The temperature sensation in Berlin was -10°C, but my heart was warm with enthusiasm and happiness during this interview. This week, Immigrant Spirit met with Cenk Tropak, a social entrepreneur dedicated to increase awareness and promote non-commercial initiatives all over the Germany.
IS: What would you say makes responti unique and special?
Cenk: We are really looking to develop great projects with positive social impact. We seek to have a diverse team, uniting IT people with communication people to create the best team possible.
We are still a very small company, but I would say that our team is our main strength. We have been really lucky to put together a very strong team.
Also, our vision. I have other projects, but I notice that if people do not understand our vision and who we want to reach, it is much harder to motivate them into this project. If people feel they can do something great in the company and important to the society, I believe they will work a lot more motivated.
Our business is quite simple: we try to revitalize social marketing in Germany, and to support institutions that do not have expertise in IT and communications. Some of the institutions we are working with have great ideas, but do not have the IT instrastructure or expertise to bring them to reality.
We use our talents in IT to support our clients, helping them concentrate on their business and we do the support for them.
IS: What is the profile of institutions you are working with?
Cenk: We are working mainly with small and medium sized enterprises, but also with larger institutions. We have more than 80 different projects offered by our clients, such as children support and neighboorhood associations, and we are very excited with all the possibilities ahead of us.
IS: You have mentioned team and vision as the key success factors of responti. What would be the ideal profile of a professional to join your team?
Cenk: There is no ideal profile. We are not perfect, and we accept anyone. Anyone can come and share their tallent with us. If someone wants to join our team and has the initiative to do so, we are open to discuss how this person can support us. We have a number of tasks to be accomplish, and if you are interested in one of the areas we are working in, or in one of the tasks, we encourage people to do it!
In the end, the most important for us is delivery, and having the work done. People have different profiles, and we embrace that diversity in our company. It is also about the passion: if you share our vision and our ideals, we are happy to move forward with you.
I really appreciate honesty in people. I am not perfect, I make mistakes as well. I like working with people that will share information and contribute to their colleagues personal and professional improvement.
I have met professionals with no experience, no education, but had great energy. A fire within that would lead them forward and keep them motivated. This is the most important for us.
IS: How easy is it to find good professionals in Germany?
Cenk: We have been very lucky. We see sometimes great professionals that have a hard time finding a good position in the market. And this affects the self-confidence of these professionals, which is not good for the country as a whole.
On the other hand, there are companies that also have difficulties to find appropriate candidates. It is important to understand the differences in people to succeed.
IS: What are some of the goals you have for responti in the future?
Cenk: First of all, we want to be able to support our own people the best way possible. This goes beyond salaries – I want to be able to realize people’s dreams. Also, we want to help the community around us. We want people to be happy, and to continue growing.
One example is the Schokofabrik, here in Berlin, which is a women center for people in need. They need more resources to continue growing.
IS: Do you have anyone from outside Germany working for you?
Cenk: Yes! We already have an IT professional from Russia, and we communicate always in English. This is a great advantage for our team, as we understand people from different cultures and backgrounds will also have a different point of view. This motivates us to have more and more diversity in the future: as many different nationalities and people as possible!
IS: What kind of professionals are you looking for?
Cenk: Right now, we are really looking for a marketing professional; ideally, this person would have an expertise in social media, as I am the responsible for this now and it would be great to have someone dedicated to our social media impact.
IS: What are the advantages of being a start-up in Berlin?
Cenk: The biggest advantage of Berlin is that it is in constant change. There are always new developments. For us, there is a handfull of work, as there are so many social projects and so much dynamism.
We have started working in Berlin exactly because of everything that is going on here. We like to stay in contact with the organizations we are working with, and it is very important to be located close to them.
For the future, we are planning on making our website in English as well, to reach a wider audience.
IS: What exactly would you like people to know about responti?
Cenk: I could say something about why they should want to work with us, but I believe the most important thing is for people to experiment things. If they want to come and join us, helping us on our services and making an impact on the world around them, our doors are always open.
Don’t change yourself for a company. If you think that you need to change to work for a company, that is nonsense. Feel free to contact us and get to know more about what we do. Be yourself, and do what motivates you!
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