When a green business model doesn’t translate across borders, adaptation becomes everything. In this episode of Go-to-Germany Stories, Andrea Vaugan talks with Christian Bergius, Country Director Germany at Ecotree, about adapting their French sustainability model to the German market. Christian shares why EcoTree had to move away from copy-paste expansion, how local ecosystem needs and customer conversations reshaped the offer, and what it takes to build a country operation with limited resources while staying aligned with HQ. 🎧 You’ll learn: Why Germany requires local sustainability projects How market feedback drives real adaptation What to prioritize when opening a new market 👉 A concise, practical take on localization and scaling sustainability in Germany. Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

In this special episode of Go to Germany Stories, host Andrea Vaugan sits down with the French Tech Düsseldorf team and the winners of the French Tech Germany Awards 2025 to explore what it really takes to build, invest, and scale across the Franco-German border. This episode brings together founders, investors, and ecosystem leaders who share their firsthand experience of expanding to Germany — from early market entry to long-term growth. 🎤 Guests in this episode: Adrien Serres & Cyril Catel – French Tech Düsseldorf 🏆 Yun Luo (CEO, ROSi) – Best French-German GreenTech Startup 🏆 Pierre Saudin (CEO, Paire) – Best Breakthrough DeepTech Startup 🏆 David Erhun (Startup Success, XAnge) – Best VC / Investor 🏆 Céline Bayer (CTO, Lemonway) – Best Woman in Tech 💡 Topics covered: ✔️ Expanding a startup to Germany ✔️ Building trust in the German market ✔️ Differences between French and German business cultures ✔️ Scaling teams and operations cross-border ✔️ The role of VCs in European growth ✔️ Why Franco-German cooperation is a strategic advantage This episode is also special for the host: Andrea Vaugan received the Best Woman in Tech Award last year and is proud to return this year to spotlight the next generation of leaders shaping the Franco-German tech ecosystem. 🎧 Subscribe to Go to Germany Stories for more real stories about international expansion, European tech, and cross-border growth. Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

How do you win trust and business in one of Europe’s most conservative markets? In this episode of Go to Germany Stories, Andrea Vaugan sits down with Besart Shala, Country Manager for Germany at Ibanfirst, to explore how Ibanfirst has built a strong presence in Germany, now accounting for 10% of the company’s global revenue. We discuss the “sales secret sauce” behind their growth, how to break through the walls of a traditional banking market, and why everything had to happen in German rather than English. From building a local team and culture from scratch to earning trust through personal connections (and even football!), this episode offers an honest, behind-the-scenes look at scaling a fintech across borders. 🎧 You’ll learn: Why trust and proximity are key in Germany’s B2B landscape How to build a local culture that still feels connected to HQ The balance between autonomy, ownership, and alignment Lessons for every startup expanding into conservative markets 👉 Tune in to hear how Ibanfirst turned a tough market into one of its biggest success stories. Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

In this episode of Go-to-Germany Stories, host Andrea Vaugan sits down with Marek Kraus, Country Manager Germany at Lucca, the French HR software company breaking into one of Europe’s toughest markets. Marek shares how Lucca combined rigorous preparation, thoughtful localization, and cultural awareness to build real traction in Germany — from adapting product features to small but telling choices in communication, like whether to say “Du” or “Sie.” They discuss how to build a resilient local team, turn sales enablement into a true growth driver, and strengthen cross-border collaboration between the local and HQ teams. A must-listen for anyone expanding into Germany and looking for practical lessons on focus, differentiation, and cultural authenticity. Marek Kraus has been active in the HR tech industry since 2013 and has held senior positions at companies such as Sage, Lessor (now Infoniqa), Compleet, and Bullhorn. Prior to that, he spent nearly a decade at Microsoft. Today, he is dedicated to driving Lucca’s dynamic growth in Germany – with innovative HR and finance solutions tailored to the evolving needs of modern businesses. Lucca designs user-friendly HR and finance software that simplifies everyday work for employees and HR teams. Founded in 2002 in Paris, the company serves more than 8,700 clients and over one million users across 130 countries. Lucca’s modular solutions cover core HR processes such as leave management, time tracking, and expense reporting — all designed with usability, data security, and local compliance in mind. With its Munich office, Lucca continues to expand its footprint in the German market. Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Welcome back to Go-to-Germany Stories! Season 4 opens with host Andrea Vaugan and Philipp Wegmann, Country Manager Germany at Signicat, exploring what it takes to build a true “growth engine” when entering the German market. Philipp shares first-hand lessons from his journey: how to set the right goals and prove traction early, why sales readiness is essential before scaling, and how regulatory milestones can be turned into compelling events. They also discuss assembling the right team, raising brand awareness in a crowded space, and navigating intercultural differences when Scandinavian and German business cultures meet. A must-listen for anyone preparing to expand into new markets and looking for a blueprint to build sustainable growth from day one. Philipp Wegmann is Country Manager Germany at Signicat, a European leader in digital identity solutions. With more than 15 years of experience in sales, business development, and product management, he has worked across industries from engineering and electronics to digital identity. Before joining Signicat, Philipp headed partnerships at IDnow and held leadership roles at companies including Panasonic and Truma, where he focused on building local teams, establishing brand presence, and driving sustainable growth. Building on this experience, he now leads Signicat’s expansion in Germany and positions the company for long-term success in a highly regulated market. https://www.linkedin.com/in/philipp-wegmann-0a11ba157/ Signicat is Europe’s leading provider of digital identity solutions. We help businesses establish trust in the digital world - from secure onboarding and authentication to advanced electronic signatures. Our solutions are eIDAS and AML compliant and support more than 35 electronic identity methods. Thousands of organizations across Europe trust Signicat to deliver seamless and secure digital identity experiences. https://www.signicat.com https://wyngs.co Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Season 3 continues with a second deep-dive into Swan, the leading provider of embedded finance solutions in Europe. This time, Andrea Vaugan interviews Pico Petershagen, VP Growth at the Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) startup. Splitting his time between Paris and Berlin, Pico leads Swan’s growth marketing, product marketing and brand teams. What Pico outlines as the reason for Swan’s rapid success in now 10 European countries is a growth strategy he coins “hyper-localization”. How this strategy compares to more traditional growth marketing and international business development strategies, what the difference between mere translation and true localization is and how important it is to recognize differences, but also similarities between local ICPs - all included in this step-by-step guide to hyper-localization. Pico on Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/janphilip-petershagen/) Swan on Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/company/swan-baas/) Andrea on Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreavaugan/) Wyngs on Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/company/wyngs/?viewAsMember=true) Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Last year we discussed the important role of partnerships for a successful market expansion - now we’re welcoming back another team member of Qonto! Benjamin Romberg, Head of Global Communications, is leading central PR, Social Media, and Community teams at the European unicorn start-up. Qonto is the leading European business finance solution, making day-to-day banking easier for SMEs and freelancers. Founded in 2016 by Alexandre Prot and Steve Anavi, Qonto now operates in 4 European markets (France, Germany, Italy, and Spain), and employs more than 1,400 people. In conversation with Andrea Vaugan, Benjamin explains how important it is to find the right balance between a coordinated global strategy and market localization. More questions that you’ll find the answer to in this interview: TIMING: At what point in your expansion journey should you take things to the next level and hire senior comms professionals? GROWTH: What are concrete communication goals that support the company’s growth? SETTING UP: How can you build up on the existing brand image and simultaneously localize comms and branding? Benjamin on Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-romberg-4a758093/) Qonto on Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/company/qonto/) Andrea on Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreavaugan/) Wyngs on Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/company/wyngs/?viewAsMember=true) Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Welcome back to Go-to-Germany Stories! Season 3 is kicking off with an exciting new player in the European start-up space: Franziska Geier, Managing Director DACH at Stoïk, sits down with host Andrea Vaugan to outline the start-up’s impressive European expansion processes. Founded in 2021 by Jules Veyrat, Alexandre Andreini, Nicolas Sayer and Philippe Mangematin, Stoïk is the first insurance agent in Europe to empower brokers by providing their clients with insurance policy and protection against cyber risks. Franziska and Andrea discuss how the start-up’s vision of being European is influenced by investors and how this ties into their expansion strategy. If you too are a disruptive innovator in a more conservative industry, just like Stoïk is at the intersection of cybersecurity and insurance, tune in to learn how important smart relationship building can be in a new market! If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to follow us and leave a rating! Franziska Geier on Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/franziskageier/) Stoïk on Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/company/stoikio/) Andrea Vaugan on Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreavaugan/) Wyngs on Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/company/wyngs/?viewAsMember=true) Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Season 2 is coming to an end with this fifth episode and our guest Sophie Wehrle. Sophie Wehrle is currently General Manager DACH at PlayPlay, a B2B SaaS startup and video creation platform trusted by more than 3000 organizations in 15 countries. Before kickstarting the DACH market launch at PlayPlay, Sophie helped Doctolib, now one of France’s most successful unicorn companies expand to Germany. Sophie and Andrea discuss how crucial well-structured playbooks are not only for sales, but for the efficiency of the entire company and its growth trajectory. Strategic hiring as well as finding the right balance between using synergies and adapting to local markets are amongst the other topics the two dive into. Sophie on Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiewehrle/) PlayPlay on Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/company/playplay/) Andrea on Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreavaugan/) Wyngs on Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/company/wyngs/) Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

In this episode of "Go-to-Germany Stories," Andrea Vaugan invites Thorsten Seeger, Group COO of October and the CEO of October Germany. October is a European FinTech specialized in business lending. Leader in continental Europe, it has already financed thousands of SMEs for a total amount of over €1 billion in France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and Germany. Based on his extensive experience in the traditional banking sector and FinTech industry, Thorsten shares insights into October’s initial business-model-specific challenges and their solutions, such as opting for a partnership strategy over direct marketing. Thorsten also walks us through the learnings listeners inside and outside of the FinTech cosmos can takeaway from October’s early market entry days. He outlines their strategy for the all-important brand- and trust-building, showcasing once again how essential a deep-founded knowledge of the German market and its customers is. Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.