Welcome back to Mayhem & Masterplans, where Max shows up fully immersed in Berlin life (new headphones, Korean red bean drinks, questionable energy beverages, and horsefly bites), Simon melts somewhere near Madrid at 36°C, and Andreas brings New York economics into what starts as casual small talk and ends—inevitably—in big-picture thinking about business, ownership, and future dreams.

In this episode, we:

🔹 Kick off with peak mayhem – Berlin gadgets, devilishly good headphones (literally), iced red bean drinks, and why scratching horsefly bites is always a terrible idea.

🔹 Talk food, cities, and affordability – From halal street food in New York to licensing, permits, and why prices creep up when passive ownership replaces actual work.

🔹 Debate capitalism (politely… mostly) – Is renting licenses and permits still capitalism, or where capitalism goes wrong? Andreas brings analogies from photography, taxi medallions, and hair salons to explain why the line isn’t as clear as it seems.

🔹 Dig into why bars and restaurants really close – Simon shares a real case from Madrid: a bar that looked successful but shut down anyway. We unpack rising rents, thin margins, emotional attachment, and why “busy” doesn’t equal “profitable.”

🔹 Do the uncomfortable math – Max breaks down a brutally honest bar P&L: guests per day, average spend, rent, labor, drinks, weather risk—and why hospitality businesses live dangerously close to zero.

🔹 Zoom out to smarter models – From photo studios moving to cheaper outskirts locations to why neighborhood bars can’t do the same, and why owning the property is often the real business.

🔹 Drift into dream mode – Wineries in Tuscany, olive groves, vineyards, boutique hospitality, and why dreaming about future projects can actually calm the founder brain instead of distracting it.

🔹 Ask the big “what’s next?” question – If money and time weren’t the bottleneck, what would we build?

• Simon dreams of gardening, agriculture, and creating green spaces in Spain.

• Andreas sees massive opportunity in fixing the broken operational side of the music industry.

• Max… unsurprisingly wants to do everything, from wine to music to passion projects—just not all at once.

🔹 Land on a core theme – Whether it’s bars, wineries, music, or startups: are you selling a commodity, or are you building something niche, intentional, and product-first?

As always, we close with what’s been on repeat:

🎵 Temptation – Joey Bada$$ (via Simon’s radio rabbit hole)
🎵 Yabai Summer Hot – No Embarrassing Tears (Andreas stepping far outside his usual metal comfort zone)
🎵 Dialectric – What (Max digging into old-school-flavored hip hop)

🎧 Subscribe to Mayhem & Masterplans for unfiltered conversations about business realities, big dreams, and why the math always matters—especially when the vibe looks great from the outside.

📍 Max on LinkedIn
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🎙️ Produced by: Hypecast

#MayhemAndMasterplans #HospitalityBusiness #FounderMath #DreamProjects #BarsAndStartups #CreativeThinking #OwnershipVsRent #HypecastProductions

Welcome back to Mayhem & Masterplans, where Max, Simon, and Andreas manage the impossible: start with podcast consistency and end up deep in the world of rock legends, reunion tours, and the eternal struggle to stay creative—whether you’re running a startup or selling out stadiums.

In this episode, we:

🔹 Get brutally honest about consistency – Turns out, even podcast hosts can’t follow their own advice. We talk about why showing up every week is hard as hell, even when you love what you do.

🔹 Dig into creativity vs. process – Is the real killer of creativity too much professionalism? We draw surprising parallels between the evolution of bands and the grind of building a company. Spoiler: It’s easy to lose your edge once you start worrying more about CRM systems than making noise.

🔹 Go full music nerd – From Ozzy Osbourne’s last ride and Black Sabbath’s legacy to the Oasis reunion, Linkin Park’s reinvention, and why some classics just never click for everyone (cue the Oasis debate, heated as always).

🔹 Talk nostalgia and reinvention – Why do some bands age like fine wine and others… don’t? We break down how acts like Limp Bizkit, Foo Fighters, and even Dr. Dre have stayed relevant by evolving—or sometimes just refusing to play by the rules.

🔹 Ask the big founder question – How do you keep creativity alive when business gets in the way? We swap hacks: road trips, changing environments, morning routines, arguing about music, and even just sitting in a café and watching people.

🔹 Get personal about staying inspired – From Simon’s “just go to bed” debugging technique, to Andreas’ desert drives, to Max rediscovering the magic of Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours album, we share how music and movement keep our brains firing.

🔹 Wrap with a challenge – If you want to keep your creative spark, make space for it. And stop over-optimizing your tools—just get the damn CRM and move on!

Plus, as always, we end on a musical note:

🎵 I Want To Know What Love Is – Foreigner (Simon’s yacht rock vibe)
🎵 Insane in the Brain – Cypress Hill (Max on full throwback)
🎵 Ascension – Serepus Project (Andreas with the indie pick)

🎧 Subscribe to Mayhem & Masterplans for raw conversations about startups, creativity, and why everyone thinks their favorite band is underrated.

📍 Max on LinkedIn
📍 Simon on LinkedIn
📍 Andreas on LinkedIn

🎙️ Produced by Hypecast

#MayhemAndMasterplans #CreativityUnleashed #RockNRollBusiness #ConsistencyIsHard #MusicalMayhem #HypecastProductions

Welcome back to Mayhem & Masterplans, where Max, Simon, and Andreas finally do the thing they’ve been promising for weeks: talk about branding. But since this is Mayhem & Masterplans, the conversation takes a detour through cycling rituals, emotional guitars, VC decks, and the occasional German taxonomy lesson.

In this episode, we:

🔹 Start with a sports branding quiz – Augusta green jacket, Wimbledon whites, Paris–Roubaix cobblestones… Simon tests how much symbolism Max and Andreas can handle before breakfast.

🔹 Explore the difference between brand and branding – Is your logo your brand? Your deck? Or is it the vibe that sticks after someone interacts with your company? (Spoiler: it’s the vibe.)

🔹 Ask: what makes a good brand? – Andreas introduces his guitar obsession: Aristides. Great product, great storytelling, no marketing fluff—just real passion that speaks to a real audience.

🔹 Talk about why software brands suck – Why do most SaaS companies look and sound the same? Max argues it’s because they try too hard to appear “credible” instead of standing for something.

🔹 Break down Kevin Russell’s viral post “This is not a brand” – From positioning to purpose, we unpack why your pitch deck won’t save you—and what it really means to build emotional connection at scale.

🔹 Debate startup identity vs. team culture – Is your brand what your customers feel, or what your team lives every day? Andreas says it starts inside. Max says a vision isn’t a brand. Simon just wants his cycling kit to look good.

🔹 Reflect on culture, subcultures, and brand ownership – Who really builds a brand: the founders, the users, or the community around it? (Also: why cycling’s rise from outsider sport to hipster status symbol is a branding case study in slow-burn magic.)

🔹 Close with a branding rant for the ages – If your team doesn’t know what you stand for, no customer ever will.

And of course, we wrap with our musical therapy picks:

🎵 Trinity of Heresy – Cradle of Filth (Andreas, being Andreas)

🎵 LU (Mixed) – Pianika (Simon staying Juicy and Large)

🎵 Guerrilla Radio – Rage Against The Machine (Max, rebelling with rhythm)

🎧 Subscribe to Mayhem & Masterplans wherever you get your podcasts—and follow us for unruly branding debates, startup therapy, and questionable sports analogies:

📍 Max on LinkedIn

📍 Simon on LinkedIn

📍 Andreas on LinkedIn

🎙️ Produced by: Hypecast

#MayhemAndMasterplans #ThisIsNotABrand #EmotionalConnection #SaaSBoringAgain #CyclingCulture #AristidesVibes #StartupBranding #HypecastProductions

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Welcome to Mayhem & Masterplans, the podcast where Max, Simon, and Andreas test the boundaries of strategy, branding, and WiFi stability—sometimes all at once. This week, we explore how small tweaks in AI, branding, and sports fandom can spark big conversations… or at least derail them entirely.

In this episode, we:

🔹 Follow Andreas on a two-week sprint through Germany — conferences, meetings, tea, and a heroic battle against the sniffles. Spoiler: ginger didn’t win.

🔹 Break down the Mittelstand mindset — What’s the vibe in German SME-land? Andreas gives us the scoop from the "Zukunftstag" and we talk bureaucracy, jumbo depreciation (yes, it’s a thing), and why fax machines are apparently still living their best lives.

🔹 Debate vision vs. execution — Max argues startups should think more like companies. Andreas says companies should think more like startups. Simon just wants us all to think.

🔹 Get real about AI — From city government chatbots to hotel transfer disasters, we look at how AI isn’t always ChatGPT and robot overlords. Sometimes it’s just a smarter helpdesk or better audio cleanup.

🔹 Accidentally turn it into an AI episode (again) — Seriously, we tried not to. There was even a moment where Simon almost stopped us. Almost.

🔹 Tease a future episode on branding in sports — Monuments of cycling, the Masters, the Triple Crown… and why your startup’s brand is probably less iconic than Paris–Roubaix.

🔹 Discover Max’s secret to hacking the Instagram algorithm — Apparently it’s all about startup memes, SEO reels, and refusing to like anything your weird uncle posts.

🔹 End with what really matters — Music, of course. Because all good strategy sessions deserve a killer soundtrack.

🎵 The Four Horsemen – Metallica (Andreas going full thrash)

🎵 Gone Away – The Offspring (Max staying in his desert rock era)

🎵 Jetzt kommt die Osterzeit – Rolf Zuckowski (Simon’s playlist is still sponsored by fatherhood)

🎧 Subscribe to Mayhem & Masterplans wherever you get your podcasts—and follow us for unruly branding debates, startup therapy, and questionable sports analogies:

📍 Max on LinkedIn

📍 Simon on LinkedIn

📍 Andreas on LinkedIn

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🎙️ Produced by: Hypecast

#MayhemAndMasterplans #AIBreakdowns #StartupMindset #SMEvsStartup #VisionMeetsReality #Zukunftstag #MittelstandMoves #ConferenceChaos #HypecastProductions

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Welcome back to Mayhem & Masterplans, your weekly chaos therapy session on business, branding, and all the mayhem in between. In this episode, Max, Simon, and Andreas finally tackle the topic they teased last time: BRANDING.

But since this is Mayhem & Masterplans, we didn’t stop at theory—we went all the way from the Paris-Roubaix cobblestones to Nike’s brand crisis and the rise of hipster cycling subcultures.

Here’s what’s on the branding menu this week:

🔹 Sports, symbols & storytelling – Simon kicks off with a quiz on iconic sports branding. From Augusta’s green jacket to the Hell of the North—how symbols become cultural shortcuts.

🔹 Cycling’s underground glow-up – How cycling transformed from utility transport to street-style culture—and why this matters for brands in sports and beyond.

🔹 Bottom-up vs. top-down branding – The crew debates the difference between league-driven brands (NFL, F1) and community-rooted cultures (cycling, surfing, running). Andreas drops the theory: It’s all about people.

🔹 What is a brand anyway? – Max introduces Kevin Russell’s viral post "This is not a brand". Key takeaways? A logo is not a brand. A brand is the emotional connection you create—and the promise you actually keep.

🔹 Can corporate software have soul? – The trio debates why Microsoft Teams is meme-fodder, why Nike needs to rethink their digital brand experiences, and how small brands (like Andreas’ favorite guitar brand Aristides Guitars) can punch way above their weight with authenticity and excitement.

🔹 Culture vs. point of view – Why writing down values is worthless if your actions don’t follow—and why even small teams like Hypecast need a point of view, not just a branding guide.

And of course, we closed on our signature playlist:

🎵 Trinity of Heresy – Cradle of Filth (Andreas going full metal mode)

🎵 LU (Mixed) – Pianika (Simon fueling up with his Juicy Large playlist)

🎵 Guerrilla Radio – Rage Against The Machine (Max keeping the rage alive)

🎧 Subscribe to Mayhem & Masterplans wherever you get your podcasts—and follow us for unruly branding debates, startup therapy, and questionable sports analogies:

📍 Max on LinkedIn

📍 Simon on LinkedIn

📍 Andreas on LinkedIn

📰 Sign up for our newsletter: The Mic Drop

🎙️ Produced by: Hypecast

#MayhemAndMasterplans #BrandingMayhem #EmotionalConnection #CyclingCulture #HypecastProductions #CorporateBrandingDoneRight #GuerrillaMarketing #SubcultureBranding

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

🎙 Welcome back to Mayhem & Masterplans, the podcast where Max, Simon, and Andreas prove once again that strategy, AI, and business life are never as smooth as your favorite startup slide deck. This week, we go full AI in everyday life, get lost in Mittelstand nostalgia, and Simon tries (and fails) to talk about cycling.

In this episode, we:

🔹 Chased Andreas across Germany – From Berlin to the West and back, while fighting off the sniffles, Andreas gives us a crash course in how to do conference hopping, sick mode included.

🔹 Debated Mittelstand vs. startup mindset – Andreas shares impressions from the Zukunftstag Deutscher Mittelstand and why SMEs still struggle with vision. Max and Simon argue that startups could learn a thing or two from German SMEs about profitability—and vice versa.

🔹 Talked subtle AI – Forget ChatGPT and robot overlords. We dive into the quiet side of AI: smarter customer service bots, auto-improved audio, and the kind of small automations that make life just a bit smoother (and less bureaucratic).

🔹 Roasted AI hype – Are we falling for the same old tech hype cycle? Max argues we’re overestimating the short term and underestimating the long term—again.

🔹 Fought about branding and sports – Simon tried (and failed) to steer the show into cycling’s five monuments and the power of sports branding. Max pulled the emergency brake, promising a dedicated episode (eventually).

🔹 Shared social media hacks – Max breaks down how he trained his Instagram algorithm to show more useful, entertaining, and business-relevant content—without falling into the influencer rabbit hole.

🔹 Closed with an AI should be invisible but delightful rant – Software should be forgettable and still make you smile. That’s the Hypecast way.

And of course, we wrapped with our musical picks:

🎵 The Four Horsemen – Metallica (Andreas keeping it old-school heavy)

🎵 Gone Away – The Offspring (Max going full 90s heartbreak punk)

🎵 Jetzt kommt die Osterzeit – Rolf Zuckowski (Simon... well... kids music wins again)

🎧 Subscribe to Mayhem & Masterplans wherever you get your podcasts—and follow us for chaotic strategy debates, AI skepticism, and the occasional off-topic cycling chat:

📍 Max on LinkedIn

📍 Simon on LinkedIn

📍 Andreas on LinkedIn

📰 Sign up for our newsletter: The Mic Drop

🎙️ Produced by: Hypecast

#MayhemAndMasterplans #MittelstandMeetsAI #SmallStepsBigImpact #CorporateChaos #PodcastingInTunisia #AIShouldJustWork #HypecastProductions

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Welcome back to Mayhem & Masterplans, where Max, Simon, and Andreas explore the sweet spot between structure and spontaneity—one spreadsheet, one leadership anecdote, and one interrupted intro at a time. This week, we ask the question: Do numbers kill creativity - or can they be the foundation for trust, stability, and a healthier workplace culture?

In this episode, we:

🔹 Argued about analytics and intros – Do Max’s musical openings cause YouTube drop-offs? Is there such a thing as overcommunication? Simon investigates the stats. Andreas just wants to move on.

🔹 Dug into the difference between Entrepreneurs and Unternehmers – Is your business built for a flashy exit or for generational wealth? Max lays out the distinction, Andreas challenges the definitions, and Simon quietly contemplates the future of Mittelstand legacy.

🔹 Talked numbers vs. narrative – Are spreadsheets your north star, or just a safety blanket? From miller beer imports to stock photo disruption, we break down how numbers tell a story—but never the whole one.

🔹 Explored trust in the workplace – With declining faith in media and politics, the company you work for might just be the most trusted institution in your life. We unpack what that means for internal comms, leadership, and long-term employee engagement.

🔹 Highlighted the human factor – From Max’s sister in Tunisia to Duncan Donuts’ loyal staff, it turns out clear expectations, mutual respect, and being treated like a person (not a “resource”) can drive retention and culture better than free pizza ever could.

🔹 Got real about leadership comms – Overproduced videos don’t create connection. Instead, we make the case for informal, eye-level communication—think internal podcasts, weekly check-ins, and just talking with people, not to them.

🔹 Ended on a musical note – New week, new streaks, and no kid songs in sight:

🎵 Countless Skies – Be'lakor (Andreas leveling up his melodic death metal game)

🎵 Over & Over (Marsh Remix) – Leo Wood, Marsh (Simon finally breaks the children’s music curse)

🎵 Trying to Find a World That’s Been and Gone – Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds (Max getting wistful with Britpop brilliance)

Subscribe to Mayhem & Masterplans wherever you get your podcasts—and follow us for business takes, leadership therapy, and the occasional mic drop moment:

📍 Max – LinkedIn

📍 Simon – LinkedIn

📍 Andreas – LinkedIn

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🎙️ Mayhem & Masterplans is produced by Hypecast Productions

#MayhemAndMasterplans #LeadershipMatters #CompanyCulture #InternalComms #TrustInBusiness #HypecastProductions

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Welcome back to Mayhem & Masterplans, where Max, Simon, and Andreas prove once again that you don’t need a unicorn valuation to have sharp insights - just a mic, a business model, and maybe a good Italian espresso. This week, we dig into the story behind Bending Spoons, the Milan-based tech juggernaut quietly building an empire by acquiring apps, cutting costs, and rewriting the playbook on buy vs. build.

In this episode, we:

🔹 Unpacked the rise of Bending Spoons – From building mobile apps in Milan to acquiring Evernote, Meetup, Komoot, and even WeTransfer. Simon walks us through how they buy, refactor, and relaunch tools with leaner teams, and Andreas wants to know: does gutting the original dev team ever work?

🔹 Debated tech takeovers – Can you really hand over a full product to a new engineering team and expect it to thrive? Simon breaks down the logic behind rewriting from scratch, and Andreas asks what’s actually preserved: the user base, the logo… or just the brand equity?

🔹 Explored business model evolution – Is this the anti-VC model Europe’s been waiting for? Max contrasts Bending Spoons with Germany’s Platform Group and argues we might be seeing the rise of private equity for product-led growth.

🔹 Talked synergy and scale – From shared analytics stacks to AWS discounts and centralized marketing, the crew discusses how backend efficiency fuels Bending Spoons' operating model—and where that can (and can’t) scale across different tech stacks.

🔹 Questioned the VC hype cycle – Remember 15-minute grocery delivery apps? So do we. Andreas and Max unpack the problem with unicorn chasing and argue for building long-term category leaders instead of burning cash on blitzscale dreams.

🔹 Got real about European ambition – Are European founders too cautious—or just more sustainable? Max argues that Germany’s family-owned Mittelstand is ready to think global, while Andreas points out that most prefer stability over scale.

🔹 Found some mayhem in Berlin’s public transport – Spoiler: random strikes are not a scalable mobility solution.

And, of course, we are closing the episode with our musicial choices for the week – From metalcore to moody pop to mellow guitar solos, here’s what’s been in our ears last:

🎵 Evidence – Lamb of God (Andreas repping metal and coincidence-core)

🎵 Watch – Billie Eilish (Simon brings mayhem with moody minimalism)

🎵 Last Train Home – John Mayer (Max cools it down with some soft rock soul)

Subscribe to Mayhem & Masterplans wherever you get your podcasts - and follow us for behind-the-scenes chaos, unsolicited business takes, and occasional existential crises:

📍 Max

📍 Simon

📍 Andreas

This podcast is produced by Hypecast Productions

#MayhemAndMasterplans #BendingSpoons #TechAcquisitions #BuyVsBuild #CategoryPlays #EuropeanTech #PodcastingWithPurpose #CorporateChaos

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