We Went Bankrupt Twice - What We Learned

About this episode

Two bankruptcies. €70 million frozen over a weekend. Customer acquisition cost crashed from €1,200 to €15. And somehow, 30,000 client companies and 700,000 cardholders later, it works.In this episode of The Revenue Equation, Frederik Jakobsen (founder of Danish Lead Co, danishleadco.io) sits down with Patrick Loeffler, co-founder and CEO of Givve, a German B2B2E employee benefits platform. Patrick has been building Givve since 2010. They survived two bankruptcies and the Wirecard collapse to become one of Germany's leading prepaid Mastercard benefit platforms, adding 1,000 new cardholders every single day with a team of just 70 people.What you'll take away:- Why "don't be the loudest, be the deepest" is the rule that wins long-term B2B- How to lead through a crisis without distracting your specialists from the work that matters- The mouse study that explains why founder conviction predicts company survival- "Type 2 fun" and why the hard adventures build the strongest businesses- How Givve cut CAC from €1,200 to €15 with no silver bullets, just relentless tracking- The dashboard tipping point that changed Givve's culture forever- Why you should always ask for the maximum (and stop negotiating against yourself)If this conversation lands for you, subscribe to The Revenue Equation and follow Frederik Jakobsen on LinkedIn. More episodes and resources at danishleadco.io.GUEST: Patrick Loeffler, co-founder and CEO of GivveHOST: Frederik Jakobsen, founder of Danish Lead Co (danishleadco.io)CHAPTERS:00:00 - Meet Patrick Loeffler, co-founder and CEO of Givve01:10 - Two bankruptcies and why founders should share their failures03:00 - What Givve actually does (B2B2E benefits, 700,000 cardholders)09:00 - Don't be the loudest, be the deepest (the B2B thesis)09:30 - The Wirecard nightmare: €70M frozen over one weekend12:00 - How to lead through a crisis without distracting your team13:30 - The mouse study and why conviction changes everything16:00 - Type 2 fun and why the hard adventures build the best companies25:30 - Givve's inbound-only acquisition model (no cold outreach)28:30 - Cutting CAC from €1,200 to €15 over the journey31:00 - The dashboard that changed Givve's culture forever36:30 - Ask for the maximum and stop negotiating against yourselfKEYWORDS: Frederik Jakobsen, Danish Lead Co, Patrick Loeffler, Givve, B2B2E, employee benefits, Germany, prepaid Mastercard, customer acquisition cost, CAC reduction, inbound marketing, B2B founder, startup bankruptcy survival, Wirecard collapse, crisis leadership, pricing strategy, B2B sales, The Revenue Equation podcast