successful companies that have missed developments and had to accept large market losses.
What made you decide to take over the chair of the Junge Wirtschaft? It’s a volunteer job…
I like supporting young people. I’ve had a lot of opportunities to develop myself in recent years, and I want to pass this experience on. I took on this voluntary position because I really enjoy this job. I’ve always been a passionate networker, I like talking to people. If I enter a room with 50 people in it, it doesn’t cost me any energy. I’m happy about something like that. I leave the event inspired and with more energy. We at Junge Wirtschaft have recently launched some new formats: Sinn & Tonic, JW Business Clubbing in ARGEkultur Salzburg, leadership podcasts in which experienced founders share their “lessons learned”, ski days and many activities as touchpoints for everyone in our network.
Which leadership concept do you personally use in your own company? New Work is on everyone’s lips these days. Individualization, work-life balance, giving meaning to work must be taken into account in the modern understanding of leadership.
In the creative and service industry – in which I find myself – there are different requirements than in the construction industry, for example. The industry and the size of the company must be taken into account when it comes to leadership. I maintain a flat hierarchy. I like to hand over responsibility to my 15 employees. It is essential that we all have creative freedom. I live an open door policy. We always communicate at eye level, regardless of who holds which position in the company. We always have great equipment, we invest in further training and we have various working time models, including home office. I am an enabler. This is also reflected in the external presentation, in employer branding.
New Work means a lot of initiative from everyone. Is there a general fear of too much responsibility and failure?
Those who are afraid of making mistakes are paralyzed. This encourages stagnation. In our industry in particular, we need creative progress. We also learn from our mistakes. When mistakes occur at Chaka2, I first question my own approach: As a manager, could I have avoided mistakes with different framework conditions in order to reach my goal more successfully? If I create employees in a perfect environment, I turn them into positive implementers and also into positive ambassadors of my company.