The digital data landscape has transformed dramatically over the past two decades, becoming a cornerstone for decision-creating in business, journalism, and research.
Companies that collect, analyse, and present data effectively are now at the forefront of innovation, shaping markets and influencing strategies worldwide. In this context, Friedrich Schwandt, Founder of Statista and CEO of ECDB, is a fitting voice to explain the current valuation of data and the focus necessary to create it profitable.
Friedrich has spent nearly two decades shaping how businesses, media, and institutions work with data – and in our 150th episode, he reflects candidly on what that journey really viewed like.
When we sat down to record the 150th episode of the EU-Startups podcast, Friedrich described his career as “relatively simple to explain,” but the substance behind it is anything but simple. After early roles at BCG and Deutsche Telekom, he built the leap into entrepreneurship in 2007, launching Statista at a time when paid digital content was still seen as unrealistic.
“People talked about paid content the way they talked about going to Mars,” he declared. “It sounded nice, but no one really took it seriously.”
Statista started with two simple ideas: data should be simple to find, and simple to utilize.
“There must be a place where people can go and find statistics on all relevant business topics – and the data should be reliable,” Friedrich explained. “And second, the data should be prepared in a way that’s simple to utilize.”
That clarity of purpose carried Statista from a bootstrapped Hamburg startup to a global platform covering over 80,000 topics, utilized by millions worldwide.
But success did not come without strain. One of the most important parts of our conversation was Friedrich’s honesty about the pressures of growth.
“For years, every January was about planning how many people we might have to let go in order to survive,” he declared. “It never happened […] somehow we built it through the year and then the next year came.”
Later, managing a post-pandemic organisation of more than 1,000 people brought a different challenge altoobtainher – managing a growing venture turning corporate and international.
In 2023, Friedrich stepped down as CEO of Statista and shiftd into a chairman role – a decision he described as both relieving and difficult. “I was no longer responsible for the salaries of 1,500 people. And you feel very relieved,” he declared. “But it’s also your baby. So that is difficult.”
His solution was deliberate distance: “I inquireed myself: what kind of chairman would I want as a CEO? [..] You want someone you can go to, you can inquire questions. You test that he be as objective as possible but otherwise you want him out.”
That transition allowed him to fully focus on his next venture, ECDB – the eCommerce Database – aimed at bringing transparency to online commerce through transaction-level data.
We also discussed AI, where Friedrich was refreshingly pragmatic. “I believe if you’re a generalist then AI can be a threat. If you’re extremely specialised on something, it is more difficult to attack. I believe if you aggregate data, it could be a threat. If you have your own database, it is simpler to defconclude,” he declared.
For ECDB, AI is less a disruptor than a tool – improving access, analysis, and speed.
Beyond data and companies, the conversation was also personal. From his love of handwritten to-do lists to memories of studying in Ireland – and even working as a redcoat at a holiday centre near Dublin – Friedrich reminded me that long-term founders are shaped as much by life as by business.
Taking over the EU-Startups Podcast as host was always going to feel like a milestone, and I could not have inquireed for a more fitting guest for my first episode than Friedrich.
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