Joachim Schoss

Joachim Schoss, born in 1963, is a serial entrepreneur and was the founder of Scout24, one of Europe’s most successful online businesses.

He started his career as a management consultant before he founded his own consulting company, which was sold in 1996 and today is part of KPMG.
In 1992 he co-founded a callcenter company, which merged 1997 with 350 employees with NASDAQ-listed Sykes Enterprises.
1998 Joachim started ImmobilienScout24 as the biggest shareholder and then Scout24 AG as the biggest private shareholder and CEO.

A serious, almost fatal traffic accident in 2002 lead to Joachim’s retirement from operational work and to the acquisition of Scout24 by Deutsche Telekom.
After his accident Joachim founded the charitable foundations MyHandicap and EnableMe, which became the most frequented online platform for people with disabilities in the German speaking world. Further he initiated the Center for Disability and Integration at the University St. Gallen focusing on research about the inclusion of people with disabilities.
After his accident he became an advisory board member of Holtzbrinck Publishing Group, NZZ, two banks, several startups including ResearchGate, the Impact Hub, charitable foundations and academic institutes at WHU and HSG. Since 2013 he also teaches Entrepreneurship within the HSG SIM master program.

He was named „Business Angel of the Year“ and one of the Top Ten „Founders of the Decade“ and was or is an angel investor of several start-ups like Moneybookers, ResearchGate, Control€xpert, 1plusX, HAUSGOLD and others.
Actually he is president of three charitable foundations and of five startups in the fields of fintech, proptech, real estate and big data.

Joachim Schoss is married to Stephanie, has 6 children and lives at Lake Zurich.

An entrepreneur can do more for the prosperity of our society than a member of any other professional group.

  • Expertise in / interest in the following areas: Improve the world through entrepreneurship, philanthropy and impact investing – actual interest in political governance for the 21st century and beyond

  • Previous experience:

    – Founder of TellSell Consulting, Scout24, MyHandicap, ClearHead, EnableMe, Re-State et al.
    – Business angel for Moneybookers, ResearchGate, Control€xpert, 1plusX, HAUSGOLD et al.
    – Advisory board member at Holtzbrinck, NZZ, Bankhaus Herzogpark, XTP, 21st, 1plusX et al.

  • Favourite quote: We value a man by what he gives, not by what he owns. (Maori Wisdom)

Q -What has been the most important "learning" of your career?
JS -An entrepreneur can do more for the prosperity of our society than a member of any other professional group.
Q -What would you have liked to know at the beginning of your career?
JS -Good timing is at least as important as good performance.
Q -What makes a really good founder?
JS -A, for example, extreme visionary or perfectionist character in a team with other strong personalities, who manage to bring their extraordinary, complementary abilities together to achieve success in a cooperative and constructive manner.
Q -What is a "deal breaker" for you?
JS -Lack of integrity, hubris, lack of alignment of interests.
Q -Which technology or trend inspires you most?
JS -In my opinion, the greatest opportunities and risks currently lie in the use of big data and AI.
Q -How do you define success?
JS -When you evaluate your success you should measure it by what you gave up for it.
Q -What is your most important advice to founders?
JS -A day in real life provides better impulses than a week at your desk.

When you evaluate your success you should measure it by what you gave up for it.

Joachim Schoss
Q -Can Europe keep up on the global stage? Where do you see opportunities?
JS -Europe is moving towards a 5% share of world population and global GDP this century. Conscious of the fact that it is becoming increasingly insignificant in demographic and economic terms, there are, of course, still opportunities for “hidden champions”, world leaders in all kinds of niches.
Q -How do you combine your startup investments with your daily work?
JS -My startups are a large part of my daily work.
Q -What should an angel do and what should they avoid doing?
JS -Contribute with full commitment where you can and should contribute. Holding back wisely where you could disturb or even harm. Distinguishing one from the other.
Q -What are the indispensable tools in your everyday life?
JS -iPhone, Credit Card and Passport.
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