Meet The Ebsters: Karl Altraja & Marcus Neiland
Today we are meeting not one but two EBS students. We are happy to introduce a duo of childhood friends who have now grown up and become business partners. Come with us and let us take a closer look at what they have to say!
Buddies since childhood
Heya people, we are Karl & Marcus! Second-year bachelor students but also young entrepreneurs who are determined to try out all the crazy ideas we have. We’ve known each other basically since birth, went to school together, and now do (second) business together.
3 awesome facts about this duo
We both love to get into serious discussions about politics, economy, society, and so on. No one ever wins, but we just love a good “fight”.
In 2019 we visited Japan together. It was sick!!!
We are hiring! So join Trickster!
In their free time, Karl & Marcus also love to take pictures.
How did you get into the start-up world, leading to creating your own start-ups?
We both have a creative background in practicing photography. We saw a problem, or at least we saw a problem in the creative freelance world. For young and upcoming talents it’s not easy to find jobs and catch an eye. So our marketplace should’ve helped exactly these young, talented, and energized creatives.
What is Trickster Creative and what is it used for?
Trickster Creative is a creative marketing agency that is here to help brands grow and navigate in rapidly changing waters. We have taken Generation Z as our main focus group but we also work with other segments.
How did you come up with the idea for both of your start-ups, were they created from something you take a great interest in?
First of all, we don’t think we can call Trickster Creative a start-up, it’s regular as a business can be nowadays. But yes, Timbility and Trickster Creative have a deep connection. As Timbility’s aim was to connect creative talents with brands, Trickster Creative’s idea is to do the same but in a slightly different way.
Boys working hard on their business projects.
What could be the one most important thing that you learned from the failed start-up, what would you take from it?
Invest in people. The people you surround yourself with are important because they are the ones who help you along the way. It is also crucial to make partnerships with people who are competent in the field and have a long-term vision. If you want to get something done that requires money then you need to be ready to provide quality as well. When talking about apps or web platforms then in the 2020s everyone is already so comfortable with high-end apps and well-built platforms. You need to try and live up to the standards with your venture. But even most importantly, try to always provide maximum quality products/services to the ones you want to serve.
If you have to give one piece of advice to young people thinking about creating their own start-up what would it be?
If you don’t try it you will never know if it will work or not. You need to have the courage to start things and just start moving from somewhere, even if it doesn't work out in the end. There is a lot to learn from. Be bold and know that there are no ideas that are too crazy. You can just let your brain work freely and don't let small pictures kill the idea in the beginning. You will have the time later to think through the details and some verdict - is it even possible. However, when you start limiting yourself at the beginning you will never-ever get to the point where you actually wished to get.
More awesome moments from their Japan trip.
Besides school and work, what do you enjoy doing in your free time?
Well, we both enjoy different sports. Marcus's passion is basketball and Karl's is football, so there is a forever ongoing dilemma in this aspect. However, besides sports, we both enjoy entrepreneurship in any way. We are constantly brainstorming to make new things happen and to make the world a cooler place to live. We think it is fair to say that we are pretty competitive whatever we do and that goes for both activities against each other and the activities against others as a team.
To send our readers off give us some of your favourite quotes or movies
"There's nothing more precious than time" - Virgil Abloh
"Small minds discuss other people. Good minds discuss events. Great minds discuss ideas." - Eleanor Roosevelt
As for the movies honest business students as we are, we also have to bring up Wolf of Wall Street.