Alexander Bachmann of Admitad in Interview

1. Who has inspired you on your journey as a founder and CEO of an IT company?
2. So how was Admitad created?
3. How has your vision evolved?
4. What have been your biggest challenges so far as a CEO and what have you learned from them?
5. What are your three key tips for (young) software founders?
6. What role does tech business play in these uncertain times and how well is the sector prepared for the volatile future?

Alexander Bachmann launched his first IT projects at a young age. In 2009, he founded Admitad as an affiliate network, which quickly expanded into emerging markets and established itself as a transparent and trustworthy platform for advertisers and publishers, making a name for itself.

Admitad Partner Network belongs to the Mitgo corporate group and is a cost-per-action network that brings together over 800,000 publishers and 3,000 advertisers from around the world, and offers innovative marketing and e-commerce solutions for online marketers and businesses of all sizes. The founding of Mitgo, the new parent company of Admitad, in January 2023 aims to simplify the current corporate structure and give Admitad the opportunity to continue to focus as a partner network on affiliate marketing.

Bachmann has already been listed by our OMR editorial team among the top 50 online marketing players in Germany. In the interview, he shares with us his experiences and his future visions of affiliate marketing.

Who has inspired you on your journey as a founder and CEO of an IT company?

Bachmann: Our headquarters are located in Heilbronn, Germany. This beautiful city is home to Dieter Schwarz, one of the richest men in Europe. He was born here, built his business empire, and continues to be actively involved in the local community as a very private citizen. He is one of my role models.

As a self-taught entrepreneur who implemented his first idea at age 15, I am always very curious about everything my friends are doing. Sometimes it is less well-known people who inspire me, but those who with passion go their own way.

So how was Admitad created?

Bachmann: I was involved with the industry before it became an industry. At thirteen, I was very clear that one day I wanted to own my own company. I did not know what it could be, but I was inspired by the possibilities of the internet. I launched my first website as a teenager. When I started making money at 15, I wanted to share what I had learned with others.

In 2006, I started my first advertising agency and in 2008, I started my own social network. I quickly learned that running a social media platform is extremely expensive and that my skills are better suited elsewhere. In 2009, we switched to affiliate marketing and founded Admitad. It was an exciting time for early e-commerce. Brands could suddenly become "international" and enter markets they had never reached before. This enthusiasm still drives me today.

How has your vision evolved?

Bachmann: We continue to build the company, well beyond performance marketing, both geographically and industrially. Partnerships are the future of every online business, I firmly believe in that. That's why we started expanding our product range as early as 2015 and investing heavily in various tech areas, such as LetyShops. In 2017, we started developing and bringing additional products to market quickly and relatively inexpensively.

But we realized it can quickly become costly. So in 2018, we started our own startup studio with the goal of supporting young entrepreneurs and exciting ideas. So far, we have invested over $40 million and have participated in some companies with exciting solutions. We have even taken over some companies completely, such as AdGoal or Tapfiliate (referral & tracking solutions).

At the same time, we have expanded geographically very strongly and opened new offices in the U.S., APAC, MENA and Latin America in a short amount of time. Yet we continue to be strongly represented in Europe, in Poland and Hungary for example, where we are seeing the first successful collaborations.

Admitad today is much more than performance marketing. Admitad is a platform that enables every large and small business to grow with us and our solutions in FinTech, MarTech , Retail, Insurance, Influencer Marketing, Smart Shopping, etc. We have two important prerequisites for a successful partnership: Know-how and access to different markets and brands worldwide.

It's a fairly simple formula: We like to invest in projects where we see potential.

What have been your biggest challenges so far as a CEO and what have you learned from them?

Bachmann: We were relatively successful quickly, and about five years after founding the company, I noticed - the question of Quo Vadis bothered me. One can quickly lose oneself in everyday life. It's important to have a vision of where the journey is going in the long term.

International scaling and the search for innovative solutions and products was for me actually the best confirmation of my strategy. I didn't want to be perceived as "just" a network anymore.

My vision is to become something like a new Google. Behind this, I imagine a one-stop shop for all things that are required from opening a new business and acquiring customers to pushing offers and gaining relevant voices in the communities to managing revenue and transactions.

One must believe in the partnership as a business model, and look a little beyond one's own horizon and comfort zone.

I have also learned how important my team is to me - these are the people who have become my friends over time. Nothing surpasses human relations, because even tech business is people's business.

What are your three key tips for (young) software founders?

Bachmann: Just do it. More than 90% of all startups fail in the first year of founding because the founders themselves no longer believe in their own ideas. Regardless of whether you receive hundreds of rejections from VCs and potential investors, you should always keep going.

Check your concepts, build MVPs, learn as quickly as possible from user and consumer feedback, and avoid misdevelopment. The product or service must fulfill one thing - there must be a demand, a need to be met. Take the time to check that.

We live in a volatile world, so adjust your business plan to instabilities, or consider instability as a factor. You also have to learn how to become successful as a company in unstable situations.

Think big! Scalability on a global level is crucial.

What role does tech business play in these uncertain times and how well is the sector prepared for the volatile future?

Bachmann: Especially in difficult times for providers and consumers, it is about efficiency, transparency, cost-cutting measures as well as the fact that budgets can and need to be more tightly controlled. Tech business is a very helpful tool in this case.

I am aware of the volatility in many places and would like to use this opportunity to massively support entrepreneurship. Established markets can be closed off with strong competition and limited growth capacity. At the moment, we see many opportunities in the APAC and MENA regions as well as in LATAM. To become innovative, one must be inspired by potential and be able to see this potential.