And how did your success story begin?
Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2025 4:14 am
Tobi: One evening, I was sitting with my school friends Martin and Olaf. The two had just founded a GbR (German partnership) and were serving their first clients in the relatively new field of so-called 'desktop publishing' – graphic design on the computer. Dirk joined them and wanted to take over sales. Inspired by the idea, I invited all three of them to my home and suggested we form a joint GmbH (limited liability company). The four of us wanted to make a difference. At the tender age of 20, we put our ideas into action and founded the advertising agency medialis together in February 1995.
What were your activities?
Tobi: As managing director, I initially tried to apply the rudimentary knowledge I had lithuania phone number data acquired during my law studies and drew up our articles of association. Surprisingly, in retrospect, they weren't all that bad and still exist in a similar form today. Initially, I primarily took care of organization and finance, Dirk took care of sales, and Martin and Olaf took care of graphics and creation. However, our roles quickly adapted over time; for example, I took on more and more consulting tasks. We diligently designed and sold logos, brochures, and advertisements, and here and there we had to learn a lot. But we always tried to learn from them and got a little better each time. At the end of 1996, we were proud to hire our first employee, Sven. He later became an apprentice, but we still maintain a friendly relationship with him to this day.
How did the company develop?
Tobi: Since we always relied on an exposure service provider for our print jobs, we plucked up the courage to simply buy our own exposure unit and start another company. In 1997, 'graphXpress Druckvorstufen GmbH' was founded, perfectly complementing our advertising agency. The following years were very successful. Along the way, I also became involved in other projects that I simply enjoyed from an entrepreneurial perspective, such as a beer garden called Kastanie with a couple of good friends. The memory of that still makes me smile. Those were wild and wonderful times.
What were your activities?
Tobi: As managing director, I initially tried to apply the rudimentary knowledge I had lithuania phone number data acquired during my law studies and drew up our articles of association. Surprisingly, in retrospect, they weren't all that bad and still exist in a similar form today. Initially, I primarily took care of organization and finance, Dirk took care of sales, and Martin and Olaf took care of graphics and creation. However, our roles quickly adapted over time; for example, I took on more and more consulting tasks. We diligently designed and sold logos, brochures, and advertisements, and here and there we had to learn a lot. But we always tried to learn from them and got a little better each time. At the end of 1996, we were proud to hire our first employee, Sven. He later became an apprentice, but we still maintain a friendly relationship with him to this day.
How did the company develop?
Tobi: Since we always relied on an exposure service provider for our print jobs, we plucked up the courage to simply buy our own exposure unit and start another company. In 1997, 'graphXpress Druckvorstufen GmbH' was founded, perfectly complementing our advertising agency. The following years were very successful. Along the way, I also became involved in other projects that I simply enjoyed from an entrepreneurial perspective, such as a beer garden called Kastanie with a couple of good friends. The memory of that still makes me smile. Those were wild and wonderful times.