Unleashing Startup Potential: The ZOLLHOF Talent Program Ignites Corporate Innovation
An interview with former ZOLLHOF Talent, Mascha Mandl by Anne Christin Braun
In the last steps of her master’s studies in Industrial Engineering at FAU Mascha Mandl was working in product management of the Siemens IoT cloud platform MindSphere as a working student and decided to fully pack her daily schedule and apply for the ZOLLHOF Talent Program. The topic of innovation already catched her attention, while working for a corporate firm, so she wanted to find out what it means in the startup world. After her last assignment of the Siemens Graduate Program as a Venture Associate and Innovation Strategist in the Bay Area, California, Mascha recently started her new position as a strategy lead of the new Siemens Battery Accelerator.
Anne Christin Braun sat down with Mascha to find out how being part of the ZOLLHOF Talent Program impacted her future career and if she ever thought about leaving the corporate world and founding a startup herself.
Anne: Mascha, how did you find out about the ZOLLHOF Talent Program and what did you learn from this experience for your future?
Mascha: It actually was a coincidence that I started at ZOLLHOF. I worked as a working student at Siemens for a more innovative topic at that time and just realized that innovation in a big company occasionally has its difficulties. Therefore I wanted to take a look at the more innovative scene — the startup scene. While I searched for a new job, I was keen on leaving Nuremberg and going to Berlin, but due to Covid that wasn’t possible, and by chance I came across the Talent Program by ZOLLHOF. This 3-month-program was my entry into the startup incubation scene, while I also kept working at Siemens and wrote my master’s thesis. I learned how innovation works on a smaller scale, since I already had experience on the corporate side. In retrospect, I still get a lot of added value out of the Design Thinking method, which we were guided through while in the Talent Program, and can implement it into my current job at Siemens.
Anne: Would you say that you achieved your education goal?
Mascha: Yes, absolutely! And in addition to achieving that learning objective, I was able to further support the program from the corporate side with Siemens as a corporate partner. We already accompanied new talents and we are currently in the process of setting up new challenges. It’s very valuable that I’ve been able to maintain and further cultivate the relationship with ZOLLHOF and the startup and innovation scene.
Anne: Tell us about your life after the Talent Program. What are you doing exactly and how did you get there?
Mascha: In fact, the end of the Talent program coincided with the end of my studies and my job as a working student at Siemens at that time. It was already clear to me that I wanted to get back into a larger structure and lastly, I got the possibility to be part of the Siemens Trainee Program. As a trainee your tasks in the company are rotating in order to learn about different departments and discover where your strengths lie. I just started my last assessment in startup scouting and I am currently located in the Bay Area in Silicon Valley. In the next seven months I will be scouting startups and technological trends, which could be interesting for Siemens.
Anne: Have you been able to clarify the idea of your further path through the trainee program?
Mascha: The picture is getting clearer by time. I have noticed which environment I enjoy working in, but I wouldn’t say that I have discovered the dream position for me, yet. I have the next seven months to find out where my path will go.
Anne: What would you say is the difference between a corporate and startup mentality? And how did you figure out for yourself that you would like to go into a larger structure?
Mascha: For me the difference lies in the company culture. At ZOLLHOF everything is very relaxed and friendly, which I really liked back then. The exciting thing about a larger structure is the leverage effect it enables. The interface between: How can you connect being loose and still let innovation and ideas grow. Which is where scaling always is a big issue. We have a lot of great ideas, but how can you implement those with a company, which has the resources to accomplish big leverage. It’s especially interesting and has a big impact on our future, when it’s about social, sustainability, or diversity and equality issues.
Anne: Is there anything that would have helped you even more back then? Or was achieving your educational goal enough?
Mascha: I didn’t have many expectations and it was actually a great experience. I would have been happy if we could have been in the ZOLLHOF offices more often, also considering all the interesting startups I could have met. But this was just down to timing, due to Covid and all the regulations. I am happy for today’s talents that they can take advantage of the network.
Anne: You’ve already told me that you are more interested in working in a big corporate structure at the moment. But have you ever considered founding a startup yourself? And if so, which would be the direction you are interested in?
Mascha: Actually, yes. I always think to myself: Just do it! I have a lot of ideas, and I wouldn’t even specify in which area, although digitalization and sustainability are more my fields. I also think that you need the right setting, which is simply another person who is also up for it and if those aspects are given, I definitely could see myself founding a startup. Nevertheless, it’s of course a major step out of your comfort zone. My father is a musician, and he always said: this is a vocation, not a profession. I think it’s not enough to just find the prospect of founding a startup exciting, you need to have an inner passion to really push it.
Anne: I also could only start a business if the topic would move me, only the prospect of being part of a successful startup wouldn’t be enough. The idea should make an impact and I would have to believe that it can have a leverage opportunity. A startup that goes beyond any stakeholders getting a good return on investment, but really kicks something off. And I think you can be successful if you just do it for the money, if you really like money so much that it drives and motivates you, it always depends on what motivates you.
Mascha: Or not even money, but simply the experience. Means if you feel the passion for the subject, then just do it. It’s an interaction between what am I good at, what do I like doing, what does the world need and also how can I make money. If you find that sweet spot, it’s your way to go. Maybe I am just a comfortable person and that’s the reason for going back to the larger corporate structure, where this drive comes rather extrinsically.
Anne: What do you have to bring with you personally if you want to be successful in the field of innovation? Whether in a corporate environment at Siemens or perhaps also in the direction of ZOLLHOF and the Talent Program.
Mascha: A learning mindset, where you are allowed to make mistakes. This applies to startups and also larger companies. You shouldn’t pull each other down just because certain things didn’t work out as planned. This takes us back to the Design Thinking process: find out why certain things happen and listen to your environment more closely.
Anne is Head of Marketing at ZOLLHOF. She has many years of experience in tech communication, marketing strategy and PR. When she’s not at ZOLLHOF, Anne is working on her Master’s degree in Health Sciences.
