Who this is
Dr. Kati Ernst spent twelve years at McKinsey and holds a doctorate in social entrepreneurship. In 2018 she co-founded ooia in Berlin with Kristine Zeller: the brand that coined the German word for period underwear. The two built the company without investors; ooia has posted eight-figure revenues since its third year and today makes more than 10 million euros. About a year and a half ago Kati stepped out of day-to-day operations and handed the management to the company's first two employees; she still holds her shares and sits on the board. Together with Kristine Zeller she hosts the health podcast Lifestyle of Longevity, which gets around 200,000 downloads a month, plus a book of the same name. She is a board member of the German Startup Association, lives in Berlin and has three children.
Episodes
Numbers from the episode
FAQ
Who is Kati Ernst?
Dr. Kati Ernst is the co-founder of ooia, the Berlin brand that coined the German word for period underwear. Before that she spent twelve years at McKinsey and earned a doctorate in social entrepreneurship. Today she hosts the podcast Lifestyle of Longevity with her co-founder Kristine Zeller, sits on the board of the German Startup Association and on ooia's board. She lives in Berlin and has three children. To the episode →
How big is ooia and how was it financed?
According to Kati, ooia has posted eight-figure revenues since its third year, today more than 10 million euros a year. The founders initially tried to find investors, but despite a Kickstarter campaign that was oversubscribed within seven hours, no round came together. So they bootstrapped: customers pre-ordered with up to twelve weeks of lead time and financed the next production run. Kati still holds her shares today. To the episode →
What would Kati Ernst do differently about bootstrapping today?
Exactly one thing: after two or three years she should have raised money. With your own money you don't dare big strategic investments like a US expansion; with investor money you do, and you'd bring in expertise along with it. Her advice is still to start by bootstrapping, because every successful year strengthens your position with investors, and to raise capital only when the market consolidates and bigger boosts are due. To the episode →
How did Kati Ernst hand ooia over to her team?
She decided to step out a year in advance and used that year to make herself obsolete. The new managing directors were the first two employees, whom she and Kristine had developed over more than five years. Kati stopped raising her gut feelings in meetings and brought them up later in the debrief instead. Around six months after her, Kristine also stepped out of operations; both now sit on the board. To the episode →
How does the podcast Lifestyle of Longevity make money?
The podcast gets around 200,000 downloads a month and comes out twice a week. Advertising requests arrived right after the first episode. For six months the team negotiated themselves and burnt the ads in, then a sales agency came in with dynamic ads that sell impressions. A freelancer handles client acquisition. The income replaced Kati's ooia salary one to one, with almost no cost structure and no marketing spend. There's a book as well. To the episode →
What longevity hacks does Kati Ernst recommend to founders?
Go to bed at the same time every day (same-time sleep), no caffeine in the ten hours before bedtime, avoid alcohol where possible, because both cause junk sleep without deep sleep. Make half of every plate fruit or vegetables. Start exercising with 15 minutes in the morning, do endurance in zone 2 with nasal breathing, and HIIT only once a week. Don't treat stress as the enemy; accept it and respond deliberately. And if your mental health is the problem area: fix that first. To the episode →
Quotes
„… gucken, wie viel kann ich denn abschaben, sodass am Ende nur noch die Essenz bleibt …““Looking at how much I can scrape away so that in the end only the essence remains.”
„Aber man agiert wirklich, wenn es dein Cash ist, dein Bankkonto, wo du deine eigene halbe Million Euro überweisen musst, machst du das anders als mit Investorengeld.““You really do act differently when it's your cash, your bank account, when you have to wire your own half a million euros. You do it differently than with investor money.”
„Also, ich möchte mich nach und nach obsolet machen, eigentlich.““I want to make myself obsolete, bit by bit.”
„Du bist ein besserer Manager, eine bessere Managerin, ein besserer Gründer, Gründerin, wenn du diese Sachen machst.““You're a better manager, a better founder, when you do these things.”
„… es ist die maximale Arbeitsfreiheit. Du machst das, was du willst.““It's maximum freedom in how you work. You do what you want.”