VIA Impulse with Jean Hamacher

“Here, you’ll get the toolkit for your future.”

Just as in college, things don’t always go according to Plan A when organizing events. “Planning replaces chance with error,” joked Prof. Dr. Markus-Oliver Schwaab at the start of the VIA Impulse lecture on September 21, 2026, in the packed Audimax at Pforzheim University, when the originally scheduled speaker had to cancel at the last minute. It turned out to be a stroke of luck for the freshmen in attendance: Jean Hamacher, Chairman of the Advisory Board at Objektkultur Software GmbH and an alumnus of the "Business School Pforzheim", stepped in at the last minute as a worthy and inspiring replacement. Open, humorous, and approachable, he took the students on a journey through his academic and professional background and shared valuable advice drawn from the highs and lows of his career.

“My interest in learning was zero”: An Unusual Path to College

Back in school, there was no way to foresee that his path would one day lead him to the top of a successful IT company. “I was a lousy student at the Waldorf School. My interest in learning was zero,” Hamacher admitted honestly. It wasn’t until he completed vocational training and earned his Abitur (higher education entrance qualification) later in life that he realized the value of learning. He ultimately began his studies at Pforzheim University with a completely new attitude. With a smile, he immediately offered the freshmen some advice for the coming semesters: “When you’re lying in bed early in the morning, think of these words: It’s always easier to sit through a lecture than to painstakingly read through the material afterward.”

Even while he was still a student, Hamacher felt his entrepreneurial drive. While he was already working part-time on a contract basis for Siemens AG, he was fascinated by the idea of self-employment: “I found the idea of being self-employed—of looking in the mirror and being accountable only to myself—very appealing.” When his side job became so successful that he could easily make a living from it, he even briefly considered dropping out of college early. However, his boss at the time made it clear to him how important an academic degree would be for his future development. Fortunately, as Hamacher emphasizes in retrospect. Not only is an academic degree valuable, but above all, it was at Pforzheim University that he first learned methodical, structured learning.

The Toolkit for Life: Practical Experience, Team Spirit, and a Semester Abroad

The Business Informatics alumnus encouraged his audience as they embarked on the path ahead: “Here, you’ll get the toolkit” to succeed in your future careers. To fill this toolbox to the fullest, he recommended that students gain practical experience early on and build a network.

In addition to practical experience, Hamacher repeatedly emphasized the importance of community and networks: “Look around you and make connections! Learning as a team is a lot of fun and is simply more efficient.” Friends and fellow students, he noted, remained indispensable sources of support for important projects even years later. When asked by someone in the audience whether spending a semester abroad during college was worthwhile, he gave a response that was as brief as it was unequivocal: “Do it! Spending half a year in another country isn’t something you can easily do later on.”

From “Close to the Garage” to a Unicorn

With a degree in business administration in hand, Hamacher finally took the plunge into entrepreneurship and founded the software company Objektkultur Software GmbH. The beginnings were modest: “It wasn’t a garage, but it was close,” he recalled. The startup quickly developed into a thriving company, but Hamacher was not spared from global economic upheavals. “Catastrophes like September 11, 2001, are a huge blow to the economy,” he emphasized. In times like these, he said, a solid financial footing is vital for survival.

At the same time, he described how crises can give rise to opportunities: When many highly qualified professionals lost their work stations during the pandemic, he seized the opportunity and strategically recruited talent. His bold move paid off: “We grew by more than 30 percent in the year following COVID.” He also benefited directly from the foundations he laid during his college years when he later sold his company: “I drew heavily on the Business Administration knowledge I gained here. Reading financial statements and understanding a company’s tax issues, for example.” When communicating the sale of the company, he relied on a clear leadership philosophy: “We were very transparent with the employees, and that was the right thing to do.”

AI as a Tool for the Future

In the subsequent Q&A session, Hamacher delved deeply into the demands of the modern workplace. On the topic of artificial intelligence in particular, he advised students to remainopen-minded and to engage with the subject continuously: “We want students to use AI. Keep engaging with it, because you’ll never fully master it—it’s constantly changing.”

By the end of his talk, the speaker’s enthusiasm for entrepreneurship was evident in every fiber of his being. Jean Hamacher concluded his inspiring remarks and sent the students off with a dash of pioneering spirit: “If I ever get really bored, I’ll start another startup, because I think it’s a really great career path.” A closing remark that drew sustained applause from the Audimax.