Lukas Hennel is the Customer Success Manager (CSM) at Alasco and is responsible for taking care of the customers of the rapidly growing proptech company during the onboarding process and beyond. As the CSM, Lukas is the primary contact for customers when they have questions about the app, how to optimally use Alasco and how they can improve their work processes.
Munich Startup: What does your morning routine look like?
Lukas Hennel, Alasco: What I need above all else in the morning is peace and quiet. To start the day off well, I make myself a bowl of muesli with fruit for breakfast and then a cappuccino. When the weather is nice, I soak up some sun on my balcony. While drinking my coffee, I often read one or two newspaper articles from different sections. With my bike, I get to the office in just five minutes. My workday usually starts there between 8 and 8:30. Once a week, the morning starts with our Alasco yoga class. That makes my day even better and more balanced. I work on the most important issue of the day right at the beginning. For a short break, I then make an espresso and start our daily team meeting after 9.
A short break with espresso
Munich Startup: What is your favorite tool at work?
Lukas Hennel, Alasco: It took me a while to discover the advantages of ‘Google Suite,’ but now I really like using Google Sheets, Google Calendar and Gmail, because they make it so much easier for us to work together as a team. To make sure I stay on top of things and keep in contact with my colleagues, Asana and Slack are unbeatable at the moment.
Munich Startup: Which three apps are must-haves?
Lukas Hennel, Alasco: Definitely Paypal, Süddeutsche Zeitung and Autoscout. I use these three apps daily and they are essential at the moment. Especially Autoscout, because I’m looking for the right VW van. Otherwise, the Alasco app is obviously vital for me, because I wouldn’t be able to do my daily work without it.
Bauma and Expo Real are a must for proptechs
Munich Startup: Which Munich event is a must?
Lukas Hennel, Alasco: In my opinion, Bauma: The world’s biggest trade show for construction equipment is held every three years in Munich. It has something to offer anyone who has anything to do with construction, for example, you can take a look at the latest laser scanners, cranes and excavators from all manufacturers. Once you’ve been to Bauma, all other trade shows look pretty small. Other than that, Expo Real is a must. It just happens to be held every year right after Oktoberfest.
Munich Startup: What book would you recommend?
Lukas Hennel, Alasco: During my last vacation, I read “Mindful Murder” by Karsten Dusse. It’s a book that explains a very interesting subject with a great deal of humor. I really liked the book and it offers one or two thought-provoking impulses that are outside of the box.
Lukas Hennel: Prefers online meetings to those with lots of travel
Munich Startup: What is your favorite kind of meeting?
Lukas Hennel, Alasco: I used to take part in lots of face-to-face meetings. I think talking in person is an important form of communication, most especially for coordinating matters. That being said, my work has been almost fully digital for three years now and I’ve become a fan of online meetings, especially when a meeting would have otherwise required lots of travelling. I’m happy that we predominantly count on digital methods at Alasco.
Munich Startup: What is your biggest stumbling block in daily business?
Lukas Hennel, Alasco: In daily business, I depend very much on external contacts. Because our customers have very limited time available due to other projects and tasks, a great deal of discretion is required to determine how many tasks can actually be completed before the next meeting. If you try to take account of the needs of everyone involved, that can mean the project or process sometimes doesn’t progress as quickly as planned.
Discretion with others
Munich Startup: What gives you a boost of motivation at work?
Lukas Hennel, Alasco: I’m fundamentally a person who always has a positive attitude. Of course you run into problems here or there in daily business. The highlight for me above all else is getting positive feedback – be it about me personally, our product in general, special features or how we interact with our customers.
Munich Startup: How do you end your workday?
Lukas Hennel, Alasco: I think about what I’ve actually managed to do each evening and then organize my next day. What are the most important issues, are all appointments in place, what was put on the back burner today and which tasks don’t need to necessarily be completed immediately. That really helps me get right to work the next day.