Introduction Sebastian Feuster

Foreword

In every successful business, there are people who form the backbone of the business and help keep things running smoothly through their unique energy and expertise. It's important to us to highlight and share these individual stories so that you, the faces and stories behind our creative studio can get to know WAGEMUT .

In today's employee presentation, we would like to introduce you to someone who contributes to our company with perseverance, commitment and passion: Sebastian Feuster. Find out more about Sebastian's career, his experiences and what drives him every day.

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Sebastian Feuster - Frontend Dev / Managing Partner

Error messages are friends - no food

Here is a frontend magician, a pixel wizard and HTML wizard all in one. With CSS tricks and JavaScript spells, I bring every design to life. Ready for a "WOW"-tastic user experience?

General questions

How did you come to found WAGEMUT and what motivates you every day to take our creative studio to the next level?

It has been a long and winding journey up to this point, which is similar to Patrick's story in many ways, but also provides a good counterbalance. I took a liking to technical contexts and structures early on and had a good sense of logic when it came to understanding programs. Even though I never really focused on this, this hidden preference somehow carried through to my studies in industrial engineering.

Unlike Patrick, I was never the visionary, but my talent lay in creating structures and paving the way for visions to become reality. This led to a well-functioning entrepreneurial symbiosis between Patrick and myself many years ago.

Back then, with other partners at our side, we started and had to learn that a vision and a path are not always enough to achieve the goal. So we were at a crossroads: give up or carry on. Without further ado, we downsized our team, moved to Düsseldorf, realigned ourselves and did a lot of things differently. What has remained is the vision of helping our customers to present themselves online as they really are - namely great.

Each of our customers is fascinating, with special business areas, activities and expertise, and we have the privilege of presenting this in such a way that every user can recognize it. This is our way of showing what our customers are made of.
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What is your current role and what are your main responsibilities?


The role of a managing director can be quite demanding, as you have to keep track of many areas. Patrick and I share this area of responsibility, with me particularly taking care of all the paperwork such as accounting and the like.

I also work in development (DEV) and am responsible for the technical implementation of projects.
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What projects or tasks have you enjoyed the most so far?

Every project is unique and always requires a new plan and approach - and that's the part that fascinates me the most. I ask myself questions like: Which tools are best suited for implementation? Which solutions can the customer use to minimize their workload and gain more time for their core business? Which functions bring our customers closer to their target group?
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How would you describe the corporate culture in three words?


Lively, boundless, different

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Work and career

What's special about your job?

That's what I enjoy the most too ;)
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Is there a particular challenge or project that you are especially proud of?


I am particularly proud of our studio wagemut. This could be interpreted as me patting ourselves on the back - and to a certain extent that is correct. Founding our own company, making it grow, defining ourselves and the ever-changing tasks, always keeping the goal of improving our customers in mind, has turned out to be more difficult than I ever imagined. That's why I'm proud of us and our team.
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How does the company support your professional development?


The principle is actually quite simple: we need to create the space for everyone to learn and develop. Because if we improve, our projects will also improve and thus create more added value for our customers.

That's why we naturally provide free time, procure training vouchers, attend training courses and share the newly acquired knowledge in our meetings.

What is the best advice you would give to someone who wants to work in your field?


Do, do and do again, don't get lost in endless tutorials. Make mistakes, learn from them and then make new ones. In this way, you will continuously learn.

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Team and collaboration

What does collaboration look like in your team?

Thanks to the meetings, everyone is always informed about what the others are working on, where things are stuck or what might be missing. This allows us to support each other quickly, clarify things or organize our day. But it's also not unusual for us to meet spontaneously in the corridor when help is needed.
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What do you appreciate most about your colleagues?

Of course, the odd distracting conversation in the kitchen is a must. There is also the ability to point out mistakes, admit them and learn from them. It is also important to catch each other out when someone is stuck.
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How does your team celebrate successes or milestones?

With laughter, of course ;)

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Corporate vision and values

Which company value do you identify with the most and why?

Potential - the hidden potential, or in other words, the new possibilities. We constantly strive to rediscover this, to point it out and to push for us to exploit our full potential so that our customers become aware of their own potential.
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How do you see the future of the company?

The transition to a creative studio was a very important step for us. In the beginning, we "only" took care of creating good websites - after all, there were only two of us. But now our great team allows us to broaden our focus on projects. We are now able to develop complete concepts for companies, offer more comprehensive marketing and - most importantly - provide advice. Many companies are unaware of their options or are stuck in a "we've always done it this way" mentality.

This is where we come in, offering different perspectives and creating a holistic picture that goes beyond the conventional framework.

We are also intensifying our networking, for example with institutions such as Startplatz, in order to create synergies and make these available to our customers. As we are very interested in German entrepreneurship, we also want to support start-ups. In this context, we are currently in the process of developing a new format with Andreas, but I don't want to reveal anything about this at the moment.
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How does your work contribute to the overall vision of the company?

I'm usually the rational one in the office and look at things soberly and objectively. This may sometimes dampen the emerging euphoria a little #showstopper, but it also ensures that we maintain a realistic view and stay within the scope of the project.

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Personal insights

Is there a book, movie or quote that has influenced your work style or philosophy?

See below
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What do you do to unwind and recharge from work?

I often go hiking in my free time, and luckily the Eifel is not far away. I also like to tinker with the odd Lego set, play a bit on the Switch or watch the latest anime. I do some bouldering, and MonkeySpot is conveniently just around the corner.
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What's something surprising that most people don't know about you?

My absolute favorite films are the ones with Godzilla. Now some may think: "Oh, how boring, everyone knows them." But I'm referring to the old Japanese films from the Showa and Heisei series. From the black and white classics to the newer versions. When I'm sick in bed, there's nothing better for me. Of course, companions like Mothra and King Ghidorah are also a must.

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Tips and advice

What advice would you give to someone just starting out in the industry?

Isn't that the same question as before?
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How do you stay current and informed in your field?


It really is almost impossible to keep up with the constant flood of new information. That's why it's important to focus and only pick up on what's relevant at the moment.
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What tool or app has changed or improved your workday the most?


Webflow is indeed at the forefront when it comes to low-code solutions. It offers numerous possibilities to create new websites quickly and efficiently. This benefits not only me, but also our customers. It has never been so easy, fast and intuitive for our customers to edit their own website. What's more, they don't have to worry about backups or updates. That saves nerves, time and money.

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Final thoughts

What do you want for the future of the company?

We clearly need more developers. This applies not only to our company, but to the entire economy. Technologies are developing rapidly and countless new possibilities are being added every day. In Germany, we are years behind in this area and there is a lack of IT specialists who are motivated to drive digital Germany forward.
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Is there anyone in the company you particularly admire for their work or influence?

Definitely Patrick. Not only because he is my brother-in-law and business partner, but because Patrick brings a very special energy and approach. His ability to recognize new trends and opportunities and use them to move us, the projects and our customers forward is almost unique. The energy he brings to new projects can be overwhelming at times, but that's what keeps us all moving forward.
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What message would you like to give to the readers of the blog?

If you've read this far, maybe we should talk on the phone. You're sure to find our number ;)
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"We are drowning in information - but starving for wisdom_{"John Nasbitt}