46. Ansgar Thilmann

Shownotes

46. Ansgar Thilmann, Co-Founder and Managing Director of HCP Sense

From University to Hidden Champion: How Research Becomes a Business

Many startups begin with a business idea, but for HCP Sense, it started with a scientific discovery. Ansgar Thilmann left a career in management consulting when his former classmate and roommate, Georg Martin, told him about a novel method for monitoring rolling bearings. In 2021, the team founded HCP Sense as a spin-off from the Technical University of Darmstadt—right in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. He joins podcast hosts Joy Edwin Thanarajah and Harald R. Fortmann to discuss the courage required to start a business, the long road from the lab to the market, and the responsibility that comes with building a company. Today, HCP Sense has 17 employees and works with more than 70 customers in eight countries.

In this conversation, Ansgar Thilmann openly shares why close personal ties within a founding team are an advantage, how the founders adjust responsibilities on a monthly basis, and why an 80-percent solution achieves more in the market than a perfect product in the lab. He describes how internal bureaucracy in large corporations and mid-sized companies stifles innovation, and why sales cycles in Germany often take years, while a customer in Thailand implemented the technology directly in the field.

With a seven-figure funding round from business angels and a VC, HCP Sense is intentionally focused on long-term value creation rather than a quick exit. The goal: to become a strong mid-sized company and a hidden champion of the German and European mechanical engineering sector—and a reliable data provider for industrial AI applications.

Overview of this episode:

• From consulting to founding: When your gut feeling decides
• The foundation: Why founding teams should know each other well
• Clear responsibilities in the founding team—adjusted monthly
• Cause instead of symptom: Measuring lubrication conditions directly in the bearing
• The courage to go for an 80-percent solution instead of lab perfectionism
• Internal corporate bureaucracy as an underestimated barrier to innovation
• Industrial sales is about building trust
• A culture of learning from mistakes and personal accountability instead of blame
• Investors with staying power: Capital, network, and technical expertise
• No valuable industrial AI without precise sensor technology

Further links:

• Ansgar Thilmann on LinkedIn
• HCP Sence Website
• Joy Edwin Thanarajah on LinkedIn
• Harald R. Fortmann on LinkedIn
• Harald R. Fortmann on Instagram
• Deininger Website
• Five14 Website
• Suits & Sneakers on LinkedIn
• Suits & Sneakers on Instagram

About Suits & Sneakers

Suits & Sneakers is a podcast for decision-makers. Deininger Group CEO Joy Edwin Thanarajah and Harald R. Fortmann, Managing Partner of the executive search consultancy Five14 and Vice President of the BDU, speak with leaders about the changing nature of leadership, new working environments, digital transformation, and artificial intelligence. The focus is on personal experiences in building and managing companies—and the question of how to lead successfully in times of technological change.

About Deininger

Headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, Deininger is one of the leading executive search consultancies in Germany, operating with a global network of partners. Since its founding in 1981, Deininger has specialized in identifying and recruiting top-tier executives for companies across a wide range of industries. With deep economic and industry expertise, Deininger supports clients in filling key positions within a dynamic market environment and an ever-changing world of work. Through years of experience and a focus on quality and sustainability in its partnerships, Deininger has established itself as a trusted advisor for national and international companies, ranging from startups to large mid-sized firms and corporations. Deininger – Frankfurt, Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, China, Dubai, Great Britain, India, Poland, and the USA.

About Five14

Five14 is an executive search boutique that connects companies with the personalities who shape change. From digital transformation to the AI era, we identify leaders who combine technological expertise, strategic vision, and cultural leadership.

Traditional "post and pray" recruiting no longer works here. Five14 stands for a new way of searching: targeted, discreet, well-connected, and always on equal footing. Our team—award-winning consultants with decades of experience in marketing, sales, and corporate leadership within the digital industry—supports startups, mid-sized companies, and corporations in actively shaping the working world of tomorrow.

We fill roles with impact, not just titles. As partners to our clients, we act openly, transparently, and in accordance with the principles of professional personnel consulting (BDU). Sustainability and social commitment are firmly anchored in our DNA: we have operated as a climate-neutral company since our founding and invest 14% of our profits in social projects.

Five14 – Executive search for leaders who move the future.

About this podcast production

• The podcast's intro voice-over was recorded by Chérine De Bruin.
• The "Suits & Sneakers" podcast is a TON.EINS production.