I'm Ben — engineer, ex-founder and chronic prototype builder from Vienna.
I fell into technology because I'm a guy. I pursued it academically and way too ambitiously because my grandmother said I absolutely had to use my gigantic ahem talent.
But what's always fascinated me is how the world works. And how to make it better. Today I try to make a living from what I enjoy: having ideas, building them, and sharing what happens along the way.
nista — Build, Fail, Keep Going
The nista.io team In 2019 we founded nista — a platform to help industrial companies make sense of their energy data. My doctoral thesis as the foundation. The idea: if you understand your data, you can reduce your energy consumption. And save money. Let's go.
Over 6 years we raised 1.5 million euros from investors, had hundreds of conversations with energy managers, and built a product that generated six-figure revenue. I'm trying to be proud of that.
At the same time we also inflated the team to 15 people at one point, then threw the entire strategy overboard when Russia's war upended the energy landscape. While I had to focus on sales, nothing customer-relevant happened in the product anymore. Scalability and architecture instead of features that excite. AI companies left us behind from 2022 onwards — despite a massive head start, we became spectators. In 2025 we had to give up.
After the most expensive MBA of all time, I'd do several things differently. We built a solution to a problem the market didn't find urgent enough. And we got stuck on technology that wouldn't have been our problem for a long time.
The Atelier is what remains when you strip away the pressure to scale. Working on ideas and building them. Learning together. And having fun honestly sharing what comes out of it.
What I Bring
I'm not afraid to tackle big, complex topics. Not despite their complexity, but because of it.
PhD — TU Wien
Manufacturing data and knowledge graphs. Engineer since HTL Mödling.
500+ Customer Conversations
Energy managers across DACH — from ISO 50001 to biogas to CO₂ capture.
Guest Lectures
TU Wien and FH St. Pölten. Explaining tech you've actually built yourself.
6 Years Scout Leader
Learned how to bring people along. No budget, no hierarchy.
What sets me apart from most engineers: I mix disciplines. Pragmatic and creative, with a fraction of the resources others need.
Beyond the Workshop
Christina, Ada and me I live in Vienna with my wife Christina and our dog Ada. I box three times a week, cook, and play Magic the Gathering. Try to get to the water as often as possible to injure myself kitesurfing. Music from German rap to hardstyle — as long as it hits.