1999 – 2002
Europe's largest music portal.
Built in my twenties.
In the late 1990s, the MP3 format was revolutionary — and illegal in the eyes of the music industry. I saw something different: a chance to give independent musicians a platform. A place where bands without a record deal could reach an audience. Where newcomers could upload their music, set their own prices, and build a following.
That became mp3.de — Germany's first music portal, launched in 1997. By 2000, we had 5 million page views per month. At its peak, over 150,000 bands were registered, with 250,000 tracks available. We were the largest music portal in Europe.
We gave musicians what the industry wouldn't: a direct connection to their audience. No label needed. No gatekeeper. Just music and a URL.
Beyond the portal
mp3.de was just the start. Together with my partner Johannes Kram, we founded audiobahn New Media GmbH in Cologne — a digital agency for the music and media industry. Our clients included names that, at the time, were the industry:
Record Labels
Universal Music, EMI Records — digital distribution before iTunes existed
Broadcasting
RTL New Media, SF DRS (Swiss Television) — online strategy and implementation
Music Publishing
Founded a Musikverlag with Michael Holm — the legend behind "Tränen lügen nicht" and "Mendocino"
Sports & Entertainment
Managed the online presence of Henry Maske — Germany's gentleman boxer
Recognition
In 2001, audiobahn won the SAT.1 Online Star Award — recognition for what we'd built in the digital music space. Johannes Kram, who later became known as Guildo Horn's manager (the PR campaign around Horn's 1998 Eurovision appearance is still considered one of the best of the decade), brought the media savvy. I brought the technology.
The exit — and what came next
In 2002, I sold the company. Seven-figure revenue, millions of users, a team that had built something real. I was 27.
Building mp3.de taught me that technology is only interesting when it changes how people experience something. The MP3 format was just a container. The revolution was giving every musician on the planet a stage.
After the exit, I moved into enterprise consulting — advising large corporations on digital strategy. That path led me to Deutsche Postbank, where I joined as an IT project leader and eventually rose to head online banking platforms serving millions of daily users (postbank.de, easytrade.de, bhw.de, dslbank.de). I spent a decade there, building Germany's first cloud-based ATM, winning technology awards, and managing teams of up to 60 people.
But the entrepreneur in me never stopped. In 2010 — while still at the bank — I founded workingbits. SaaS products, ERP systems, AI-driven development. And that's where I am today.
The thread: From building a music portal for independent artists to building SaaS platforms for hundreds of businesses — I've always been drawn to creating something from nothing, scaling it, and making it work in the real world.
When I'm not building software
The same restlessness that made me build mp3.de at 24 takes me to places where the road ends. A Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, shipped from Rotterdam on a freight ferry, crossing Iceland's uninhabited highlands. Days without civilization. A very different kind of startup.
