"Pulse Advertising" founder Lara Daniel on founding a multi million revenue agency by accident and why she doesn't do any networking.

"At the end of the day, time is the most valuable thing you have."

Here you can listen to the full interview as podcast. (German)

Entrepreneur Lara Daniel also arrived at the founding of her now almost ten-year-old, globally successful start-up "Pulse Advertising" in a roundabout way: while studying abroad in Barcelona, she wrote a business plan for a fashion company as part of her master's thesis. A short time later, she decided to turn it into a business in the real world as well: In 2013, she founded the fashion label "Noemii Resortwear" together with her life partner Christoph Kastenholz.?

But even then, the story was far from over: Even before the word "influencer" was on everyone's lips, the two young entrepreneurs realized that "influencer marketing works well."?To support their fashion label in terms of marketing, the duo founded the advertising agency "Pulse Advertising" a short time later. But then everything turned out differently: what was meant to be a "side project" made six-figure sales within a few months, while the fashion label kept lagging behind.?

9 years later, Pulse Advertising has established itself as a global player in influencer marketing. The company has five offices around the world and works with partners such as Uber, Gillette, Audible, Disney, Armani, Formula 1 and Shell. And it has done so despite the fact that, to date, the company does not have a single investor.?

"We help companies approach influencer marketing strategically. The global approach is our core competence,"

says the founder, summing up her company's mission.?

Lara Daniel, who studied in Milan, Barcelona, Hong Kong and not least at the University of Witten, among other places, already had the desire to found a company in her early twenties:?

"It's not about having the perfect idea,"

says the founder in reference to her success story. Instead, one should rather ask oneself where the problems in our world lie and how they can be solved. It's a change in perspective that has given her a new outlook on life:

"Suddenly you see problems everywhere that can be addressed."

Because of their extensive experience abroad, both Lara Daniel and her co-founder thought globally from the start:?

"We basically founded in Germany and saw that Germany is rather hesitant about digitalization. [But] digital is international. So less than a year after founding, we said we'd open an office in New York."?

And yet, internationalization is a lot easier said than done:?

"It's still a lot of work today," the founder clarifies: "Even though you feel you're close, there are very strong cultural differences that affect team management, customer acquisition and customer communication." So the biggest challenge, she says, is to cater to those differences while still ensuring that the product is the same everywhere. And it doesn't matter if it's in London, New York or Hamburg.

She is still most proud of the fact that the Bootstrap company was able to completely dispense with outside money. Because independence is worth more to the founder than any quick buck:?

"It's a trend right now to collect money, but if you can afford it, I would always try to keep as much as possible in your own company."

In addition, she advises other young entrepreneurs to think it through on the one hand, but also not to wait too long:?

"Think about whether you really want the uncertainty. Because uncertainty is at the core of entrepreneurship. It means you're continuously working to make tomorrow look different than today. I think that's such a life choice. But if you feel like you're up for it, go for it! Don't wait, just get started. Because even if the first idea isn't the perfect idea, it can take you to the next idea and then that can be the big breakthrough."

She herself still feels fulfilled by being a founder: "I love my job! It's a lot of work, but it's also fun," the entrepreneur enthuses. She continues to talk about the company with her life partner and co-founder after hours: "In the end, it's like you have the same hobby."?

And yet, running an international company with over a hundred employees is not without its challenges:?

"It's also an insane amount of responsibility, because in the end you have to make the decisions. You also have to have an appetite for different topics. [Because] when you start up, you suddenly have to deal with topics that don't belong in the core subject."?

That's precisely why it's even more important to want it:

"At the end of the day, time is the most valuable thing you have. So you have to want to do it,"

the founder sums up.?

If you want to know why the entrepreneur is not a fan of networking and what tips she has for starting up together with your partner, then listen in to the podcast...?

The #FemaleFebruary is only possible thanks to the support of Canva, your design tool for everything related to content and presentations. Canva is offering an extended trial for their pro version (the core features are free anyway), for everyone who reads or listens to the Female February. Click here to test the new way of creating content in teams for 45 days.