In Part 2 of our interview with Christian Conrad — coach, former Kellogg’s exec, and author of Magical Company Culture — we go deep into the execution side of culture.

Forget team-building retreats. Christian outlines a leadership playbook where trust, behavioral habits, and culture KPIs like eNPS are used to build high-performing, emotionally engaged teams.

• Why “100% trust from Day 1” transforms startup teams

• How to implement daily engagement boosters like connective listening and feedforward

• Why eNPS should be every founder’s culture KPI

• How one client scaled eNPS from 6 to 40 in 18 months

• The 4DX execution framework applied to startup leadership

Christian Conrad is the founder of Management Boost and author of Magical Company Culture. His mission? 1 million smiling employees by 2035. He’s coached global corporations and hypergrowth startups alike on measurable, trust-based leadership.

🔥 If you’re a founder, investor, or executive navigating scale, this episode is your culture execution guide.

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• Guest Name: Christian Conrad (https://www.linkedin.com/in/christianconrad-magneticculture/)

• Role: Leadership Coach & Author of Magnetic Company Culture

• Blog Post Part 2: Read the Full Blog Here: https://www.startuprad.io/post/the-culture-execution-playbook-for-founders-part-2-of-our-interview-with-christian-conrad

• Blog Post Part 1: https://www.startuprad.io/post/the-ultimate-guide-to-building-a-magnetic-company-culture-in-startups

• Resources:

  • Christian’s Website

  • eNPS Overview (Gallup)

• Timestamps:

  • 00:00 – Why Culture Execution Fails

  • 03:15 – Long-Term vs. One-Off Trainings

  • 06:00 – The Trust-First Management Mindset

  • 10:10 – The 4DX Framework for Culture

  • 13:50 – Case Study: eNPS Growth Story

  • 17:22 – Three Founder Habits to Start Today

  • 20:00 – Final Thoughts for Founders

👉 Struggling with small biz finances? Tide’s free account + up to €400 cashback makes it a no-brainer: tide.co/Podcastsde – use code STARTUPRADIO

What if your company culture was your biggest growth engine? In this episode, we dive deep with leadership coach Christian Conrad to unpack what makes startup cultures not only magnetic but measurable — and how founders can lead with emotional intelligence and trust from Day 1.

📌 What You'll Learn:

• How to use eNPS to measure engagement and cultural health

• Why trust-first leadership beats control-based management

• The daily engagement boosters that scale with your team

• How to retain top startup talent during the Fachkräftemangel

• When to use the Kano model and 4DX to execute cultural transformation

👤 Guest Spotlight:

Christian Conrad, founder of Management Boost and author of Magical Company Culture, is on a mission to create 1 million smiling employees by 2035. He has helped startups and corporates alike transform their cultures into scalable engines for growth.

🎯 Your Turn:

If you’re building a startup, managing a tech team, or investing in founders — this conversation will shift your thinking on leadership.

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• Give us feedback: https://forms.gle/SrcGUpycu26fvMFE9

Follow the editor in chief / founder on LinkedIn:http://www.linkedin.com/comm/mynetwork/discovery-see-all?usecase=PEOPLE_FOLLOWS&followMember=joernmenninger

• Guest Name: Christian Conrad, Leadership Coach & Author

• Blog Post: The Ultimate Guide to Magnetic Company Culture

• Relevant Resources:

  • Magical Company Culture – Book

  • Christian's Homepage

⏱ Timestamps:

• 00:00 – Introduction

• 05:12 – What Is a Magnetic Company Culture?

• 13:20 – Measuring Engagement with eNPS

• 22:05 – Trust-Based Leadership and Emotional ROI

• 31:47 – Daily Engagement Boosters for Startup Leaders

• 40:15 – Case Study: Renewable Energy Company Culture Turnaround

• 48:05 – Closing Advice for Founders
  

In April 2025, DACH startups raised over €1.3 billion—while one of Europe’s top fintechs spiraled into crisis. This isn’t just another news roundup. This is your investor-grade, startup-founder-relevant, executive-level briefing from the DACH region’s leading podcast.

🚀 This episode is brought to you by Vanta. Automate your SOC 2, ISO 27001, and GDPR compliance in weeks, not months. Learn more at vanta.com/startupradio

What You'll Learn:

• The real story behind Trade Republic’s outages and financial trust issues

• How Amboss, Noxtua, and n8n are defining applied AI in health and devops

• Where VCs are betting big in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland

• Why Germany’s economy is stagnating, yet startup funding is booming

Guest Spotlight:
This episode is hosted by Jörn “Joe” Menninger, the voice behind Startuprad.io and one of Europe’s leading startup podcasters. He breaks down news from Berlin, Munich, Vienna, and Zurich — so you don’t miss a beat.

We Love to Hear from You:
Love data-backed startup insights? Then subscribe to Startuprad.io on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, leave a 5-star review, and share this episode with your co-founder or VC. We break the noise so you don’t have to.

Host: Jörn Menninger, Editor-in-Chief at Startuprad.io
Blog Post: https://www.startuprad.io/post/april-2025-dach-startup-wrapup
Relevant Resources:

• Amboss Funding: Silicon Canals

• Noxtua's AI push: TechCrunch

• Trade Republic Trouble: Business Insider

Timestamps:

• 00:00 – Intro + Sponsor

• 03:10 – €1.3B Funding Summary

• 10:25 – Amboss, Noxtua, n8n: Applied AI Highlights

• 19:40 – Trade Republic Crisis Breakdown

• 27:50 – DACH VC Trends: First Momentum, Revent, Oakley

• 35:30 – Germany’s Economy: IFO + Forecasts

• 42:00 – Closing + What’s Coming in May