Why Matthias Petri, as the founder of his e-learning platform, was once faster than the police allowed, why good employees are the biggest company asset and why walking the dog at the Müritz always means an extra portion of vacation for him? Matthias answers this and much more in our Founder Talk - Daring to do something new at the Müritz!
Before you started out as an entrepreneur, you were a police officer. You would have had a secure job and earned good money all your life. Why this twist in your life and what does your brother (interview here) have to do with it?
I owe a lot to the police. They were exciting times, with practical experience that you don't get as a citizen. I was also able to learn a lot about people. But at the age of 25 - during the four months of parental leave for my eldest son - I also thought about life and whether I wanted to do this job for another 40 years. I would have done it, but it wouldn't have been me, I feared.
From the squad to my own team
Alongside my job as a police officer, I could already see this delicate little plant of the e-learning community growing - which definitely had the potential to become a business model. I was young and thought to myself: who knows, maybe I would look back when I was 45 and regret not having seized the opportunity in the window of opportunity that was open at the time. Today I tell myself that it is precisely the upheavals in life that offer the greatest lessons. Anyone whose CV is too straightforward is almost a little suspicious to me ;-)
What role do your employees play for you?
Ken Goldstein once said that three things count for a good company: "People. Products. Profits. In that order." I believe that too. Good employees are essential. They are also challenging and uncomfortable. And I am delighted every time they prove to me that they are cleverer than me. Because they are, thanks to better ideas and more sustainable concepts, more structured processes and more accurate work results. In short: without our team, we wouldn't be where we are with TutKit.com.
What methods and media do you use to keep yourself fit as an entrepreneur today?
A good work-life balance is fundamental for me. I believe in a healthy mix of good nutrition, plenty of exercise and banishing stress factors such as little sleep, toxic people or multitasking. Keeping fit works for me in two ways: on the one hand, I like to learn, read non-fiction books and magazines, listen to podcasts and regularly watch e-learning videos. On the other hand, I keep myself physically fit with a relatively broad sports program including soccer, martial arts and body weight training.
4eck Media is based in Waren. What is there here, apart from the Müritz, that you can't find elsewhere? And is it more difficult to set up a company in a new federal state like Mecklenburg-Vorpommern?
When I go for a walk along the Müritz with our agency schnauzer Ringo - who I share with Stefan every two weeks, by the way - I can inhale a little pinch of vacation every day. That makes my work here simply wonderful. I think you can start a business anywhere. As a small company, we prove every day that innovative projects and digital business models can also be realized in a decelerated environment with nature and a view of the lake.
Life as a daily learning program
What's missing in the office at the moment? And is there another thing you could do without?
We've been in our current office space for six years now. And I'm starting to feel the urge to take the next growth step. The analog, our physical space, isn't quite keeping pace with the digital, which is what we're working on. It would be nice if we could also make positive changes in this area in the medium term, where the office represents a little more of what we stand for with our projects.
I could do without a few quirks and weaknesses that sometimes get in my own way: procrastination, being easily distracted, looking at my smartphone too often ... a little more focus and concentration would be great.
In addition to the successful company foundation and history, were there any events that caused an imbalance or a particular challenge? And what did you learn from them?
Yes, there were probably. I realized rather late how important daily learning and further training are. If I were back at the beginning of my self-employment, I would make sure that the learning phases in my day-to-day business were not neglected. That would certainly have saved me crises and problems later on. Without going into detail, there were certainly always challenges within the team. Sticking with the wrong employees for too long is one of the mistakes I made.
A sense of common ground
They say that in a race, it doesn't matter what's behind you. The only thing that matters is what's in front of you. What lies ahead of you?
We want to help other people strengthen their digital skills with us so that they can efficiently achieve the goals of their professional and entrepreneurial mission. As we live in fast-moving times, we need to keep our eyes particularly open for upcoming trends, techniques and methods - and we need to align our decisions and actions with these discoveries. Otherwise we won't be living up to our own mission.
What was your favorite subject at school? And does that help you today as an entrepreneur?
I liked German and history. I've always enjoyed reading and am relatively curious. I think that helps me. Both in my personal development and in business management, because I enjoy delving deep into a topic, learning more and recognizing connections.
Hiring new employees is often a decision that is not so easy to make. Technical know-how or practical experience? What do you choose?
Social skills. We are a small team that works relatively closely together - both physically here in Waren and in terms of the content of our projects. It has to work well for me on a personal level. Every winter, I go on a snowboarding vacation in the Alps with about ten friends. During the interview, I ask myself the hypothetical question: would I be able to put up with the applicant in a mountain hut for a week? If my answer is "no", I already suspect that there could be difficulties in working together later on.
You can build up professional expertise and gain experience in our projects. It takes time, but if someone is willing to learn, I'm happy to be patient. But what goes around comes around, especially when it comes to social interaction.
A smiley for the weirdest story
What's the craziest thing you've ever experienced in your career as a boss?
Sometimes the behavior of people is crazy. Whether on the customer side, in our team or in our private lives. When people come together, there is usually a great party atmosphere. The true character is then revealed in separation processes. There were some really remarkable crazy things that I experienced first-hand. To name another, rather funny incident: In October 2017, we received a delivery of elephant dung from an anonymous "fan". We took it in good humor and thanked him nicely in a Facebook post.
All good things come in threes
Please complete the following statements:
The most important thing I teach my sons ... are values and beliefs that have helped me in life myself and are a key to me feeling happy today.
Something I can do now that I couldn't do before is ... cooking as a hobby. I only really took it up in the last four years. It gives me great pleasure. And now my sons are at an age where I'm transitioning them from children's meals to adult meals ... or seducing them. I have to be patient and try out a lot until they like it.
A good entrepreneur always thinks about ... the people he spends most of his time with. They are part of his own work-life balance and he should therefore make sure that they are the right people and that they are doing well.
Profile: Matthias Petri
- Marital status: divorced and happily married
- My family includes: 3 children - 2 of my own sons in the alternating model and a patchwork daughter in the household
- My year of birth: 1983
- I live in: one of the smallest villages in Germany
- My favorite book: Dale Carnegie: "How to win friends"
- A channel I like to follow: OMR - great interview guests and cool host
- A quote that I often repeat: "You can catch more flies with a drop of honey than a whole pot of bile", Abraham Lincoln
- What makes the difference for me: Commitment and focus
- My learned profession: Senior police officer
- I get about 7 to 8 hours ofsleep a day. I make sure I get enough sleep. I prefer to go to bed earlier and then get up earlier. The morning is usually much more productive for me than the evening. That's why I prefer to extend my mornings.
- My dress code: Cargo or jeans and shirt
- My pet: middle schnauzer Ringo, who I share with Stefan every two weeks