Beginner's Mind
Blueprints for Builders and Investors
Hosted by Christian Soschner
From pre-seed to post-IPO, every company—especially in deep tech, biotech, AI, and climate tech—lives or dies by the frameworks it follows.
On Beginner’s Mind, Christian Soschner uncovers the leadership principles behind the world’s most impactful companies—through deep-dive interviews, strategic book reviews, and patterns drawn from history’s greatest business, military, and political minds.
With over 200 interviews, panels, and livestreams, the show ranks in the Top 10% globally—and is recognized as the #1 deep tech podcast.
With 35+ years across M&A, company building, board roles, business schools, ultrarunning, and martial arts, Christian brings a rare lens:
What it really takes to turn breakthrough science into business—how to grow it, lead it, and shape the world around it.
🎙 Expect each episode to deliver:
- Founder & Investor Blueprints: How breakthrough technologies scale from lab to IPO
- Historical & Biographical Frameworks: Timeless playbooks from the world's great builders
- Leadership & Communication Mastery: Tools to inspire, persuade, and lead at scale
Whether you're building the next biotech success, investing in AI, or leading a climate tech company through hypergrowth—this podcast gives you the edge.
Listen in. Apply what matters. Build companies that last.
📬 Join the newsletter & community: https://lsg2g.substack.com/
- Update frequency
- every 9 days
- Average duration
- 65 minutes
- Episodes
- 205
- Years Active
- 2020 - 2025
#45: Jama Nateqi - 5 Habits of Successful Entrepreneurs
Here is my conversation with Jama Nateqi, CEO of Symptoma.
Episode Links:
Article to the Episode: https://lsg2g.substack.com/p/45-hidden-secrets-to-successful-entrepreneurship
Youtube: https://youtu.be/…
#44: Tero Weckroth - Private and Public Investments - Similarities and Differences from the Crowdfunding and Angel Perspective
Here is the conversation with Tero Weckroth, Business Angel and Investment Expert from Finland about Public and Private Investments.
Episode Links:
Article to the Episode: https://lsg2g.substack.com/p/…
#43: Tilmann Buerckstuemmer and Thomas Moser - Gene-Editing - The Next Game-Changing Technology?
Thomas Moser and Tilmann Buerckstuemmer lead the Austrian Life Science Company Aelian Biotechnology.
Episode Links:
Article to the Episode: https://lsg2g.substack.com/p/gene-editing-the-next-game-chang…
#42: Johannes Sarx and Philipp Hainzl - LISA - Life Science in Austria
Have you ever wondered what role the small country Austria - located in the center of Europe - plays in Life Science?
Then listen to the managing directors of LISAvienna, Johannes Sarx, and Philipp Ha…
#41: Christoph Lengauer - The 7 Key Success Factors of Building Great Life Science Companies.
This episode will discuss what it takes to build companies that develop novel therapies, vaccines, and diagnostics in the pharma industry.
Since the pandemic, everybody has become familiar with the cr…
#40: beaconsmind - Max Weiland About Starting a Company and get it to a Dual Listing in only 6 years
In history, most of the time, humans needed to provide everything they needed to make a living for themselves. Trading goods were part of life but didn’t take up most of the world’s population’s time…
#39: All You Need to Know About the Novel €95.5 Billion Horizon Europe Programme...
This podcast episode will discuss the EU’s next framework program for research and innovation, Horizon Europe, and the exciting opportunities this program offers businesses, scientists, and investors…
#38: Dusica Lukac - The Magic of Corporate Finance
In this podcast episode, we will discuss several different forms of growth and scaling up companies. In the era of the fast-growing unicorns and skyrocketing valuations, we try to disassemble the gro…
#37: Ana Trbovich - Peer-to-Peer Energy Trading
In this podcast episode, we will discuss how blockchain technology is utilized in the energy sector beyond the well-known utility of a payments system, her experiences in entrepreneurship and innovat…
#36: Secrets of Life Science Investments - An Introduction to Hadean Ventures
It was great fun to talk with Walter Stockinger, Co-Founder of Hadean Ventures, about the topic of Life Science Investments.
We covered the following questions:
- How do Venture Funds operate?
- What do you…
#35: Why You Don’t Need to Quit Your Job to Be an Entrepreneur
This one is an episode for the go-getters and never-giveupers.
Astrid and Christian had great fun talking with Essa Saulat, Chief Growth Officer of the Austrian digital health company Symptoma.
Essa is…
#34: Sascha Bucher - Deal Structuring With the Pharma Industry - From the Investors Perspective
Drug Development is a challenging process. It needs profound basic research, translating scientific results into products and moving them towards the market.
Making things more challenging deal struct…
#33: Bridging the Biotech Valley of Death: From Patient-Owned Therapeutics to Modular Drug Development.
For more than 10 years, blockchain technology has shaped our economy. The background technology is mostly invisible to average users like me.
On the front end, cryptocurrency has hit the news. I remem…
#32: Tax & Funding Update 2021 - Tech in Austria – Ask the Tax Experts of KPMG Austria
A new year brings new tax rules.
Astrid Woollard and Christian Soschner asked the Tax Experts of KPMG Austria to give an update on the newest regulations in Austria.
We also had a chance to talk about …
#31: This was 2020 - A Year in Review
What was hot and what not - in Blockchain and Life Science and other Tech Areas the speakers love.
Listen about what was going on in the world in 2020 - besides SARS CoV 2.
Speaker:
Albert Missbichler (…
#30: Alexander Wurzer - The Digital Shift: Navigating the Complex World of Digital Patents
In the age of Industry 4.0, as businesses pivot towards digitization, the landscape of intellectual property rights is evolving rapidly. How can companies stay ahead in this game of digital patents?
D…
#29: Ultraleap. Digital Worlds that Feel Human.
One problem in the digital world is: We cannot feel the interaction.
Prof. Sriram Subramanian is working on solutions for this problem. He has spun out Ultraleap from the University of Bristol. The c…
#28: How to Close a 20 million CHF Series B Round During a Pandemic
Let's sit down for a conversation about my favorite topic: Fundraising in the Life Science Industry.
How is it to raise significant financing rounds during a pandemic when the research focus is not re…
#27: How to Find Your Vision and Passion for Founding a Company
In the last episodes, I have talked with investors and decision-makers of the pharmaceutical industry about the importance of having a vision and passion for the life science company.
I want to explor…
#26: Science Explained - PCR Tests for Dummies
In this episode, I had the pleasure of talking with two Diagnostics Experts.
Irina Korschinek, CEO of Ingenetix and Albert Missbichler, Business Angel specialized in Diagnostics.
Do you want to know an…