Linz, Upper Austria, Austria
I am Markus, co-founder and CEO of teamecho, the #1 tool for measuring and improving workplace climate and employee happiness with continuous feedback. I believe that the world of work is changing rapidly, and I am excited to be a part of the group of entrepreneurs and innovators driving that change. With teamecho, we are building a platform to create a workplace where everyone thrives and loves being at work. My passion for entrepreneurship and new work was sparked early in my academic career. In high school, I was an active member of the student council and initiated a student magazine that provided a platform for young writers to share their opinions and strengthen the community. This experience helped me gain basic leadership skills and develop my ability to work with others to bring creative projects to life. While studying philosophy, social economics, and business at university, I took my passion for innovation to the next level by starting three other companies before launching teamecho. I graduated with two Master's degrees, one in philosophy and the other in social economics. This combination has aroused my interest in the intersection of humanities and economics. I believe that my background in philosophy has equipped me with the ability to think deeply and rigorously about complex problems and has taught me the value of asking difficult questions and seeking new answers. At the same time, my business education has given me the practical skills and knowledge to turn my ideas into successful action and to work effectively with others to achieve shared goals. Together, my passion for startups and new work, my experience as an entrepreneur, and my academic background have had a profound impact on my approach to the world of work and entrepreneurship. I am constantly looking for innovative and exciting ways to push the boundaries of what is possible and am excited to continue exploring new possibilities and learning, growing, and making a positive impact.
Founded and scaled one of the leading employee engagement platforms in the DACH region. teamecho empowers leaders through AI-driven, real-time feedback to build strong, people-centric workplaces. Key milestones: - 300+ customers including A1, Dynatrace, Erste Group, EY, Johnson & Johnson, KUKA, Magna, Red Cross, T-Mobile & many more - 50,000+ registered users - 5M+ employee feedback responses processed through the platform - Supported Austria’s largest corporate merger in the past decade (T-Mobile & UPC) - Raised €3.5M+ in venture capital and public funding (incl. seed+speed (Carsten Maschmeyer), 8eyes (Florian Gschwandtner), Cloudflight, OÖ Hightechfonds, AWS, FFG) - Built and led a team of up to 30 people incl. 3 university profs / PhDs - Achieved 7-figure ARR - Reached break-even - Winner of the prestigious HR Excellence Award (Berlin)
Founded and operated a specialized proofreading and copy-editing service for academic texts. unilekt supported students in achieving better academic results through high-quality, deadline-oriented language services. Key milestones: - Built a recognized brand for academic proofreading trusted by students at dozens of universities - Bootstrapped and profitably grew the business year over year while studying full-time - Developed workflows and processes for collaboration with freelance editors - Established partnerships with university departments and student organizations - Personally managed customer relationships, operations, and marketing with a small team
Co-founded a socially driven e-mobility and bike service provider, originally established to maintain and service e-bike fleets in Upper Austria. Key milestones: - Helped develop the original concept in response to the growing demand for professional e-bike maintenance - Established a long-term partnership ("velovitae") with Caritas Upper Austria to train young people with disabilities through hands-on technical work - Advised the managing director during the early growth phase until the company reached operational stability
Co-founded an early social marketing platform that turned lifestyle brand fans into brand ambassadors - before "influencer marketing" became a mainstream concept. Key milestones: - Developed a gamified Facebook app for user-generated photo contests that boosted reach and engagement for consumer brands - Designed mechanics that rewarded users with points for uploading creative content and voting on photos in head-to-head matchups - Secured early traction and a small pre-seed investment to build and launch the MVP - Supported early customer acquisition and launched the platform with a small, dedicated team - Led operations in the seed and MVP phase - Exited the company after initial traction to pursue new ventures; the further developed product (Swelly) was later acquired by Flying Rectangle Ltd.
Worked part-time alongside my studies in the fundraising marketing department of Caritas Upper Austria. Contributed to a wide range of operational and content-related marketing tasks across various fundraising and community engagement initiatives. Key responsibilities: - Wrote and edited content for fundraising campaigns (e.g. child sponsorships, Christmas donation initiatives, corporate donations) - Organized logistics for volunteer events (e.g. “72 Stunden ohne Kompromiss” and appreciation events for door-to-door fundraisers ("HaussammlerInnen")) - Managed donor databases and performed data analysis (e.g. response rates, return evaluations) - Produced personalized donor mailings, thank-you letters, and series communications - Created statistical reports and prepared materials for major donor events - Supported ongoing communications with donors and local Caritas parish groups