Startup lessons turned into a founder playbook

From startup insights to published author

Drawing on years of experience in the startup world, Massimo Schäppi (Cambridge Executive MBA 2022) has written a book entitled ‘Gründen ohne Umwege’ (Starting Up Without Detours) that examines the recurring patterns behind entrepreneurial success and failure. Fuelled by a passion for seeing ideas turn into reality, he spent more than a decade collecting insights from breakthrough conversations with founders and investors, carefully refining them into a practical, goal-oriented framework. The result is a guide designed to serve as a shortcut for the next generation of entrepreneurs, helping them avoid common pitfalls and focus on building great companies. Covering every critical stage, from shaping an initial idea and developing products to securing investment and building for long-term sustainability, the book offers invaluable advice for anyone navigating the complexities of launching and growing a business.

Facing the realities of entrepreneurship

When asked what advice he would give to entrepreneurs who doubt their ideas, Massimo was refreshingly candid: building a company is hard. He cited the stark reality that 8 out of 10 venture-backed companies fail, urging founders to approach entrepreneurship with eyes wide open.

A key lesson every aspiring founder should know is ‘First Who, Then What’, a principle popularised by Jim Collins in his book, ‘Good to Great’. In the early stages, your product is a hypothesis but your team is a reality. Massimo always tells founders, “Your strategy will likely pivot and your product will evolve but your team is the engine that navigates those turns.” Choosing a co-founder is a ‘marriage-level’ commitment. If you have the right people on the bus, they will find a way to a successful destination regardless of the roadblocks. The ‘Who’ is your only true hedge against uncertainty.

He advises entrepreneurs to recognise that traditional business practices are designed to preserve existing value, not to create new value. If you conform, you are competing on someone else’s terms. Massimo believes there are no fixed playbooks for breakthrough success. He encourages entrepreneurs to focus their energy on discovering that one unique insight, their ‘monopoly truth’, that allows them to leapfrog the status quo rather than just iterating on it.

A mission driven by motivation, not profit

Massimo’s book is not a commercial enterprise but a way to inspire founders, focusing on motivation rather than profit. His mission has always been to empower founders and this mission doesn’t change based on the medium. Massimo says, “Whether I’m acting as an investor, an advisor or an author, my ‘North Star’ is helping others navigate the journey from zero to one. I chose to focus on motivation and insight over profit because I view this book as a scalable form of mentorship. The energy I get from seeing a founder succeed is far more valuable to me than book royalties.”

The Cambridge Judge transformation

The Executive MBA at Cambridge Judge Business School acted as the ultimate catalyst for Massimo’s intellectual confidence, instilling the self-belief to turn his private insights into public value. Before starting the programme, he saw himself primarily as a consumer of knowledge but his time at Cambridge Judge marked a turning point. Here, he discovered the value of his own experiences and began sharing his knowledge with colleagues, many of whom sought his advice on launching their ventures. The encouragement from professors, many of whom had published books themselves and the vibrant, intellectually stimulating atmosphere of Cambridge gave Massimo the assurance to publish his work. Inspired by the Business School’s culture of original thinking and enriched by exposure to diverse peers and disciplines, he recognised that significant innovation often occurs at the intersection of different fields and cultures, a lesson that now underpins his work with entrepreneurs.

Massimo’s book will initially be published in German. It will be officially launched in March 2026 at the Start Summit, one of Europe’s largest startup conferences, in St Gallen, Switzerland.