Gründerszene was at the Startup Awards 2026 – and asked Parloa founder Malte Kosub for his three tips for young founders.
He is one of the most successful founders in Germany: Malte Kosub from Parloa. The Berlin startup develops AI agents for customer service that automatically understand, answer and forward inquiries to the right place.
Parloa was founded in Berlin and is now one of the best-known AI startups from Germany. In January 2026, the company closed a $350 million Series D financing round; the valuation is currently around three billion US dollars.
Gründerszene spoke to the 32-year-old (very briefly) at the Startup Awards 2026 and asked him for his three tips. This is what he said:
- Be very ambitious. “We all have to be even more ambitious in Europe and Germany. If the ambitions don’t seem crazy, you’re not thinking big enough.”
- Stay optimistic. Founding is hard: you fall down, have to get up again and need the conviction that things will continue.
- Work hard. If you want to be successful worldwide, you have to be prepared to put in a lot of effort.
What is it like to be a unicorn founder?
Kosub answers this question: “The feeling is actually always the same, the pressure is always the same. But the goals are getting bigger and bigger.” Parloa is primarily active in enterprise sales. Here, unicorn status and the associated awareness would make sales to customers much easier.
