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Aug 13, 2020 · 38m · mad

Fireside Chat: Alex Rinke (Founder & CEO, Celonis) with Matt Turck (Partner, FirstMark)

Alex Rinke · 27m spoken Matt Turck · 5m spoken Jack Cohen · 1m spoken
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In this Data Driven NYC fireside chat hosted by Matt Turck of FirstMark, Celonis Founder and CEO Alex Rinke discusses the origins of process mining, building a bootstrapped startup in Munich, forging a landmark strategic partnership with SAP, expanding globally into the US market, and scaling enterprise software culture and technology.

How this conversation actually went

Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Matt holds 15.4% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Matt as informed peer 3.2 Guest teaching 3.2 Guest disagreement 1.8 Matt pushing back 1.6
05100:0010:0020:0030:000:09–7:05 · Matt as informed peer 2/10 The Founding Story and Early Growth of Celonis Matt asks introductory questions about Celonis' founding story in Munich, prompting Alex to share how a university project turned into a enterprise business. The conversation is collaborative and friendly, with Matt asking brief clarifying questions about product versus service models.7:05–11:56 · Matt as informed peer 3/10 Securing a Major Strategic Partnership with SAP Matt sets up the context surrounding strategic partnerships, framing it as a common startup milestone. Alex shares his story of pitching Hasso Plattner and advises that tech partnerships are a long-term journey rather than an instant go-to-market fix.11:56–16:54 · Matt as informed peer 2/10 International Expansion and Scaling the Celonis Business Matt asks about Celonis' international expansion from Munich to the United States. Alex outlines their approach to product-market fit and cultural adaptation without friction between host and guest.16:54–27:32 · Matt as informed peer 5/10 Process Mining Architecture, Practical Use Cases, and Automation Matt digs into product architecture, questioning if Celonis automates away management consultants and how AI interacts with business rules. Alex corrects the consulting disruption premise by explaining consulting partnerships, and dismisses hype around self-driving enterprises.27:32–38:20 · Matt as informed peer 4/10 Audience Q and A on Security, Culture, and Product Roadmap Jack and Matt manage audience questions covering security, hiring, dual headquarters, and product vision. Matt offers an informed follow-up question regarding horizontal versus vertical go-to-market strategies, drawing praise from Alex.0:09–7:05 · Guest teaching 2/10 The Founding Story and Early Growth of Celonis Matt asks introductory questions about Celonis' founding story in Munich, prompting Alex to share how a university project turned into a enterprise business. The conversation is collaborative and friendly, with Matt asking brief clarifying questions about product versus service models.7:05–11:56 · Guest teaching 3/10 Securing a Major Strategic Partnership with SAP Matt sets up the context surrounding strategic partnerships, framing it as a common startup milestone. Alex shares his story of pitching Hasso Plattner and advises that tech partnerships are a long-term journey rather than an instant go-to-market fix.11:56–16:54 · Guest teaching 3/10 International Expansion and Scaling the Celonis Business Matt asks about Celonis' international expansion from Munich to the United States. Alex outlines their approach to product-market fit and cultural adaptation without friction between host and guest.16:54–27:32 · Guest teaching 5/10 Process Mining Architecture, Practical Use Cases, and Automation Matt digs into product architecture, questioning if Celonis automates away management consultants and how AI interacts with business rules. Alex corrects the consulting disruption premise by explaining consulting partnerships, and dismisses hype around self-driving enterprises.27:32–38:20 · Guest teaching 3/10 Audience Q and A on Security, Culture, and Product Roadmap Jack and Matt manage audience questions covering security, hiring, dual headquarters, and product vision. Matt offers an informed follow-up question regarding horizontal versus vertical go-to-market strategies, drawing praise from Alex.0:09–7:05 · Guest disagreement 1/10 The Founding Story and Early Growth of Celonis Matt asks introductory questions about Celonis' founding story in Munich, prompting Alex to share how a university project turned into a enterprise business. The conversation is collaborative and friendly, with Matt asking brief clarifying questions about product versus service models.7:05–11:56 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Securing a Major Strategic Partnership with SAP Matt sets up the context surrounding strategic partnerships, framing it as a common startup milestone. Alex shares his story of pitching Hasso Plattner and advises that tech partnerships are a long-term journey rather than an instant go-to-market fix.11:56–16:54 · Guest disagreement 1/10 International Expansion and Scaling the Celonis Business Matt asks about Celonis' international expansion from Munich to the United States. Alex outlines their approach to product-market fit and cultural adaptation without friction between host and guest.16:54–27:32 · Guest disagreement 4/10 Process Mining Architecture, Practical Use Cases, and Automation Matt digs into product architecture, questioning if Celonis automates away management consultants and how AI interacts with business rules. Alex corrects the consulting disruption premise by explaining consulting partnerships, and dismisses hype around self-driving enterprises.27:32–38:20 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Audience Q and A on Security, Culture, and Product Roadmap Jack and Matt manage audience questions covering security, hiring, dual headquarters, and product vision. Matt offers an informed follow-up question regarding horizontal versus vertical go-to-market strategies, drawing praise from Alex.0:09–7:05 · Matt pushing back 1/10 The Founding Story and Early Growth of Celonis Matt asks introductory questions about Celonis' founding story in Munich, prompting Alex to share how a university project turned into a enterprise business. The conversation is collaborative and friendly, with Matt asking brief clarifying questions about product versus service models.7:05–11:56 · Matt pushing back 1/10 Securing a Major Strategic Partnership with SAP Matt sets up the context surrounding strategic partnerships, framing it as a common startup milestone. Alex shares his story of pitching Hasso Plattner and advises that tech partnerships are a long-term journey rather than an instant go-to-market fix.11:56–16:54 · Matt pushing back 1/10 International Expansion and Scaling the Celonis Business Matt asks about Celonis' international expansion from Munich to the United States. Alex outlines their approach to product-market fit and cultural adaptation without friction between host and guest.16:54–27:32 · Matt pushing back 4/10 Process Mining Architecture, Practical Use Cases, and Automation Matt digs into product architecture, questioning if Celonis automates away management consultants and how AI interacts with business rules. Alex corrects the consulting disruption premise by explaining consulting partnerships, and dismisses hype around self-driving enterprises.27:32–38:20 · Matt pushing back 1/10 Audience Q and A on Security, Culture, and Product Roadmap Jack and Matt manage audience questions covering security, hiring, dual headquarters, and product vision. Matt offers an informed follow-up question regarding horizontal versus vertical go-to-market strategies, drawing praise from Alex.

speaking balance: gold is Matt, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)

0:00 · Matt 19.6% · guest 80.4%0:00 · Matt 19.6% · guest 80.4%3:00 · Matt 11.1% · guest 88.9%3:00 · Matt 11.1% · guest 88.9%6:00 · Matt 18.3% · guest 81.7%6:00 · Matt 18.3% · guest 81.7%9:00 · Matt 7.7% · guest 92.3%9:00 · Matt 7.7% · guest 92.3%12:00 · Matt 8.9% · guest 91.1%12:00 · Matt 8.9% · guest 91.1%15:00 · Matt 15.4% · guest 84.6%15:00 · Matt 15.4% · guest 84.6%18:00 · Matt 20.1% · guest 79.9%18:00 · Matt 20.1% · guest 79.9%21:00 · Matt 5.9% · guest 94.1%21:00 · Matt 5.9% · guest 94.1%24:00 · Matt 32.3% · guest 67.7%24:00 · Matt 32.3% · guest 67.7%27:00 · Matt 3.5% · guest 96.5%27:00 · Matt 3.5% · guest 96.5%30:00 · Matt 5.7% · guest 94.3%30:00 · Matt 5.7% · guest 94.3%33:00 · Matt 8.4% · guest 91.6%33:00 · Matt 8.4% · guest 91.6%36:00 · Matt 52.3% · guest 47.7%36:00 · Matt 52.3% · guest 47.7%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 26:47 Rejection of Self-Driving Enterprise Concept

Alex firmly rejects the popular industry buzzword of a self-driving enterprise, pointing out that running a complex enterprise like Procter & Gamble cannot be fully automated by AI like a vehicle.

 Hardest push from Matt ▶ 24:23 Challenging Disruption of Management Consulting

Matt directly challenges Alex on whether Celonis fundamentally disrupts and replaces traditional management consulting firms by automating process analysis.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 24:42 Reframing Consulting Firms as Partners

Alex corrects Matt's assumption that Celonis replaces management consultants, explaining how thousands of certified consultants at firms like KPMG and McKinsey actually use the platform as key partners.

 Matt holds his own ▶ 35:59 Demonstrating Go-To-Market Strategy Expertise

Matt shows deep understanding of enterprise software positioning by asking a targeted question about balancing horizontal platform capability with vertical-specific solutions, receiving explicit validation from the guest.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicMatt as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementMatt pushing backWhy
The Founding Story and Early Growth of Celonis 2211 Matt asks introductory questions about Celonis' founding story in Munich, prompting Alex to share how a university project turned into a enterprise business. The conversation is collaborative and friendly, with Matt asking brief clarifying questions about product versus service models.
Securing a Major Strategic Partnership with SAP 3321 Matt sets up the context surrounding strategic partnerships, framing it as a common startup milestone. Alex shares his story of pitching Hasso Plattner and advises that tech partnerships are a long-term journey rather than an instant go-to-market fix.
International Expansion and Scaling the Celonis Business 2311 Matt asks about Celonis' international expansion from Munich to the United States. Alex outlines their approach to product-market fit and cultural adaptation without friction between host and guest.
Process Mining Architecture, Practical Use Cases, and Automation 5544 Matt digs into product architecture, questioning if Celonis automates away management consultants and how AI interacts with business rules. Alex corrects the consulting disruption premise by explaining consulting partnerships, and dismisses hype around self-driving enterprises.
Audience Q and A on Security, Culture, and Product Roadmap 4311 Jack and Matt manage audience questions covering security, hiring, dual headquarters, and product vision. Matt offers an informed follow-up question regarding horizontal versus vertical go-to-market strategies, drawing praise from Alex.

Statements from this episode (10)

Disclosure
Celonis bootstrapped without outside capital for its first five years
“So, so actually we didn't raise money for half a decade. We raised three hundred sixty million or sixty-seven million cents. The first, so the company has been around for nine years, and the first five years we didn't raise a cent.”
Alex Rinke Aug 13, 2020 ▶ 4:20
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Celonis's first customer cut ticket resolution from five days to same-day
“Like within three months, they got their resolution time for tickets, right? That's a very important metric to measure. Down from five days to solving over 80% of their tickets in zero, like in the same day. Without firing or hiring a single employee.”
Alex Rinke Aug 13, 2020 ▶ 5:43
Disclosure
Alex Rinke didn't know what SAP was when he co-founded Celonis
“Before we started Salonis, even when we started Salonis, like the day we started the company, I didn't know what SAP was.”
Alex Rinke Aug 13, 2020 ▶ 7:41
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Celonis is the largest third-party product sold by SAP
“We're the biggest product on there that they sell outside of their own portfolio.”
Alex Rinke Aug 13, 2020 ▶ 10:48
Insight
Big tech partnerships will not solve a startup's go-to-market problems
“Some entrepreneurs look at this as a big tech partnership as this silver bullet that's going to solve their go-to-market problem. That's not going to happen, right? It's going to be a very long journey and going to take a long time, require a lot of, you know,…”
Alex Rinke Aug 13, 2020 ▶ 11:21
Opinion
European tech startups must succeed in the U.S. to be globally relevant
“Companies that start in Europe often have to do it earlier to become relevant, because you really can't be relevant without being very strong in the U.S.”
Alex Rinke Aug 13, 2020 ▶ 14:01
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Thousands of KPMG and McKinsey consultants use Celonis
“We have thousands of certified consultants from KPMG, from McKinsey, et cetera, that use our platform extremely heavily.”
Alex Rinke Aug 13, 2020 ▶ 24:48
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Fully autonomous 'self-driving' enterprises will not happen because humans are required
“We're not going to have a self-driving enterprise. You need employees and human input, but you can automate it.”
Alex Rinke Aug 13, 2020 ▶ 27:10
Insight
Enterprise startups often underprice their software, ruining their sales unit economics
“I think a lot of entrepreneurs, if they sell to the enterprise, underestimate the effort of selling to the enterprise and end up selling their products so cheap so that the sales process is so cumbersome that you can't really invest into it.”
Alex Rinke Aug 13, 2020 ▶ 32:17
Insight
Product roadmaps should strictly prioritize features that accelerate time to value
“I think the only thing you should think about and you should be extremely fisa about prioritizing your product roadmap should be what accelerates time to value.”
Alex Rinke Aug 13, 2020 ▶ 35:35
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