Meet Daniela Schiffer, Co-Founder of Changers.com, working mainly in Administration, Business Development, HR, some communications and everything in between.
Interviewed by Jess Erickson
What are you working on at the moment?
I am working at Changers together with our team to grow our platform internationally and to bring Changers to all the folks out there. Everyday I think how we can speed up in order to bring our classy device to demanding countries.
Can you see yourself in ten years doing the same thing you do now?
No way, what we are doing today was not ten years ago, even two years ago. Every year we push the limit of innovation to bring new values into society by creating something disruptive. What I definitely can imagine is doing something ‘similar’ in 10 years.
Who is one person you follow on Twitter in Berlin? And why?
Somebody I like to follow, even though he is not based in Berlin, is Frank Rieger, a German journalist and hacker. He does press for Caos Computer Club and writes remarkable articles at FAZ (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung).
What was your most satisfying achievement?
Really hard question. I am not easily satisfied and it never stays long. But if I have to select one that really mattered to me was bringing Changers into life after hard work over the past 2 years. I am very proud of it and I’m confident that this specific achievement is going to line up many others that will come in the coming years.
What is the best advice you ever received?
Again, I always have problems with superlatives, as there is never the one and only in life. But one advice which really moved me for a while, was one from my biology teacher last year of high school at Buenos Aires. He approached me on the corridor after I had my oral examinations for the Abitur (german A-levels) and told me in a really serious tone: “Don’t waste this, make something out of what you have.” It made me think for the first time, that this might not be the normal way to go for some people.
What is the most important thing you’ve learned in the last year?
Actually there are two important things:
One: Do not compromise. The assumed benefits by doing so never take place.
Two: Be really clear in how you communicate to people. You can not imagine what people can misunderstand or what they expect. So always be as clear as possible on what you want and what you expect from yourself and others.
How do you define success?
That despite all the “in spite ofs” you make things happen.
Follow Daniela on Twitter @danistweet
