How it all began

My parents and my brother were born in Berlin. After my brother was born, my parents took a small detour to Düsseldorf before moving to the city of Cologne, where the River Rhine is at its most beautiful. I was born there, and Cologne has remained my home to this day and, of course, also the main location of my company, costdata.

My first steps in the automotive industry

My professional career began in 1980 with an apprenticeship as a machine fitter at one of the most innovative companies at the time: Ford-Werke AG. It was the first time I had been involved with the automotive industry in a professional capacity. Since my early childhood I have been fascinated by cars. I used to spend countless hours lying on the floor building Lego vehicles. Cars were the biggest thing in my life. In addition to the rural surroundings of Cologne and my love of going on outdoor adventures with my friends, I developed a keen interest in technology at an early age, especially cars and motorbikes. At school I was passionate about technical drawing, mechanical engineering and materials science, and these were the first signs of what the future had in store for me.

With my certificate as a skilled worker, I was able to work at Ford during the summer holidays. I earned good money, getting a decent hourly wage and sometimes even being paid by the piece. Work began early in the morning. At the end of a day's work, my hands would be black, covered with oil and dirt. Although I enjoyed getting to know all the machines and acquiring skills such as turning, milling and drilling, I knew that I wanted more.

That is why, immediately after completing my apprenticeship, I decided to go to university to get an engineering degree in the field of production technology, precisely because it dealt with:

How can a product be optimally produced? Which machines are available for which processes?

During this time, I stumbled upon another passion: sales. I was enormously ambitious at both school and university – especially when it came to achieving financial success and building wealth.

Although I was still wet behind the ears, I developed a keen interest for business at an early age. I gave myself what I wanted early on by believing that anyone who has achieved something will want to, and is allowed to, show it to the world. Even before my time at university, I started working as an insurance agent to finance this life of luxury. I had been approached by a friend who had also been recruited. My main task was to identify potential customers and offer them various insurance products, mainly accident insurance. Over time, I also started recruiting other people to sell for me. With this system, which you would no doubt refer to today as a “pyramid scheme”, the people I recruited became part of our sales chain.

Doing this while studying at the same time was both incredibly stressful and enjoyable. After about a year and a half of successful work, targets were in place. We were challenged to sell more, to make more money. This eventually led to a decision that would change my life.

At the age of just 20, I founded my first limited liability company with two friends.

I did my university studies in the mornings and my insurance agency work in the afternoons and evenings. I was either selling insurance or doing the work of a managing director. After graduation, I dedicated myself fully to the agency. At our peak, we were coordinating no fewer than 180 freelancers who were working for us. I even recruited young people at schools and offered them the opportunity to earn money on the side. It was a fantastic time.

In the end, it was my father - although proud of my early success – who convinced me to make a change. A few months after I received my engineering degree, he asked me if I really wanted to sell insurance for the rest of my life. I realised that I risked losing my value in the engineering market if I did not start my career soon.

This was a turning point for me, and I had to make a difficult decision. For the first time in my life, I started filling ou