Founder of Edtech Startup Lingoda Shares Their Top Insights

Any entrepreneur can tell you, launching a startup is a learning process. Therefore, one of the best things you can do prior to launching a startup of your own is to learn from those who have blazed the trail. Felix Wunderlich, founder of edtech startup Lingoda, shared valuable insights during our interview that will inspire and motivate aspiring entrepreneurs.

What is your #1 piece of advice for startup founders?

“If in doubt, just start. I believe that there are two great time windows in most people’s lives for starting a company: After completing college/university (or after your very first job right out of college/university) or once you become an empty nester. But I believe that the second time window might potentially be even more challenging. When you are fresh out of college/university or have just started your first job, it might still be easier to adapt to the entrepreneurial mindset and forge your own path in business. You might also feel like you have less to lose than when you would have to leave a reputable other career path.”

What is the best method you’ve found to avoid burnout as an entrepreneur?

“I don’t think there is one recipe to avoid burnout. One tip might be to not let your self-confidence be dictated by your new business. This way, you won’t personally be affected by your startup’s ups and downs as much. And it’s always helpful to keep interests outside of your work life.”

What is your advice for coming up with a unique startup idea?

“I really believe that there are many ideas for possible startups out there. My brother Fabian and I had many different ideas before finally founding Lingoda. It’s not so much about finding an idea – but finding the right idea. Perhaps knowing that your business idea serves a specific purpose is a first step in the right direction.”

What is your advice for overcoming challenges and failure?

“Overcoming challenges and failures is one of the main parts of being a startup founder. Personally, I think of everything as a hypothesis. It is our job to prove or disprove these hypotheses – as efficiently as possible. This mindset turns failures into learnings, and the game suddenly changes into collecting learnings as many and as quickly as possible.

If you have a success rate and really apply the learnings that you come across the company will succeed.”

What is the biggest lesson you learned and what can aspiring entrepreneurs take from it?

“My biggest lesson as a founder is that nothing can replace passion and hard work. And also understanding that you have to find people and employees who share these values was a very important learning as well. I believe that the person who will get up again after falling down will be the one to succeed in the end rather than the person with the perfect master plan.”

What is your advice for entrepreneurs seeking funding for the first time?

“Find a mentor that can help you navigate through the daily business. It should be someone that you really trust and want to work with on a daily basis. Having that will make many tasks much easier to overcome.”