Entrepreneur Spotlight: Christof Hawle
We had the pleasure of interviewing Christof Hawle. Christof is the Founder of Delitelabs, an inclusive startup school for newcomers and unemployed locals. Read until the end to find out why he believes entrepreneurship is the right way for unemployed locals and newcomers.
IVAN: Hello Christoph, thanks for taking the time to join us. What is your pitch?
CHRISTOPH: It all started 10 years ago, when I moved from Austria where I have been a management consultant in the Netherlands. The last thing I was working on, was business model reservation in the Benelux. However, I decided to make my knowledge and skills available to people who really need it, outside the corporate borders.
So I started Delitelabs because I really like to apply my skills, and help unemployed newcomers.
IVAN: What is your vision?
CHRISTOPH: I have two, actually. The first one is making complex ideas look simple to people who are not familiar with them, and then making it work. It’s amazing when you get that sparkle in someone’s eyes. You could say that is my vision, along with motivating others. As a start-up and business, helping people realize their ambition is my tool.
IVAN: What are your thoughts on starting your own business in your 30s, compared to 20s?
CHRISTOPH: You always need to be prepared for the worst-case scenario. You have to question if you’ll still be happy when you fail. For me, this answer would definitely be a yes. Even if I fail, I know I tried something that was of huge importance to me and that would not be failing to me.
When becoming older, this psychological process might be harder to go through than when you’ve just finished school and are still young. However, in your 30s you hopefully have gained much more knowledge so, at the same time, you are more conscious of what you are doing.
IVAN: Where did the idea for Delitelabs come from?
CHRISTOPH: I was in a traffic jam, listening to the radio, when they started talking about social entrepreneurs from Germany finding employment in Europe. That somehow inspired me to do something that would help Europe, and was something I am good at.
I took half a year off so I could work on the operational prototype, design the programs and see what would work most effectively. Only a year later I quit my job at the consultancy company.
IVAN: How do you help underprivileged people evolve personally and professionally?
CHRISTOPH: Together with the boards of big Dutch companies, we worked on making tools and leadership development freely available for everyone. Now people can start from scratch without a business idea and start focusing on their passion.
IVAN: What skills are needed to become successful as a start-up in your opinion?
CHRISTOPH: You need to have a certain knowledge about marketing, finance, and business administration. These are just the basics. Furthermore, you need to know what environment you’re working in, who your potential customers are, and see what you have to offer them.
Knowing how to sell yourself and your business is also very important. How do you pitch and how do you interact with the outside world? Those are all significant factors when launching a start-up.
Especially in the Netherlands, the economy is very saturated which means that you have to find your special skill that makes you unique and stand out from your competitors. You have to focus on your hard and soft skills.
IVAN: Delitelabs is a pre-start-up school that promotes entrepreneurship among newcomers, locals and recent migrants. Why entrepreneurship?
CHRISTOPH: In general, what we want to do is help people gain access to the economy. Because of the network we provide and the energy that we instill in our participants, a lot of them find their ways to the studies they want, or they find the jobs they’re looking for. This is a beautiful side effect if you start to activate people’s entrepreneurial spirit.
Entrepreneurship is all about an environment of uncertainty, and how to achieve something. That’s a life skill.
IVAN: Do you feel that those so-called failures have set you up for success, and how did you grow from those experiences?
CHRISTOFF: One of our speakers once said, the value of your business is the summary of the obstacles that you have overcome. Therefore, the failures that we’ve had make us more resilient, and force us to really focus on the revenue model.
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The takeaway of this interview for entrepreneurs in the audience:
Entrepreneurship can flourish when you create the right environment. To get to the point of starting a successful business, you must learn to deal with uncertainties. It’s not just something you do, it’s a skill you need to master. Once you add the right network and support into the mix, you’re on the right path.
