At a glance
The community of computer artists and developers (the demoscene)
has been a very formative element of my life for 25 years. Among
other things, I have organized the largest international event in
this sector for many years: Breakpoint.
The
demoscene fascinates me because since the early 80's things have
been taken out of computers that the commercial world could only
dream of. Electronic music, innovations in the computer games
sector, computer graphics - almost everything goes back to the
demoscene. In the community there was always competitive thinking
(one competed against each other in competitions), but at the same
time nerds who were excluded or even bullied in "real life" were
able to flourish here in a tolerant and international environment.
There were no national or mental boundaries.
After earning my respect in this community, at the age of 17, I tried to earn money with my skills for the first time: I dropped out of school and opened a computer shop. In this one I made pretty much every commercial mistake you could make. In the far periphery there was the first internet café in my hometown, long before this term even existed. As a result, I learned a lot and came to the conclusion that I would rather not want to become a salesman or trader.
In
the next step I tried to build a bridge between the community of the
demoscene and business activities. I tried to commercialize the
inventions I had made during my demoscene activities. The computer
shop turned into a small software factory, and the software factory
later became a development company for network technologies.
Since then I have been the founder, managing director, majority owner and development manager of a medium-sized manufacturer of special Internet routers: Viprinet. Based on an invention I made, I founded this company in 2006 together with friends and acquaintances from the above mentioned developer community. Today Viprinet generates sales in the millions, employs around 50 people and continues to grow.
Through my Kissel Ventures GmbH I hold further participations in other companies, including the Nerdherrschaft GmbH, which I founded, which now produces further innovations as a creative pool and development centre.
Together with a partner, I bought a 12,000 m² site in the middle of
the city of Bingen on the Rhine in 2014, not only to have a home for
my companies here, but also to create a business incubator: The
Innovation Park Bingen is first of all home to Viprinet, but with
coworking spaces, office and production areas as well as all-round
facilities for feeling good, from breakfast to massage areas, it is
intended to offer everything that creative founders need, as well as
an all-round supply of services.
Even though economic activity today ties up a large part of my time and energy, I am still trying to get involved in other areas - e. g. in matters of network policy. Thus I fight very strongly for net neutrality with an association of German ICT manufacturers initiated by myself. The Router Obligation Act passed in 2015 is largely due to my commitment.
The above self-praises should not distract from the fact that I am
not without error. I'm not an easy personality at all. As a skeptic,
I constantly question everything, my very open, analytical and
direct communication with my fellow human beings has often been
inappropriate or even offensive in the past. When I came to a
serious partner in 2010 like the Jungfrau zum Kinde, it was also
because of my direct manner that I had a lot of fun. This story can
be read under Business. Here, too, I have learned a lot. I've been
working hard ever since to be less accidental hurtful. But I
continue to put my fingers in the wound, where I consider it
appropriate. 