My first major solo project wasn't a business, but a journey I embarked on in the transitional period between finishing school and starting university at the age of 19. I walked the Camino de Santiago, starting not from the popular trailheads, but from my own front door in Salzburg, Austria. The route took me across four countries on a journey that was both an exercise in self-reliance and a lesson in human connection,  walking over almost 3000 km in 3 months by foot.

While I cherished the long stretches of solitude, I was equally moved by the community and kindness I found along the way. The biggest takeaway, however, was a rediscovery of simplicity. In a world that constantly demands more, the Camino taught me that progress and happiness often come from removing the non-essential. This foundational principle—finding strength in simplicity—has profoundly influenced my approach to every project since.

The journey of my first company began with a chance encounter and a leap of faith. While studying physics, I met an expert witness from my hometown who was nearing retirement. He had built a niche software for traffic accident simulation, and together with a friend from university, I saw an opportunity.

In 2015, at 21, we bought his source code and small client list. We knew next to nothing about coding, accident analysis, or running a company. All we had was the problem-solving mindset from our physics background and an immense willingness to learn and put in the work. Our mission was to take this raw product and make it market-fit.

Over the next decade, we didn't just build a company; we became deeply embedded in the scientific community behind it. We transformed that initial tool into AnalyzerPro, a market-leading solution now used by experts on over four continents. This journey required a relentless pursuit of knowledge. I authored several scientific publications to contribute to the field and, to make the discipline more accessible, wrote a book designed to teach beginners the fundamentals of accident reconstruction.

Sharing this expertise became a key part of our growth. I had the privilege of being a speaker at international conferences and was featured on various podcasts, allowing me to connect with and learn from a global network of professionals. It was a formative masterclass in building a business from the ground up.

As 2025 comes to a close, so does this foundational chapter. After ten years of dedication, I have successfully exited the company, ready and eager for the new challenges that lie ahead.

Closing one chapter only sets the stage for the next. The ten-year journey with AnalyzerPro gave me a masterclass in accident reconstruction, but it also revealed the discipline's limits. For every expert we empowered, thousands of others—from insurers to fleet managers—were left navigating the aftermath of accidents with incomplete data and slow, cumbersome tools. The biggest lesson was clear: the future wasn't just about deeper analysis for the few, but faster, smarter insights for the many.

This is the mission of Crashwise, a new venture I co-founded in 2025. This time, however, the journey doesn't start with just a raw codebase and a willingness to learn. It starts with a clear purpose and a team built for it...