#dld campus

Although Niklas Zennsröm, widely known as the co-founder of Skype, and now Atomico, in the near future at least does not intend to write a book about his experiences as an entrepreneur, one could have filled pages full of great advice tonight.

At one of the last sessions at the second day of #DLD12, Zennström gave a lecture to students at the LMU, and thanks to the live broadcasting by the Moving Image Lab of the Innovation Incubator of the Leuphana University also to students in Lüneburg.

The room in the teaching tower at the LMU in Munich was stuffed with young people, interested in a face-to-face conversation with one of the most successful contemporary entrepreneurs Niklas Zennström talking about "Entrepreneurship, Technology and Venture Capital" (in collaboration with the Internet Business Cluster of the LMU in Munich).

Responding to Tomorrow Focus AG's Stefan Winners' introduction regarding the fact that German entrepreneurship in some international reach lacks behind those of the U.S. - for instance are there zero German companies in the global top 150 for website reach - Zennström called for an "ecosystem in Europe in which founders become investors."

Zennström also criticized the lack of understanding in Europe for making entrepreneurial mistakes. He said "I would have never done Skype if I hadn't done KaZaA first." With such a hostile spirit towards failure big successful companies like Google, Yahoo et al. wouldn't exist.

He also pointed out that it is essential to believe in your product - to first have a vision like his personal idols Bill Gates and Steve Jobs - and then to prove your thesis.

While Xing founder Lars Hinrichs asked intriguing personal questions like what Zennström learned from being a talented sailor in regards to business ("It's both a game, a competition!"), also students from the LMU in Munich as well as Lüneburg came to satisfy their curiosity.

Their questions reached from giving away success strategies ("get co-founders, surround yourself with the best possible people right from the start") to simply thanking Zennström for his contribution to society: "Skype is a product that changed my life," one girl from Lüneburg said while receiving affirmative applause for saying it.

Hubert Burda and Deputy Prime Minister of Bavaria Martin Zeil were present as well, and Burda asked "How long does it actually make sense to study in times of changing business models" - whereas Zennström replied: "At University we learn how to address problems, so it's useful to study." Yet, Zennström admitted to regret that he started out so late as an entrepreneur, and that it cost him some persuasiveness even in regards to his family and friends.

The session led this second day at #DLD12 by Dan Maccarone, founder of Charming Robot (a product design company based in NYC) handed over a tool box filled with practical advises on digital product branding.

Under the umbrella of the newly launched DLD Campus and the IBC, General Assembly’s Peter Bell ("Who's gonna build the future?"), Alexis Ohanian ("Making something people love") and Dan Maccarone ("Why user experience design matters") held three sessions on the #DLD12 Monday.

These coaching sessions brought the spirit of General Assembly, the “campus for technology, design and entreprenuership” to #DLD12.

The one thing one should keep in mind at all times, Dan Maccarone said, is to think about the user first, and only second as a marketer: "You can't force people to do what you want."

A positive example of how to successfully embrace the user spirit was CNN.com in 2006, where Dan put headlines into focus at all times. The strategy was based on the assumption that people would come to CNN in order to get informed quickly, to read the headlines. The skyrocketing traffic proved him right. When a successor later tried to shift the website's focus on videos, many users simply logged off.

The iTunes page ("bombardment of information, not even personalized") and Craigslist belong in his opinion to the list of bad user design examples that are anyway successful because of their product. The same goes for Youtube, he said.

Also, one should not try to chase trends like many big firms ("Just because everyone else is doing it does't mean it's a good idea!"), keep in mind that every decision adds complexity and that the medium dictates the experience, think about first-time users but design for repeat visitors, and know that a feature is not a strategy.

All this in mind, your digital product brand might soon become reality.

Add on: Dr Hubert Burda and Bavarian Economics Minister Martin Zeil will also be present at our first ever DLD campus event.

DLD12 will feature Skype and Atomico co-founder Niklas Zennström on January 23rd in a fireside talk at Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich. This public lecture, moderated by Stefan Winners, Chairman of the Management Board and CEO of Tomorrow Focus AG, and XING founder Lars Hinrichs, will be free of charge – open for all who show an interest in his subjects „Entrepreneurship, Technology and Venture Capital“.

Save the date: Start: 6 PM (Entrance at 5.45 PM) // Monday, 23rd of January, 2012

Location: Room W101, „Lehrturm“ („Teaching Tower“) // Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität // Professor-Huber-Platz 2 // 80539 Munich