Niklas Johannknecht

Founder, Investor, and creative.

I've founded a few companies — had one exit, and some fails. Currently, the CEO at 90five. Additionally, I angel invest. Tend to be most helpful on making connections, strategy, brand, and design. Find me on X, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

Principles,

Companies,

Beliefs,

Books
1st Principle

Obsession. It's about going all in or all out. No room for mediocrity or half-hearted efforts.

2nd Principle

Excellence. One of the most important things is to give it all. Be the best you can in any scenario.

3rd Principle

Simplicity. Always trying to simplify complex ideas, rather than making simple ideas complex.

4th Principle

Speed. Move as fast as you can without sacrificing quality, this gives you an edge.

90five

Global design and technology group that partners with companies that cannot afford to fail to design, build sites, products, and launch campaigns.

EC Capital

A venture studio and portfolio of creatively led businesses, providing industry insights, connections, and resources.

Taskforce95

Product design agency for founders and startups, helping them connect with more users through seamless experiences.

and a few others.

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The only thing that is limiting you, is yourself.

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It's always you vs you.

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You are the result of the decisions you made yesterday, last month, last year.

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There’s no such thing as work-life balance, more like work-life choices.

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How you do one thing is how you do everything.

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Client is king but respect your boundaries.

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Always under-promise and over-deliver.

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Keep teams as small, lean, and efficient.

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Fewer meetings and fewer PMs = better culture.

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Plan to exit. Everything comes to an end, this is how nature works.

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It's all about the things you can't buy: health, partners, memories, and more.

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A bad person ruins even a gourmet meal. A good person turns a cheap meal gourmet. It's the company that elevates experiences.

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People always matter more than money.

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It's always about the user, remember that.

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Nobody can make you happy until you are happy with yourself first.

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Only listen to people's advice if they are where you want to be or go.

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Everything is created twice. First in your mind, then in reality.

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Money doesn't change you, it only reveals who you are when you no longer have to be nice.

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Don't get into non-scalable lines of work. It's not worth it.