Nadina Ruedl lived on her savings for a year. For the vegan founder, independence was more important than the bank balance.
“To be honest, the topic is not easy,” says Nadina Ruedl. And by that he means the income in the early phase of the company’s founding. At that time, the Austrian did not pay herself a salary. She lived on just 1,000 to 1,500 euros a month. And they came from her savings account.
Why was it difficult for her to talk about money? “Because it forces you to look honestly at yourself and also at the sides that you don’t normally talk about so openly,” she tells Gründerszene.
Company value and self-worth
Especially for a manager, supposed “failure” feels extremely personal. “Especially if, like me, you bootstrap, go all in, live the vegan lifestyle yourself and are really convinced that you can make a difference with it.” The closer your pitch deck is to your personal beliefs, the more setbacks can damage your self-esteem.
Ruedl sells vegan sausages and ribs with “Die Planterei”. Through our own shop, but also the online portal of the Austrian supermarket chain Billa. The creations are served on the table, for example, in the Zillertal hotel “Neue Post”, which was founded in 1664.
That reads well. But Ruedl warns against the one-sided success narrative. From the outside, startup life often looks like growth, funding rounds and “it’s going great anyway”. “What you don’t see as much are the sleepless nights and this constant feeling of having to function, no matter how you’re really feeling.”
100,000 euro carrot in front of your nose
Without the security of a permanent job, you have to believe in the mission. And being able to say no sometimes, even if it hurts. “At the beginning I also had an investor offer for 100,000 euros on the table, when the startup was only 20 days old,” says Ruedl. She decided against it. And for independence. The money would have relieved your account. But “The Plantation” would no longer have been just her company.
“A lot of people just think you’re completely crazy, sometimes even family or friends from back in the country,” remembers the founder. This makes the issue of salary extremely visible. “Because then you not only struggle with financial insecurity, but often also with this constant feeling of having to explain yourself. Why you live like that, why you work like that and why you believe in something that has no financial output.”