1986

Born in February 1986 in East Germany, I grew up behind the Iron Curtain. My parents, trapped in East Germany for decades, ran their own business: crafting fancy, custom clothes at home and selling them at weekend street markets. The challenge? Mass-produced knockoffs everywhere. Our edge: unique designs that raked in low five-figure cash per weekend from hundreds of pants, tops, belts, and accessories - picture two cars crammed full, then hawking every piece on market day. Later, they organized parties and carnivals, where the highlight was poking fun at the government through carnival speeches (Büttenrede) in front of 500 people - an "elegant" (or arrogant) way to attract Stasi scrutiny (cia of east germany with 1 spy per 100 people). In a place where private businesses were rare, combining entrepreneurship with state mockery was risky; we were lucky the regime collapsed in 1990, bringing down the wall. "Fun fact": Pre-Wall-fall, East Germans waited 15 years for a locally built car! Post-reunification in Germany, my family started a B2B car leasing business (everybody wanted new cars) that generated real income - and taught me b2b lessons along the way. So never forget, always be closing!