Portrait Name: Eugen Prosquill
Current Position: Founder and CEO of Warda Network
Personal Mission: Innovating the marketing industry by defining trends
Recipe for Success: Do you at all times – people respect authenticity
From a School Project to 20 Employees
It all started when Eugen was assigned to come up with a final project as part of his school education. While everyone else programmed devices like stopwatches or calculators, the future CEO of Warda Network thought of creating something more lasting. An event photography website was the result. “I wanted to save some money when going out,” he stated bluntly. The time he spent on his project during school inevitably affected his grades. Whether that was good or bad, he could not tell. He just knew that he had to walk a different path, which, to the concern of his mother, forced him to drop out. However, what school did not recognize was his creative ability and marketing understanding. Soon he was introduced to like-minded people and after one thing led to another the core of his agency was born.
“A lot has happened since then,” the now 31-year old “Chief of Everything”, as he titles himself, says nostalgically, “but to be honest, we should have done more.” Half a decade ago, Warda transitioned to Warda Network, a creative marketing agency that is known for breaking conventions.
If You Don’t Expect You Can Make It, You Won’t
Compared to his 18-year old self, Eugen operates way more strategically these days; however, always by being authentic to his core principle: Enjoy what you do. Eugen’s mentality consists of a blend between an inner curiosity for new creations and an unwavering self-esteem. It is his job to come up with ideas and he does not shy away from executing them. Trust is key. “Trust people, trust business opportunities. Skepticism and second-guessing don’t get you ahead,” he adds.
You Have to Face the Bad In Order to Know the Good
Eugen has never attended a university lecture; however, he acknowledges the importance of learning. Instead of locking himself inside libraries and delving into theoretical literature, he considers life as the greatest teacher and failure as his greatest lessons. Commenting on the obstacles he faced in the business world, he said, “You have to get to know bad people, in order to find out who the good ones are – sometimes it takes certain failures to recognize and appreciate times without hurdles and hassles.”
Motivated by Joy
Already 13 years in the industry, and still with the same hunger as when he has started out. How? Eugen’s kind of motivation comes intrinsically, “I want to create cool things and in order to do that I need to develop as a person. Of course, there are different phases. Sometimes you just want to prove something to yourself. At other times you have different priorities.” Even though the CEO does not cherish stagnancy, he emphasized the importance of pauses, especially in the creative sector. He seldomly feels pressure on his ability to come up with ideas because he is convinced that he can rely on his team. Still he does not deny his responsibility as a CEO.
“Being an entrepreneur is not always as fun as it might seem. You are a trendsetter, a leader that has to stand his ground, a mentor, sometimes even a psychologist to your colleagues.” On the other hand, he praises that his job does not exactly feel like one. His friends would see him on Instagram and would not understand that he is actually working.
Work-life balance? Is no issue, as he can design his week to his liking; thus, rarely missing out on family time. His brain always works, though. “Last week I was on vacation with a couple of friends, and we invented a board game. We are currently pondering on whether we want to launch it commercially or just produce 100 pieces for ourselves.”
Madness Meets Genius
… are his chosen words for a billboard on Vienna’s Stephansdom. Any background picture for it? A photograph of the entire team. “That pretty much sums up what the company stands for,” he comments. To my question whether he is concerned that other people might regard some of his ideas as too risky, he merely answered, “What we do at Warda makes sense and if it is necessary to be crazy or mad, then, that is exactly what we have to go for.” Eugen does believe in destiny which endows him with a sort of serenity when it comes to his decision making, “You cannot always control everything.”
His final advice for aspiring entrepreneurs would be, “Don’t do it for the money. If you do it out of joy and it’s the right idea, the money will follow, eventually”.
