From Startup to Scale-Up, Lessons from A Battle-Tested Playbook
- Raj Hayer
- 3 days ago
- 5 min read
Disclaimer: Nothing in the content materials shall be considered legal, financial, or actuarial advice.
At the Wayfinders Summit, we’re not just here to talk. We’re here to catalyse. To connect ideas to action. And that’s exactly what happened when Birgit Ströbel, Founder, Business Angel and a powerhouse of entrepreneurial courage, took the stage with her signature clarity and fearless energy.
Her session, David vs. Goliath: The Business Battle, was far more than a presentation. It was a working session, a reality check, and an empowerment lab all rolled into one.
Birgit’s story begins not with strategy decks or venture capital, but with raw vision and relentless belief. She brought us back to 1998, a time when dial-up internet was still a novelty and startups weren’t even a buzzword. That summer, Birgit and her three co-founders launched ImmobilienScout, a company that would soon become Germany’s leading property portal.
Their startup was born not in a boardroom, but lakeside, with dreams scribbled on paper and sealed, quite literally, in blood. That symbolic act was their commitment, their moment of no return.
And that’s the first of many takeaways Birgit offered: Commit fully.
She reminded us that success rarely comes from dipping your toe in. You can’t keep one foot in safety while trying to scale a mountain. If you want to create real momentum, you have to leap. Her team quit their jobs and went all in, and that energy became the rocket fuel their startup needed.
From there, Birgit walked us through the six essential elements that helped her not only build a company but outpace giants. They are relevant whether you’re a solo founder, a scale-up CEO, or an innovator inside a large organisation.
1. Have a Clear Vision and Strategy
Birgit's vision was unshakable: to be the go-to platform for home seekers across Germany.
This clarity didn’t just guide them, it anchored them through turbulence. When the dot-com bubble burst and investors withdrew, they had to lay off half their team. It was painful. But because the team knew exactly what they were working towards, they pivoted toward profitability and emerged even stronger. In Birgit’s words: "Vision gives you orientation when everything else is falling apart."
Her practical advice? Know your North Star.
Adapt the strategy, but never lose sight of where you’re headed. Because without direction, speed becomes chaos.
2. Find and Dominate Your Niche
When ImmobilienScout24 started, they had no users and no listings, a true chicken-and-egg problem. Birgit's insight? Start by attracting the seekers. "If we get people looking for apartments, landlords will follow," she said.
They also refused to operate in silos. While competitors focused solely on brokers or housing associations, Birgit’s team merged all listings into a single, neutral platform — and that became their niche differentiator. They weren't the first property platform, but they were the most inclusive and accessible. That’s what made them the best.
Her challenge to us was simple: "Where can you be number one?"
It doesn't have to be the biggest market; it just has to be the space where your expertise, passion, and clarity intersect.
3. Leverage Your Superpower
Every person, and every business, has one. The question is: are you owning it?
For ImmobilienScout24, the superpower was courage and timing. While others dismissed the internet, Birgit and her co-founders jumped in. She recalled being laughed at by traditional media leaders, older men who couldn’t imagine a digital future. They leaned into that scepticism and built a platform that changed the game.
And they didn’t stop there. Birgit shared how they created strategic partnerships with ISPs (like Yahoo) and offered co-branded portals, essentially borrowing audience reach and multiplying their impact. That boldness locked out competitors and cemented their position.
So what’s your business’s superpower? If you’re not sure, ask your team or your clients; they often see it before you do.
4. Be Bold — Even Polarising
This was one of the most powerful parts of Birgit’s story. In the early 2000s, she saw the rise of Big Brother, Germany’s first reality TV format, as a marketing opportunity. While most brands were afraid to be associated with it, Birgit leaned in. ImmobilienScout24 became a main sponsor and used media snippets during ad breaks to create mass awareness.
The result? Immense earned media value, skyrocketing brand recognition, and yes, plenty of controversy.
But that’s the point.
Birgit reminded us: "If you try to be everyone’s darling, no one will notice you." You don’t have to offend, but you do have to stand out. She even recalled putting up provocative posters in Berlin: “What do the President and ImmobilienScout have in common? They both have a home in Berlin.”
(They were sued, but the campaign did exactly what it was designed to do: get people talking.)
5. Be Faster Than the Giants
Speed is a startup's superpower. While corporations perfect their roadmaps, startups ship beta versions, learn from users, and iterate quickly.
Birgit shared how, during a growth sprint, they scaled too fast, ballooning from 150 to nearly 400 people. The result? Chaos. Without the systems and processes in place, everything slowed down.
Her lesson: speed isn’t just about acting fast, it’s about creating lean systems, automating where possible, and decentralising decision-making so you're not the bottleneck. Empower your team. Share authority. Get out of your own way.
6. Never Stop Challenging Yourself, or Your Business
One of Birgit’s signature leadership practices is a workshop she calls “Kill Your Darling.” In it, the team takes the role of a competitor and identifies where they’d attack their own business. It’s a brilliant, gutsy way to uncover vulnerabilities before someone else exploits them.
This exercise reflects Birgit’s core ethos: Stay humble, stay curious, and stay ahead. Don’t wait for a crisis to expose your blind spots.
At the end of her talk, Birgit left us with one last prompt:
Of these six lessons, which one could make the biggest impact for you right now?
That question sat with many of us long after the session ended. Whether you're in your first year of business or scaling your fifth venture, these principles hold true.
Commit fully. Lead with vision. Own your niche. Be bold. Move fast. Stay vigilant.
It’s not just about fighting giants, it’s about building something so real, so clear, and so needed that even the Goliath has to take notice.
Birgit’s journey reminded all of us that courage, clarity, and action can still defy the odds. And I’m so glad she joined us at Wayfinders Summit to share that hard-earned wisdom.
Now, take a breath.
Take a note.
And ask yourself:
Where can you be bold today?
With heart,
Raj
References:
Disclaimer: Nothing in the content materials shall be considered legal, financial, or actuarial advice.
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