Our mission

Strategy doesn't live
in slides — it lives
in execution.

Farina Schurzfeld hält einen Vortrag auf der Bühne
Drei Frauen des AndRobin Teams vor einem Glasgebäude in Berlin
Farina Schurzfeld arbeitet an einem Laptop am Fenster

Sidekick

/ⸯsaıd.kık/ (noun)

A sparring partner

who has walked the startup path several times and knows how to scale sustainably.

A mentor with rolled-up sleeves

who becomes an operational part of the team and is fully committed to winning together.

An accomplice

who stays in the background while founders take the spotlight and shake up their industry.

We're entrepreneurial sidekicks and stay until you no longer need us. We think for ourselves, work hands-on as part of the team, and take responsibility where decisions actually move the needle.

From strategic clarity to operational detail, we build what matters — structures that hold up in day-to-day reality and outlast the engagement itself.

Why us?

Experience-based.
Not theoretical.

Impact beats presentation.

No PowerPoint ping-pong. Focus on measurable impact.

Hands-on, not headlines.

We think strategically and execute operationally — directly inside your company.

Sidekicks on equal footing.

We strengthen teams and decisions without pushing ourselves into the spotlight.

Experiencethat counts.

As experienced entrepreneurs, we know the reality behind decisions.

Process

Clear. Impact-driven.
No lock-in.

No retainer, no framework contract, no dependency. We start with a clear diagnosis, work operationally in the team and measure ourselves by outcomes — not billable hours. Our goal: to set you up so we become redundant.

Phase ①

Supercharger

A focused, clearly time-bound deep dive into a specific topic, bottleneck or central question.

We prepare intensively and then work closely with you — usually in a compact format. The goal is tangible progress on a real topic and a realistic sense of how working together feels.

Clear progress, better decisions and a shared sense of how collaboration works.

Phase ②

Health Check

Before we build, we look closely. The Health Check is an honest, unvarnished look at your company's key levers — from an experienced entrepreneurial perspective, not a consultant's bird's-eye view.

We analyse revenue structure and scaling potential, examine funnel, positioning and pricing, and identify where organisation and decision paths slow rather than accelerate growth.

The result: a clear picture of where you stand — and where the biggest levers are.

Phase ③

Build the foundation

Insights become decisions. Decisions become a plan.

The Health Check becomes infrastructure. We close identified gaps, clarify responsibilities, empower the right people and create the structures that make growth possible — processes, decision paths, shared focus. Not a document, but an operational foundation you can work with the next day.

The infrastructure scaling can build on — not a document that talks about it.

Phase ④

Execution & scaling

Now we build. We work as part of your team — operationally, hands-on and with full commitment. The roadmap becomes reality: structures emerge, processes take hold, growth becomes measurable.

We stay as long as needed — and adjust course when the situation changes. Because scaling is rarely a straight line.

No reporting from the outside. We're in the boat — and rowing.

Phase ⑤

Handover

A good sidekick makes themselves redundant — that's the goal. We hand over in an orderly way: with documented processes, a well-oiled team and knowledge that stays internal.

No abrupt ending, but a clean transition — so what we built together keeps running without us.

Proud of what was created together. Ready when you need us again.

The Sidekicks

Entrepreneurial doers who think strategically and act hands-on.

Not consultants working from a textbook. Doers who've lived it themselves. Every Sidekick comes from the startup ecosystem — has founded, scaled, or navigated crises — and brings exactly that experience into your team.

Contact
Farina Schurzfeld

Farina Schurzfeld

Managing Director & Sidekick Commercialisation & Growth

  • CMO
  • Digital Health
  • Growth Hacking
  • Brand Building
  • Fundraising Strategy

Farina is an entrepreneur with heart and a hands-on mentality – specialised in sustainable growth and building scalable structures. With over 15 years of experience in the international startup scene, she guides companies through critical growth phases – strategically clear, operationally strong, and with a deep understanding of the pitfalls on the path to scale-up.

She founded Selfapy, Germany’s leading digital therapy platform (exit 2025), was part of the founding team of Groupon Germany, and led international expansion at Airtasker – now listed on the ASX. In parallel, she built TSL, Sydney’s largest coworking space.

Her superpower? Growth with foresight – and the courage to pull the right levers at the right time.

Farina’s focus areas include:

  • Scalable growth strategies & growth operations
  • Organisational design & leadership structures
  • Pricing & revenue optimisation

As a mentor (including at Grace and the Founders Institute), conference host of health.tech, and podcast host of “Growthbbusters”, she shares her experience with the next generation of entrepreneurs.

She has been recognised by Forbes Magazine as “30 under 30” and as one of the “25 women making the world more sustainable”.

Connect
Elena Knispel

Elena Knispel

Managing Director & Sidekick Operations

  • COO
  • Revenue Operations
  • Organisational Design
  • Short-term Rentals
  • Community Building

A creative, entrepreneurial mind and operational professional who loves building structures from scratch.

With 12 years of experience in the international startup scene – including as a founding member of Airbnb Australia & New Zealand – her expertise lies in aligning strategy, operations, and culture to build ambitious growth organisations.

With a hands-on growth-hacking mentality, she is passionate about topics such as:

  • Growth Operations: from Startup to Scale-up
  • Organisational Design
  • Pricing & Revenue Optimisation Strategies
  • Community Building as a Growth Driver

Her superpower? Raising the bar – and motivating teams to joyfully exceed their own expectations.

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Jörn Kamphuis

Jörn Kamphuis

Sidekick Product & Operations

  • COO
  • Organisational Development
  • Launcher
  • Product Manager
  • Specialised Generalist

“Methods are based on mindsets & processes are based on people”

Meet Jörn – a jack-of-all-trades in both entrepreneurial and creative disciplines. He is a (social) entrepreneur, (corporate) innovation expert, and organisational development specialist. As a true polymath, he enjoys exploring the meta-level of things. He has a talent for discovering connections between mindsets and experiences and thus helps others improve their decision-making processes.

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Mathias Rhode

Mathias Rhode

Sidekick Performance Marketing & BI

  • CMO
  • Performance Marketing
  • Business Intelligence
  • Marketing Strategy
  • Data-driven Marketing

Marketing leader meets data strategist.

With over 15 years of experience in online and offline advertising, Mathias has been instrumental in driving the growth of numerous companies – achieving over 300% increases in top-line performance. He has built robust marketing infrastructures, managed budgets exceeding €10 million, and led international teams of up to 30 people.

Mathias employs a bottom-up, performance-driven marketing strategy, translating it into actionable online and offline channel management. His business intelligence expertise enables precise, data-driven decision-making – for effectively identifying and scaling business opportunities.

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Corinna Macy-Lewandowski

Corinna Macy-Lewandowski

Sidekick Ground Control

  • Office Allrounder
  • Finances & Bookkeeping
  • Orga Queen
  • Team Support

Operational powerhouse meets orga queen – bringing structure, efficiency, and infectious energy to every corner of the office.

It’s always smooth sailing with this real-life Captain ⛵ (and salsa-dancing mum of two)!

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Jana Tepe

Jana Tepe

Sidekick Marketing & Org Design

  • Founder & CEO
  • B2B
  • Growth Hacking
  • Positioning
  • Leadership

Jana Tepe is an entrepreneur with nearly 15 years of experience in the startup scene – shaped by strategic vision, creative hands-on mentality, and strong leadership skills. She co-founded and scaled Tandemploy, one of Europe’s leading HR tech startups, and led it to a successful international exit in 2022. Subsequently, she served as Marketing Director EMEA at Phenom, driving the company’s international positioning and market entry in Europe.

Today, she supports founders and leadership teams as a mentor, board member, and investor – with strategic clarity, honest M&A insights, and a feel for the right levers in fast-paced times.

Her focus areas include:

  • B2B Growth & Internationalization
  • Positioning & Market Entry Strategies
  • Leadership & Organisational Development

She has been recognised by the BBC as “30 under 30”, by LinkedIn as an “HR Top Voice”, and as one of the “25 women changing the economy”.

Connect
Steffen Welsch

Steffen Welsch

Sidekick Sales

  • GTM Strategy
  • Revenue Architecture
  • Enterprise Sales
  • RevOps
  • AI-powered Sales Intelligence

Sales thinking meets AI architecture.

Steffen builds sales where none exists yet – and reimagines it where it’s been running for years. As employee number one at Tandemploy, he built a complete sales organisation from the ground up: enterprise clients like Lufthansa, SAP, and Evonik, deals reaching six-figure ARR, and ultimately a successful exit. At Phenom, he then learned the other side – the internationally operating, highly scalable SaaS company with a revenue engine like a scaling machine. Here he expanded his expertise, drove the DACH region forward, and turned six-figure deals into seven-figure ones. As CRO at talentsconnect, he ultimately led an entire revenue team through a strong growth phase.

Today, he combines classic dealmaking with modern technology: he develops GTM architectures where a unified data layer, AI agents, and RevOps truly work together – turning strategy into predictable growth.

His focus areas include:

  • GTM Strategy & Revenue Architecture
  • Enterprise Sales & Scaling
  • AI-powered RevOps & Sales Intelligence

His superpower? Being able to do both: develop strategies – and then roll up his sleeves to personally help elevate sales organisations to the next level.

Connect