How do entrepreneurs master the roles and risks of a dual-startup?

How does a viable business idea develop?

exali: How did the idea of Smacado and Terra Luna develop?

Julia Bergles:
The idea for Smacado was spontaneous. I wanted to develop food that was practical, healthy and natural. Without typical industrial stuff like sugar, starch or unnecessary additives. At the same time, I wanted everything to be as easy to use as possible in everyday life. And I wanted to help people who - like me - suffer from intolerances or digestive problems.

I had already designed everything myself at Smacado, from the logo to the packaging, and realised how much fun it was. So I thought: why not build up a second string to my bow that really suits my creativity? That's how Terraluna was born. I realised how much personality my designs have when I create them freely and without inflexible rules. I wanted to set up a design studio that was personal, playful and creative, but still professional.

exali: What values or principles have guided you since day one?

Julia Bergles:
I want to enjoy my work. And that's exactly what I want people to see. For me, it's important to design and develop with passion, curiosity and genuine joy. Of course I make mistakes. Anyone who founds a start-up knows that you can never get everything right at the beginning. But that's an important part of my principle:

Learning from mistakes, moving on and not giving up. I have already made many mistakes, some costly, some instructive. But every single one has helped me move forward. They are as much a part of my journey as my successes.

And the most important principle of all: quality over quantity. Everything I make is handmade, with attention to detail, genuine care and the desire to create something that has value.

What are the biggest founding hurdles for start-ups?

exali: What were the first major hurdles you had to overcome?

Julia Bergles:

The first major challenge in setting up the company didn't really exist. In the beginning, everything was surprisingly straightforward - from finding a space to realising my first ideas. My parents supported me, a lot of things fell into place intuitively and I was motivated to get stuck in quickly.

The real challenge only came later: the bookkeeping. I was quite careless with it at first because I underestimated it. Until I realised: This is not the way to do it. I had to grow into it, become more structured and take on responsibility.

The second difficulty then built up over time: the financial side. Financing a start-up without large reserves and without assurance is difficult. Costs rise, you want to grow, develop new products, do marketing. Suddenly, money becomes the biggest concern.

My parents have supported me significantly in solving these challenges, for which I am very grateful. At the same time, I have a part-time job that allows me to cover my running costs myself. I have not utilised any external funding. The realisation was solely due to the support of my parents and my own efforts.

In the end, my biggest challenge was not getting started, but sticking with it. You have to be extremely mentally tough.

exali: How did you deal with difficult moments?

Julia Bergles:
To be honest: not always good. I react sensibly, take mistakes on the chin and doubt myself a lot in difficult phases. When things don't go as planned, I tend to withdraw. I crawl into a hole, do a lot of sport and unconsciously punish myself for ‘not being good enough’. It's not a perfect strategy, but it's my reality and I'm working my way out of it.

Nevertheless, I have one quality that still keeps me going today: I don't give up. Even when it's hard, even when I feel like I'm standing still. I always keep going.

What risks do founders face?

exali: As a founder, you make a lot of decisions on your own. What risks do you see in general, for example in terms of organisation, communication or economically?

Julia Bergles:
As a business owner, I make countless decisions every day. Big ones, small ones, spontaneous ones and long-term ones. And this is precisely where my greatest opportunities and greatest risks lie.

Risk no. 1: Wrong decisions due to actionism

I am a very intuitive and quick-witted person. This means that I often act on instinct, I sometimes make decisions too quickly or I don't always think everything through to the end. As a result, I've already made a lot of mistakes, some of them very expensive. I've wasted money, ordered the wrong quantities, started projects that didn't make sense or made decisions that I would make differently today.

But each of these mistakes was a lesson. And I will definitely never make many of them again.

Risk number 2: Lack of organisational structure

If you do everything at the same time - production, social media, design, purchasing, sales, shipping - then it's logical that not everything can be perfectly organised.

Risk number 3: Economic uncertainty

Self-employment is always an economic risk:

• irregular income
• high material costs
• bad investments
• having to pre-finance productions
• Delivery delays or failures

Every wrong economic decision is felt directly and personally.

Risk number 4: Making decisions entirely on your own

That's one of the hardest things emotionally. I often don't have anyone with whom I can agree a decision at that moment. That second opinion is sometimes missing. And then uncertainty arises. Fortunately, I now have a few people I can talk to. That helps me enormously.

Nevertheless, I always make the final decision. And I also bear the responsibility.

exali: What has helped you avoiding typical pitfalls?

Julia Bergles:
Honestly? I didn't avoid typical pitfalls because I knew them beforehand, but because I first had to experience them in order to realise that they were pitfalls in the first place. I am a classic learning by doing person. And as a founder, you don't learn many things from books or YouTube. But from real mistakes, nervous breakdowns and moments when you think: ‘Okay...I'll NEVER do that again.’

exali: Did you take any measures to protect your business?

Julia Bergles:

To safeguard my business activities, I have taken out appropriate insurance policies to minimise potential risks. I also attach great importance to preventative measures in the areas of quality and safety. This includes regular checks of my products and careful inspection of the raw materials used.

Another key point is adherence to strict hygiene measures. I consistently ensure cleanliness and hygiene at work, for example by wearing gloves and hairnets. The quality of my products always takes centre stage. I have also established clear processes for checking best-before dates. These are verified, entered into my system and filtered accordingly so that I can always ensure that I only offer fresh and flawless products.

When is it worthwhile for founders to seek support with accounting, marketing, etc.?

exali: In your opinion, where is it worthwhile to seek support early on?

Julia Bergles:
Many founders believe they have to do everything themselves. But that's not true. Support is not a luxury, but often a necessity.

Organised bookkeeping is the essence. If it's a mess, the whole company is a mess. Branding is also an important point if you can't do it well yourself. After all, good branding saves an incredible amount of time and money in the long term.

And finally: communication. Both internally and externally. You should be competent at reaching out to people. You need to be able to explain your business and embody what you do.

If you have the financial means, you should seek support in these areas at an early stage.

exali: What would you do differently today?

Julia Bergles:
I would only start a business when I have enough money. Because I started with too little budget. And today I realise

• -nothing works without marketing
• without a budget, growth is blocked
• without a financial buffer, you live in permanent stress

Marketing is not a ‘nice to have’, it's essential. And if you can't use it because you don't have the money, it's extremely frustrating and puts the brakes on everything.

How do founders manage their time for various activities?

exali: Online shop, coaching, design: legally and operationally, these are completely different worlds. How do you cover this broad spectrum without losing the overview?

Julia Bergles:
I don't have a sophisticated system. I work according to a simple principle: I have a to-do list. And I always start with the quickest or most logical thing at the moment. That way I build up momentum, get into the flow and work my way from task to task. It feels more natural to me than strictly planning everything through.

Of course, this also harbours risks:

• doing too many tasks at the same time
• that you get lost
• that the quality will suffer at some point if you get bogged down
• or that you overwhelm yourself without realising it

I consciously try to make time for everything. And I don't want to do everything perfectly at the same time.

exali: Coordinating so many tasks in this way certainly harbours room for risk. What experiences have you had in your various activities here?

Julia Bergles:
In the food sector, every detail is a risk. And it is only when you produce it yourself that you realise how many things can go wrong:

One example is goods that can expire. If food spoils or best-before dates are suddenly shorter than expected, this immediately means high losses. As a start-up, that really hurts. Raw materials that are not of the right quality are also a problem. For example, I already had a complete delivery of hazelnuts that were bad.

That means

• Complaining about the goods
• organise a new delivery
• Dispose of the products that were produced with them as a precautionary measure
• That costs money, nerves and time.

There are also quality risks in production. Because food production means a lot of responsibility. And sometimes there is the fear: What if a contaminant gets in? What if something is not right despite the greatest care? As the founder, I bear all of these risks myself.

What mindset and preparation do you need to successfully found a company?

exali: What can other founders learn from your journey?

Julia Bergles:

Hang in there, no matter how often you doubt. You will have setbacks. You will make mistakes. But if you really want something, you have to learn to keep going anyway. This also means being able to convince others of your idea: Customers, partners, retailers and investors. If you don't believe in yourself, nobody will.

To make sure you succeed: Inform yourself thoroughly beforehand. Especially about finances, authorities, legal matters and marketing. If I had known at the beginning what I was really up against, I could have avoided many mistakes. Not everything, but a lot. Be tough and have ambition. Self-employment is not a hobby. You need discipline, self-belief, ambition and perseverance. Without that, it will be very difficult.