Claudius Herz

TakeMeTo.ai is an AI-powered travel platform automating the journey from inspiration to booking—combining agentic AI, personalized itineraries, and direct hotel booking without OTA intermediaries. As Co-Founder & Strategic Advisor, I shape go-to-market, brand positioning, and commercial architecture alongside executive roles. Advise on growth strategy, channel architecture, and monetization; support positioning in a competitive AI travel landscape.

AdStrive is a Berlin-based performance marketing agency I co-founded in 2021 as a spin-off from Claneo. After building the company from operating unit to a stable, profitable organization (€1.5m revenue, 22% EBIT), I transitioned from operational leadership to a shareholder and advisory board role. Retained strategic involvement to support the agency's continued growth, positioning, and long-term development.

Led the commercial transformation of a €65m profitable energy business from a single-product retailer (balcony solar) to an integrated energy solutions provider (PV, storage, heat pumps, wallboxes, proprietary tariff). Expanded revenue via diversification, cross-sell, and recurring tariff. Implemented dynamic pricing to protect margins. Repositioned brand for premium pricing (Red Dot 2025). Built KPI-driven growth governance and led a 12 FTE team.

Built and scaled a performance marketing agency from corporate spin-off to independent company with full P&L responsibility. Grew revenue to €1.5m and increased profitability from 5% to 22% EBIT (€330k). Built a 20-person organization incl. leadership, delivery, and performance systems. Established a diversified client base across startups, SMEs, and corporates (e.g. Henkel, Bosch, Siemens Healthineers, McKinsey). Implemented FP&A, KPI dashboards, and scalable ops. Transitioned into advisory role.

Founded and scaled a Conversational AI company with a clear exit strategy, positioning Beyto as a category-defining voice tech player. Built an IP portfolio (80+ applications), incl. flagship product with 1.5m users and 15m+ annual sessions. Acquired DigiVoice (2020) to expand capabilities and enterprise value. Established authority via proprietary research (100+ media mentions) and enterprise clients (incl. Amazon). Built scalable product and monetization; exited to MUUUH! Group (2022).

Led global marketing for WhiteWall, a premium photo lab and gallery brand across Europe and the US. Scaled revenue to €30m+ (+163%) and grew US business by +900% in 12 months. Managed €5m budget with full ROI accountability. Built and led a 17-person international team. Delivered integrated multi-channel strategy (e-commerce, retail, galleries, B2B). Implemented pricing to balance premium positioning and margins. Established category leadership via campaigns and partnerships; aligned with CEO and EQT.

Led market entry and commercial setup for Aladoo in DACH following €95m acquisition by Cyrte Investments. Built 50+ FTE org across marketing, sales, and customer service within months. Led €20m TV-led launch and full go-to-market. Defined brand positioning, commercial model, and multi-channel strategy. Reported to CEO and PE board. Outcome: successful market entry; operations discontinued due to group-level financial constraints.

Joined Lieferando as 5th employee and CMO, building marketing from scratch and scaling from pre-seed to 180 employees and market leader, contributing to merger with Takeaway. Built and led a 30+ FTE team. Managed multi-market growth across DACH, France, and Poland (>€2.5m budget). Drove performance, CRM, TV, and OOH with strong in-house execution vs. Delivery Hero. Built SEO, affiliate, and “Satellite Program” (20k+ sites). Partnered with founders and investors on scaling.

First professional role in digital marketing – embedded in a fast-scaling Rocket Internet environment and exposed to high-velocity performance marketing, traffic monetization, and data-driven acquisition from day one. - Managed display marketing and traffic monetization strategy - Developed acquisition campaigns and monetization models to drive platform growth

Angewandte Ökonometrie / Strategisches Controlling / Corporate Governance