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distantlaughter · 11 months ago

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Formel Vorne

Originally published June 2022 by Sven Michaelsen for DB MOBIL (x)

Always close to the racing line: this is how Nico Rosberg became Formula 1 world champion. But what does it take to lead start-ups to the top in Germany? In the cover interview with DB MOBIL, the tech investor talks about his flair for perfect green ideas, his speed-reading course and how he is trying to beat his cell phone addiction by making music.

The man seems impressively experienced in the media. When Nico Rosberg sees the first pictures taken by the photographer at the 25hours Hotel in Cologne, he asks: "Could I get more light from below?" At the beginning of the subsequent cover interview, the former Formula 1 professional wants to know: "How have you perceived me in the last hour?" Anyone in the public eye does a lot of Hollywood, says the 36-year-old, who will open the Greentech Festival, which he co-founded, in Berlin on June 22. New ideas for a sustainable lifestyle will be presented there. Nico Rosberg believes that image is work: "And I've always taken it very, very seriously."

Mr. Rosberg, you became Formula 1 world champion for the first time in 2016. Five days later, you announced your retirement from racing, much to everyone's astonishment. What was going through your mind?

I had meditated a lot and worked with a psychologist. At the start of the last race, I knew that if I didn't make any mistakes, I would be world champion. When I crossed the start line, I thought: Nico, this could be your last race ever, try to enjoy it a little. That gave me the calm I needed to win. When I crossed the finish line, I knew it was over! That's it for you and Formula 1.

Wife, parents, team boss: Who did you tell your decision to first?

In the evening, there was a party where we celebrated at full throttle. The morning after, my wife and I woke up totally hungover. In my bathrobe, I said to her: "By the way, I've decided to quit." It was a total surprise for her.

Did she react with enthusiasm or dismay?

She was completely neutral. On the one hand, she had been an enthusiastic supporter of my career, but on the other hand, she saw first-hand how racing had taken over me to such an extent that I often seemed absent at home. Her only comment was: "Follow your instinct."

Your father Keke Rosberg was Formula 1 world champion in 1982. How did he find out about your decision?

After I announced my departure, I wrote a WhatsApp message to my mother: "Mom, you never have to worry about me again. That was my last race. Please tell dad." If I had told my dad in advance, he would have said: "What are you doing? This is a huge mistake! You're giving up the top spot in Formula 1 without needing to and giving up 100 million euros in revenue over the next few years. That's stupid."

Did he make a scene for you?

No, but he was shocked and didn't understand at all at first. He was my biggest fan and was already looking forward to the next racing season. I then explained to him that I had reached my goal in life and was no longer prepared to give 110 percent every day for racing. That was a very nice moment.

What career options did you have?

None at all. We had our little daughter, and a few weeks after I left, my wife got pregnant again. It was clear that I didn't want to live off my savings in the long term and that my next job should be less ego-driven. In Formula 1, everything revolves around you. This extreme self-centeredness had made me unhappy and led to a disbalance within me. I wanted to become more positive and self-confident. For this reason, I made a promise to myself: In your next life, don't focus on your ego, but on dedicating yourself to projects that help others.

You are investing in sustainability and green mobility today. How many people work for you?

There are almost 20 of them, some of which are involved in investments in green start-ups, others in our annual Greentech Festival, where we bring together the most innovative minds. Then there are our partnerships with companies that are driving forward electromobility.

How many companies have you invested money in?

About 20, with another 100 through investments in funds.

How many start-ups are pipe failures?

50 out of 100. 30 float along so-so, 10 are better off, 10 become really successful.

Your biggest scoop?

Our early investment in the e-scooter company "TIER".

Your most spectacular failure?

A financial services provider in Sweden. Our money was gone.

How high is the proportion of women among founders?

Under 20 percent. The entire tech scene is still a male domain. We can only hope that this will change very quickly.

A founder wants money from you: Do you look at the person or their idea?

First of all, I look at the person: are they driven by an intrinsic passion or is someone just trying to make as much money as possible in as short a time as possible? I need to sense passion in a founder and an incredible fighting spirit, which I recognize immediately because of my past as a professional sportsman. You can modify ideas, but not people.

Two years ago, you predicted in an interview: "The first commercial flights with air cabs will take place in 2022."

It will probably take a few more years after all. We have invested in the German air cab companies Lilium and Volocopter. Commercial flights are due to start in 2025. I predict that a decade later there will be a kind of Netflix for mobility. For a monthly flat rate, you will be provided with all the means of transportation you need to travel within Europe: E-scooter, self-driving cab, hydrogen-powered air cab that lands on the roof of your train station, high-speed train.

CEOs today are supposed to be moderate, approachable, inclusive and politically correct. Successful people like Mark Zuckerberg or Jeff Bezos, on the other hand, are polarizing and egocentric. How do you explain this contradiction?

Many former employees of Elon Musk complain that it is a horror to work for him. I assume he has people on his management team who balance out his stubbornness and ensure empathy. Otherwise, every company will blow up in your face at some point. It is probably extremely rare for visionary founders to also be nice team players. Being uncompromising is part of every great career.

The controversial, billionaire investor Peter Thiel writes in his book "Zero To One": "Of the six men who founded PayPal, four made bombs as schoolboys." Do founders have to be out of the ordinary, have to have a chip on their shoulder?

Genius founders are extreme characters. They focus their lives on implementing their ideas with extreme dedication and tenacity. With some of them, you might think that their successes are revenge on the people who humiliated them in their youth. Toto Wolff, my team boss at Mercedes, said that every great success is compensation for a painful childhood trauma. The appreciation you didn't get as a child is supposed to bring you success in your career.

Peter Thiel asks people who apply to him: "Which of your beliefs would few people share with you?" How would you answer him?

I would so fail this question. Six years ago, I would have come up with an answer: Electromobility. I'm an investor and shareholder in Formula E. When my father heard about it, he said: "You're completely crazy!" He now sets his alarm clock for every race. But wait, I just thought of an answer to Thiel's question: I'm convinced that a psychologist can help each of us enormously in becoming more successful, happier and a better relationship partner. During my time in Formula 1, I worked with a qualified psychologist for two hours every other day. That was more intense than any driver training course.

What did the man do to you?

He helped me to understand myself better: Why am I nervous? Why am I afraid? Why am I jealous when my wife looks after another man without any deeper intention? When it comes to our emotions, we are all so in the dark. They guide our behavior without us understanding how and why. With the help of a mental coach, you can control your reactions much better because you learn to react rationally instead of emotionally. This triggers a snowball effect that changes your whole life for the better. In addition, the psychologist taught me to proactively train my brain with meditation, visualization and repetition.

An example, please.

If I visit a person 100 days in a row and tell them they are an idiot every time, they will eventually believe me at least a little. We often do the same with ourselves. We make the same assumptions about ourselves over and over again until we end up mistakenly believing them to be facts. If I visualize this mechanism again and again in meditation, I can break through it and achieve a more positive self-image.

You also had a coach for speed reading.

Because I don't read enough, I wanted to learn to read faster. Bill Gates reads 100 pages per hour thanks to a coach. A simple trick is to follow along with your finger while reading. This helps the eye to recognize the words and increases reading speed.

A world-famous father, a childhood in the decadent, affluent paradise of Monaco: you could just as easily have become a spoiled good-for-nothing with a drug problem.

I don't believe that children from wealthy families need to have a problem with their ambition. My best friends in Monaco grew up with money. One of them now manages 300 million euros, the other two are among the luminaries of their profession as a lawyer and dentist. All three decided early on that they didn't want to live off their parents' money. Their incentive was to achieve something similar. I was ambitious and thrifty from an early age and never thought about my parents' money. I wanted to do my own thing.

You are bringing up two daughters, aged four and six. Can children's ambition be fueled, or is ambition a kind of natural destiny, as natural as a birthmark?

I think 70 percent is genetics, 30 percent can be influenced by the parents. For me, this 30 percent is the biggest challenge there is in the world. My wife and I attend parenting seminars to develop our parenting skills. Of course we want to encourage our children's motivation, but above all we want them to be happy.

What about your gift for happiness?

My mother is naturally happy and motivated. I find that more difficult. Without rationality and discipline, for example, I would look at my cell phone for twelve hours a day and be knocked out after two days. I have to manage my life with a lot of energy and thought. Otherwise I would make myself and others unhappy.

What are you like when you lose?

My nature makes it extremely difficult for me to lose. When I played tennis against my father when I was young, I left the court crying almost every time. I cried when I lost and I cried when I won because I thought he had let me win. We didn't speak to each other again until the next day. This extreme in me was really bad. In Formula 1, my psychologist then taught me that defeats don't just hurt, but are an opportunity to grow.

What can we learn from you?

Dedication, persistence, not letting go. I recently wanted to meet Richard Branson - which is not easy. I wrote to his secretary, called her and had a friend write an email recommending him. And so it went on and on until I finally got the acceptance.

Have you had any Formula 1 freak-outs like tennis stars hitting the umpire's chair with their rackets?

I'm not the impulsive type. I tend to be very thoughtful, sometimes too much so. I've never shouted at anyone in my life. I'm practising this with my children because they seem to expect it from me. But it's not my nature. I have to force myself to do it.

How do you teach your children ecological awareness?

There is a series of children's books with stories about famous people who are committed to nature. Last night I read the book about Greta Thunberg at home. We also explain why we drive an electric car and try to avoid plastic.

What have you learned from your children?

I bought myself a guitalele, a miniature guitar, so that I don't have to reach for my smartphone every free second. It's in my hotel room. It was my children who inspired me to play an instrument. I'm fascinated by how motivated they are to learn new things. Then I think: Nico, you've become so lazy! Because I'm ambitious, I'm even taking guitar lessons now. I want to become good.

Charlie Chaplin said about the Christmases of his childhood: "I only got one orange - in good years." How do you deal with the lack of scarcity when raising your children?

My wife and I try to exemplify certain values because mere theory is not convincing for children. When we return from an expensive family vacation, I say: "Be careful in your stories not to hurt anyone who can't afford this kind of vacation." Only at Christmas do we break the dams. That's when we overdo it with presents. You can't do everything pedagogically right. And who should stop grandma and grandpa from giving presents?

#nico rosberg #nicology

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