Erik Heinelt is one of the leading figures in the German start-up scene. The serial entrepreneur has built up four companies on three continents and played a key role in the growth of successful companies such as Zalando and Tirendo. After studying at the European School of Business in Reutlingen, Erik Heinelt (*1987) began his career at Rocket Internet AG. Here he supported the expansion of the Zalando business model and built up international fashion platforms such as Dafiti (Brazil) and Locondo (Japan). In 2012, he founded the online tyre retailer Tirendo together with Felix Vögtle. Just one year later, the company employed over 100 people and was active in more than ten countries - which ultimately led to its takeover by competitor Delticom for 50 million euros. After leaving Tirendo in 2014, Heinelt passed on his knowledge to the next generation of founders as a lecturer at the European Business School Reutlingen. The next start-up followed in 2015: together with Felix Vögtle, he founded the online service broker askCharlie. The company has been majority-owned by Check24 since 2017 and is now known as Check24Profis. Heinelt continues to work as its Managing Director. In addition to his entrepreneurial activities, Heinelt was a co-founder of the German Startups Association, of which he was a member of the board until 2018. As a true digital native, Erik Heinelt provides deep insights into the world of digital business models, start-ups and new work cultures. In his presentations, he talks about internet trends, data-driven management and the expectations of Generation Y - both as customers and as employees. With his experience from the fast, dynamic world of entrepreneurship, he encourages people to break new ground and actively exploit the opportunities of digitalisation.