CEO diary with Christoph Standl

Today I turn 45 – and instead of just looking back, I'm mainly occupied with the question of what still lies ahead of me. More than 20 years of professional experience and twelve years of entrepreneurship have shown me that success doesn't always follow the …

How does artificial intelligence actually change our daily work? In this episode, I talk about a concrete example at Tourismus Interaktiv: We are testing our own skill for our Infopoints, in which knowledge such as dimensions, proportions and other product …

What does it actually mean to be an AI-native company? For me, it doesn't mean using as many AI tools or agents as possible. It means rethinking work from the ground up. At Tourismus Interaktiv, we want to ask with every task going forward: What information …

Today marks the beginning of a new phase for me at Tourismus Interaktiv: Tourismus Interaktiv 3.0. After the product phase starting in 2016 and the build-up of our digital platform and company structure from 2021, 2026 marks the next step: building an …

Today it's about a completely different topic: football and table tennis. Football has been with me my whole life, and I've always enjoyed playing table tennis too. Right now in autumn, our regular indoor football round is starting up again – and every time I …

Today is October 1st – and with it begins Tourismus Interaktiv's thirteenth business year. After looking back on the past twelve years, from today it's no longer about what might be possible someday. Now it's about implementation. We don't want to use …

Today is the last day of our twelfth fiscal year. Tomorrow the thirteenth begins – since we started in Kufstein in September 2014. In this special episode I talk about the most important decision since our founding: Tourismus Interaktiv is no longer growing …

Tomorrow our fiscal year at Tourismus Interaktiv ends. For me, a good moment to reflect on what has actually emerged over twelve years. Besides products, customers and projects, we have built up a digital foundation over many years: cloud technologies, …

After twelve years of Tourismus Interaktiv, the next phase of development begins for us. In this episode, I talk about how we want to reposition our company for the coming years. Our next big goal is to organize Tourismus Interaktiv in a way that allows us to …

Today is a special day: Tourismus Interaktiv is celebrating its twelfth birthday. For me, this is less an occasion just to look back. The much more exciting question is: What do we make of twelve years of experience now? Right now, we are seeing the value of …

I believe we are currently experiencing one of the biggest changes in our working world. Not because artificial intelligence can write texts, create images, or answer questions. But because AI is increasingly starting to take over work. With agentic working, …

Yesterday I was at Oktoberfest in Munich together with two entrepreneur and investor friends of mine. A lovely day with good food, lots of fun, and above all, good conversations. For me, it was also an opportunity to experience Munich once again from a …

How do you actually finance the next phase of growth for a company? In this episode, I talk about why, after twelve years of Tourismus Interaktiv, the topic of equity capital is becoming increasingly important to me – and what role shares play in this as a …

At Tourismus Interaktiv, we have been working intensively on our Company Brain over the past months. A concrete part of this is our new investor portal, which is now open. In this episode, I explain what's behind this idea: organizing knowledge centrally, …

For me, a good week is not necessarily a week in which everything is done by Friday. As an entrepreneur, nothing is ever really finished. Much more important for me is the question: what really moved forward this week? If we simply count fifty weeks a year, …

As CEO I don't have to be the best at everything. On the contrary: a strong company needs people who are better than me in their respective fields. A developer understands software development better, a finance expert certain financial topics, a technician …

Some things cannot be thought through to the end at a desk. At some point you have to start trying them. That applies to new technologies as much as to products, processes or business models. With artificial intelligence and automation in particular, I'm …

I am fundamentally an optimist. Not because I believe everything always goes well – but because I believe we can find solutions for most problems. With AI, automation, robotics or autonomous driving in particular, we often talk about the risks first. But what …

I really enjoy talking to other entrepreneurs. What interests me is less how big a company is today – and more how it all started and what happened along the way. Which decisions were decisive? What would you do differently today? How do you deal with …

The 30th episode of my CEO diary – and a look eight years ahead: in 2034 Tourismus Interaktiv celebrates its 20th birthday. What could our company look like then? In this episode I talk about my long-term vision: Tourismus.one and Tourism.one, Infopoints.com, …

Europe has excellent companies, well-educated people, strong research and enormous technological know-how. Still, I believe that in some places we should dare to be more courageous again. The courage to try new technologies early. The courage to think …

What happens to companies when software is no longer just a tool, but increasingly able to take on tasks itself? In this episode I talk about how AI agents and automation can change the way companies are organised – and why small teams in particular gain a …

Artificial intelligence will change the world of work – and in tourism in particular I see a great opportunity in it. Many tourism businesses work with small teams while more and more tasks have to be handled at the same time. At Tourismus Interaktiv we …

What could a business trip look like in 2033? In this episode of my CEO diary I take you on a thought experiment: instead of flying to Belgium for a customer meeting, I get into an autonomous electric car in Tyrol in the evening – do a little more work, sleep …

Attachment to home and international thinking are no contradiction for me. I come from Tyrol. I grew up here, my life is centred here, and this is where Tourismus Interaktiv was founded. At the same time, I have always been interested in what happens outside …

A CEO carries responsibility. But responsibility doesn't mean having to do everything yourself. When building a company it is normal to take care of many things personally: customers, sales, products, projects, finance and problems in daily operations. But at …

Autonomous driving is getting closer – and with it, the way we travel could fundamentally change. Current developments around Waymo in Munich and Las Vegas show how quickly technologies are evolving that seemed like science fiction just a few years ago. In …

After around twelve years of entrepreneurship I have learned an important lesson: Good companies don't just talk to their customers. They learn from them. This episode of my CEO diary is about why many good product ideas don't come from a desk, but from …

After around twelve years in tourism there are still moments when I think: actually, I have a pretty nice job. Last week I was in the beautiful Salzkammergut in Hallstatt, where we put one of our interactive outdoor infopoints into operation. In this episode …

Twelve years of experience are valuable. But they must never lead to standing still. In episode 20 of my CEO diary I deal with a question that currently occupies me very concretely at Tourismus Interaktiv: How do you preserve what works – while staying ready …

No company is built by one person alone. In this episode of my CEO diary I talk about why the right people are, for me, one of the decisive factors in entrepreneurship. At Tourismus Interaktiv I see it every day. My authorised officer Nadine and I together …

Before I became an entrepreneur, I worked for a few years at a bank – and in hindsight that time was incredibly valuable for my personal development. Above all because of the people. Around 20 years ago, everyday life in a bank branch was different. On some …

Where does the enthusiasm for technology begin that still accompanies you decades later? For me, the answer leads back to 1995 and the business academy in Wörgl. A key reason for my choice of school back then was actually the technical equipment: the HAK …

Last week I was on business on Usedom on the Baltic Sea – around 1,000 kilometres from my home Tyrol. On the long drive I thought again about how much travelling shapes my personal and entrepreneurial path. I love Tyrol, the mountains and the peace of the …

What does success actually mean? After a week about big goals, visions, ambitions and discipline, I want to take a step back at the end and ask myself exactly this question. Of course, entrepreneurial success can be measured in revenue, profit, growth, …

Big goals and big visions are important. But a vision alone achieves nothing at first. In this episode of my CEO diary I talk about the other side of thinking big: Discipline and execution. A company is not created only by the big milestones we remember …

What happens when you voice a big vision – and others say: that's unrealistic. That won't work. You can't do that. In this episode of my CEO diary I talk about why big goals sometimes meet scepticism and how I personally try to deal with criticism and …

Does a small company automatically have to think small too? I don't believe so. In this episode of my CEO diary I talk about why, especially today, small companies are allowed to have big ambitions. Cloud technologies, software-as-a-service, automation, …

May a small company actually have big goals? My answer is a clear yes. In this episode of my CEO diary I talk about why I like to think big – and why big ambitions for me must nevertheless always be tied to reality, experience and many small steps. After …

What does world class actually mean? In the tenth episode of my CEO diary I deliberately take a little more time for a topic that has fascinated me for a long time. I talk about Real Madrid, about extraordinary personalities such as Zinédine Zidane, Toni …

What do youth sport and entrepreneurship have in common? More than you might think at first glance. In this episode of my CEO diary I talk about why youth sport is particularly close to my heart and which important lessons young people can learn through …

Trust cannot be bought – and it cannot be built within a few days. In this episode of my CEO diary I talk about why trust is, for me, one of the most important foundations in entrepreneurship and in personal life. After twelve years of Tourismus Interaktiv I …

In a world where much has to go ever faster, patience can become a special strength. In this episode of my CEO diary I talk about what I have learned in twelve years of entrepreneurship about patience, perseverance and long-term thinking. At Tourismus …

In this episode I start a new themed week around long-term thinking. Why do we find it ever harder to think beyond years or decades? And why am I convinced that exactly this is one of the greatest competitive advantages of our time? I share my personal …

Right now everyone is talking about ChatGPT, Claude or Microsoft 365 Copilot. But I believe the real change goes much deeper. In this episode I explain why I am convinced that the future belongs not to individual AI tools but to intelligently connected …

In this episode I talk about an insight that has changed my view of entrepreneurship. Why is it often better to start imperfectly than to wait for the perfect moment? I tell how my way of thinking has changed in recent months and why at Tourismus Interaktiv …

In this episode I talk about one of the most important lessons from what are now twelve years of entrepreneurship. Why is it worth thinking long-term – even when setbacks come in the short term? I tell how Tourismus Interaktiv experienced the Corona period, …

In this episode I take you behind the scenes of Tourismus Interaktiv. The past six months were all about artificial intelligence, automation and building our Tourismus Interaktiv Company Brain. I talk about why Claude Cowork and MCP servers have become a real …

The first episode is the beginning of a long journey. I want to talk about the story of Tourismus Interaktiv, but also about my personal path as founder of an Austrian stock corporation. I would also like to talk about my educational and professional …