The German Sarah settled in Leeuwarden after her studies in Finland, Portugal, and the Netherlands and works as a Product and Marketing Lead at Young Heroes. Young Heroes is not the first startup for which Sarah has worked. She has previously worked for various startups in Los Angeles, Berlin, and Lisbon. "All the startups are incredibly innovative and inspiring. I admire the high pace and level of innovation you find in these young companies. Working at a startup always made me think of a brainstorming session with post-its in an open office, surrounded by international colleagues, and I was right!”
Building a healthy career
Sarah continues: "The mission of Young Heroes, 'empowering young professionals to confidently shape their future by building self-confidence through knowledge and community', is a mission that I can fully identify with. Working at startups meant long days and a lot of work for me. At the beginning of my career, I would have really benefited from Young Heroes, to set healthier boundaries and have more confidence in creating a good balance between my work and private life. With Young Heroes, we are changing the way organizations and young talent work together, so that both parties benefit and enjoy their work relationships. We share our knowledge about young professionals with managers and enable them to better respond to the needs of young talent within their organizations. In addition, we support young professionals in building a healthy career and finding the right balance between work and personal life.
Challenging the status quo
"I believe that startups play a crucial role in the ecosystem because they can innovate quickly and challenge the status quo in many industries. The synergy between established companies and startups is the 'sweet spot' because they can cross-pollinate with each other to create lasting impact."
I want to lead an organization confidently and be a leader who ensures that the growth and successes of the team are seen and celebrated."
Same color blazer as Angela Merkel
When we ask Sarah about her most memorable moment working at startups, she answers: "So far, that's the day I met former German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the Berlin organization I worked for. She visited two tech startups that day and I was responsible for her visit protocol at our company. When she, and her entourage of 20 people, came in to shake our hands, it turned out that we had chosen to wear the same color blazer that day. She was pretty funny and everything went smoothly! It was a pretty bizarre day." "If I may dream and see myself in five years, I want to confidently lead an organization and be a leader that ensures the growth and successes of the team are seen and celebrated," Sarah concludes.
Curious about more experiences from talent at startups? Check the startup jobs page here!