Who this is
Christoph "Chris" Zöller co-founded Instaffo in 2014 while still at university in Heidelberg. Before that he threw hip-hop parties in Heidelberg, Mannheim and Karlsruhe, around 25 a year. Alongside the early days of Instaffo he spent several years in an investor's family office, eventually as authorised signatory, managing real estate and company holdings. After his co-founder left, he rebuilt the company from the Covid period onwards as Instaffo 2.0: a recruiting marketplace for white-collar jobs in tech, sales, marketing, consulting and finance. On LinkedIn he reaches 5 million impressions a year, and on TikTok he posted as KarriereChris. He also invests in startups, funds and unusual projects such as a cliff diving league.
Episodes
Numbers from the episode
FAQ
What is Instaffo?
Instaffo is a recruiting platform that matches candidates and companies like a marketplace. Christoph Zöller describes the goal as headhunter quality at a fraction of the price. Companies pay a fee for a successful hire, based on the first annual gross salary. Instaffo covers white-collar jobs in tech, sales, marketing, consulting and, since 2025, finance. To the episode →
How did Christoph Zöller become a founder?
At university he ran parties, eventually hip-hop parties in Heidelberg, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. In 2014 his then co-founder Daniel approached him with the idea for Instaffo. Chris knew he didn't want to throw parties forever or take over his father's Allianz insurance agency, so he co-founded the company. To the episode →
Why did Instaffo start over?
The first model relied on active sourcing and was more of an operations business than a marketplace, and Chris didn't identify with it. After Covid hit he decided to go all in on Instaffo, his co-founder Daniel left, and product and organisation were rebuilt almost entirely as Instaffo 2.0. To the episode →
How does Instaffo use AI?
Instaffo is building AI interviews that automate the first interview step. Candidates take the interview once per job role, get feedback and can use it for all their applications. According to Chris it starts with sales roles and is meant to roll out to all job roles by the end of the year. To the episode →
Quotes
„Und da hatte ich den schlechtesten Abschluss, aber das höchste Einstiegsgehalt.““I had the worst grades, but the highest starting salary.”
„Für was willst du bekannt sein, der, der alles irgendwie ein bisschen macht? Oder möchtest du irgendwo deinen Fußabdruck hinterlassen?““What do you want to be known for? The guy who does a bit of everything? Or do you want to leave your footprint somewhere?”
„Aber ich glaube, am Ende ist es kein Mangel an Fachkräften, es ist ein Mangel an Skills.““But in the end I don't think it's a shortage of skilled workers, it's a shortage of skills.”
„Und du hast das Thema, dass Leute folgen gerne anderen Personen und weniger Marken.““The thing is, people like to follow other people more than brands.”
„Ich bin fest davon überzeugt, du hast als Gründer eine ganz ganz andere Energie, die du in das Unternehmen reinbringen kannst …““I'm firmly convinced that as a founder you bring a completely different energy into the company.”