TO THE HORYZN: Why I quit my job at Mercedes-Benz to found a startup.
Back in early summer 2019, I wasn’t happy with my professional life. I had the feeling that I lost my purpose. It felt like I mastered my job and I also didn’t see any desirable next level I would want to achieve within the current setting. I know, work isn’t everything. But I’ve always been a person to go all in. If I don’t love what I do, I‘ll stop.
So I took a break from my job, bought a backpack and on July 2nd, I boarded a plane to Tokyo. Little did I know that the next weeks would become one of the most intense experiences in my life. From Tokyo I traveled up north and explored the amazing nature of Hokkaido. Over the next few weeks, I headed south until I finally reached Japan’s beautiful southern island of Okinawa.
From there, I took a plane to Taipei which is an incredible city somewhere between tradition and future. My next stop was Vietnam where I traveled from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi.
On August 30th, I got on a plane in Hanoi and around 12 hours later I hopped off in Frankfurt. In my luggage I carried some incredible memories and a few choices for my future life.
One of them was to start my own company. So I quit my job.
This idea, which came to me when I drove a tiny Mitsubishi somewhere through the valleys of Shikoku, took shape over the last few months. Since then it’s more than just an idea, it became reality. We call it Horyzn.
Like the horizon showing us there’s much more to discover when we just move forward.
A lot of people told me it was crazy to start a business in these uncertain times. Some of them calculated how most startups fail at an early stage. And some even questioned the point of being self-employed in general.
But here I am. Taking all the risks with a smile. Cause even if I fail, this will be the next big adventure of my life. And I’m so curious about how this story will go on!
Something that makes me even more confident is that I’m no longer the only one believing in this idea. And I’m super happy that one of its biggest supporters, my long-time partner and former team lead Markus, is joining me on the journey ahead.
Finally, I’d like to thank all those who’ve supported and inspired me over the past months. It’s crazy how much helpfulness I’ve experienced without having the slightest expectation of getting anything in return. You guys are amazing!
I will share my retrospective of 8 years digital transformation at Mercedes-Benz in an upcoming posting. Until then, keep your eyes on the horizon :-)
Update: 16 months later
I wrote this text in January 2020. Shortly before we founded Horyzn. It’s crazy to see how everything has developed since then and especially how everything turned out completely different than we had planned.
I’ve learned a lot in my as a founder. Most importantly, to fail and get back up again. I think that’s what it’s all about. And in retrospect, it was one of the best decisions I ever made.
