No studies, no investors, no network: When Markus Hetzenegger decided to set up his own marketing agency in Frankfurt am Main, he had to overcome a few hurdles. Today, almost seven years later, the 29-year-old is CEO of the marketing company Nyba Media GmbH. The agency looks after around 700 national and international artists every year and plays advertisements for live events on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok – according to the company, over 75 million tickets have been sold.
Markus Hetzenegger spoke to Gründerszene about how he managed to build his international company and explained why courage and focus are more important than sophisticated business plans.
Assertiveness in the face of resistance
Markus Hetzenegger learned to solve problems pragmatically at an early age: When he was of primary school age, his parents decided to emigrate to southern Spain. “I sat there in first class and couldn’t speak a word of Spanish,” says Hetzenegger in an interview with Gründerszene. He didn’t want to let that stop him. “Nine months later I spoke perfect Spanish and was at the top of the second class.”
This time was formative for him, he learned to focus on the essentials: “We lived in a caravan in Spain for a year, without running electricity and without water. That was rather straightforward. 300 euros was not a daily budget, but a monthly budget.”
A little later his family moved to Germany, to Bavaria, to a town near Regensburg. His goal: to graduate from high school. But because he lacked school subjects such as English and physics, he was not accepted into a high school, he says. That’s why he went to a secondary school: “My English teacher said it was impossible for me to write my final exam in three years.” He ultimately finished school at the top of his year, said Hetzenegger.
