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Daniel Stammler describes the 'awkward phase' when his gaming startup grew from friends playing cards to a 100-person company where he became 'the boss'.

The episode is an interview format hosted by Shirin Maroon for the Business Punk podcast 'How to Invest'. Guest Daniel Stammler, co-founder of Colibri Games, begins by describing his background growing up in Heidenheim with no entrepreneurial exposure, studying in Karlsruhe, and founding several failed startups before Colibri. He details how Colibri Games was founded in 2016 by five founders with no prior gaming business experience, bootstrapped from a WG apartment, and achieved rapid growth, hitting half a million euros in revenue in the first year and 38 million within three years. Stammler explains they considered but ultimately rejected VC funding because their growth was limited by team scaling, not capital, and they were highly profitable. The discussion covers the company's move from Karlsruhe to Berlin, the challenges of scaling from a student project to a 100+ person firm, and the 2020 exit to Ubisoft for a 160 million euro valuation. Stammler emphasizes the importance of using an investment bank for the sale process. Post-exit, he describes the anticlimactic experience due to Covid and the emotional impact of leaving the company. He then outlines the formation of BLN Capital, a family office he co-manages, which initially made 40-50 startup investments but later scaled back. Stammler shares investment learnings, such as avoiding over-investing in follow-on rounds in Europe due to smaller exit sizes, and their current strategy of 50k-150k tickets in early-stage startups, primarily in DACH. The conversation touches on hiring practices, including trial days, and the decision-making process at BLN Capital. Stammler contrasts founder and investor perspectives, noting that founders often make poor investors due to naivety, and highlights conflicts of interest between VCs and founders regarding exits. He concludes by stating he found being a founder easier than an investor and cites Mark Cuban as an inspiration.

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