“Nothing is certain when building something new. Everyday you are in uncharted territory and certainty is a concept that does not exist in this world or anybody's world.”

Xaver, why did you start PRODUCER? 

I was once asked if there was a way to manage a brand’s media content from within one location. But, there was none…  I always knew there had to be a better way of producing a commercial film and because of the endless pain and not being able to find anything else we simply decided to build it ourselves. The thing is that every company in the world has become a content creation company and Covid forced them all to find a way to keep on communicating. So they all set up shop for in-house content creation but without anyone truly understanding the production process. They worked with 3rd party tools not talking to one another, not designed for content creation needs and with over complicated- and poor design.  

PRODUCER - Maker Machina helps enterprises with a structured production pipeline that keeps you moving forward within the workflow. Saving companies time and money and ultimately the software will improve creativity. This single point of truth pushes your bottom line and brings an element of fun to the corporate creative process. 

Is it more about the journey or the destination? 

If it's about the destination then you will never be happy. It has to be about the journey. You need to love it. Start-ups are full of downs. I have heard more no’s during the past 3 years than ever before. 98% was no.. but there is this 2% that keeps you moving forward.. and you celebrate every victory. You do not wait for the end. You celebrate every small yes. But, the destination remains in the back of your head. You need to know what you are fighting for. I want a Mclaren one day, and although the world may find this ridiculous I know that one day I will drive my Spider, … its the force that gets me up every morning at 4am even if I don’t want to, even if I am too tired. Even if you don’t feel like it, you need to… and you need to love it. 

When things get tough, what do you do?

I do push-ups, and get on my mountain bike and pedal so hard that my legs beg me to stop, so tired that I cannot think of anything but breathing. All thoughts leave my head because it is just about breathing. There is no room for anything else. Then when I strap on my downhill protection I switch to tunnel vision and fly into every turn. There is no room for thinking about work… or you will crash into a tree… and the tree will win every time. So when the going gets tough I clear my head through exercise and this helps me to focus on breathing and just doing one more click. Just one more click and before you know it, you got yourself out of the storm and you are riding again. Tomorrow there may be another disaster waiting for you, but you clear your head, break the problem down into little manageable parts and you get it done.

Do you crave certainty?

As a leader I need to project certainty. Although I have endless doubts in my mind I need to keep the team together and motivated. Nothing is certain when building something new. Especially if there is no clear plan to follow when building something that has never been done before. Everyday you are in uncharted territory and certainty is a concept that does not exist in this world or anybody's world. What I do crave is consistency. To have a routine and do everything as it is between getting up at 4am and my first coffee at 6am in exactly the same order. This gives me some form of certainty for the day to come. Then whatever comes, comes and I will find a way. 

Has founding a business changed you?

I don't think so. I don’t really change. It's still the same person. What I did learn is to trust more. You can not do everything yourself. You need to trust but I have since learnt that you then need to verify.  And then you need to trust again. Without trust you can not build something of substance. You will always just go around in circles. And I know… I have been there. You need to learn, get better, apologize and be true to yourself.

What do you need, now?

I was once told that I need to be more realistic… and I strongly disagree. It's not my job to be realistic. I need to be in my bubble. Dream big and believe anything is possible. Then you need to surround yourself with clever realistic people and listen to them.. truly listen.. but then you follow your intuition. I just need to continue and  not ever give up. If you never give up you can never lose.