Glow25

Glow25 ist die europaweit führende Plattform für Schönheit, die kein Alter kennt. Unser fachübergreifendes Team an Expert:innen aus Biologie, Gesundheit & positiver Psychologie entwickelt funktionale Lebensmittel, Gewohnheiten und Community-Erfahrungen, die Menschen dabei unterstützen, sich beim Blick in den Spiegel (wieder) wohl in ihrer Haut zu fühlen.

Co-Gründer & Strategischer CEO

Primal State Performance GmbH

Die Primal State Performance GmbH gilt als eine der führenden Plattformen für gesunde Leistungsfähigkeit im deutschsprachigen Raum. 

Unser +100-köpfiges Team entwickelt und vertreibt funktionale Lebensmittel, Techniken und Hilfsmittel für mehr Energie, Fokus und Wohlbefinden im Alltag.

🌱 Co-Founder Glow25 | 🚀 Top 100 Fastest Growing Companies Europe | 🇩🇪 Top 3 fastest growing eCom in GER | ❣️ Top 3 Best Employers in Berlin | 🎤 New Podcast: LebensWerk (Link in BIO)

✍️ Hey! My name is Rafa. I am currently spending my days as the Strategic CEO of Glow25, a brand with a mission to change the narrative of "aging" from something we are scared of to something we can celebrate. If you don't know this brand, and you are based in DACH, it's not unlikely that your (grand)parents do. The fact, that...

...our team of around 120 people is nominated as:

🌎 Top 100 fastest growing companies in Europe (Financial Times Europe), 
🇩🇪 Top 3 fastest growing eCom brand in Germany (Statista), 
❣️ Top 3 best rated employer in Berlin (Kununu)...

...literally gives me chills.

Not, because our legendary team is bootstrapping this project from 0 to 9-figure level in around 3 years without classical investment rounds or VC money. 

BUT...

...because this "street credibility" gives me a chance to respectfully discuss with old school founders, CEOs, and leaders of other companies...

...if building a sustainably successful business and team REALLY requires elbows, blame & shame games, systematic passive-aggressive behavior, a culture of pressure and fear, or reducing humans to their mere performance.

Humbly, I am convinced that it does not. 

🌱 My intention on this platform is to share my journey as founder, leader, CEO, and human with the mission to have a meaningful impact in this life:

How? Not by „saving the world“ or „building an empire“ or „legacy“.

But by courageously discovering and expressing who I am, and why I am here. 

If these words resonante, happy to connect.

R

Rafael Frenk

🤯 Rekordmonat: Während sich Marketer weltweit auf Black Friday vorbereiten, ist der „Glowember” schon halb vorbei.

Dieses Jahr hat das Glow25-Team die bislang durchdachteste, umfangreichste und kreativste Kampagne für Black November erstellt. 

Wir nennen sie "Glowwember". 

Das Ergebnis:

Rekordumsätze mit dreistelligem Wachstum im eigenen Onlineshop.

Wir haben schon jetzt bereits an 3 Tagen den Umsatz des Black Friday letzten Jahres übertroffen. 

Absolut wild. Und ich bin super stolz auf das gesamte Team ❣️

Wer im E-Com arbeitet, kennt die Situation vor dem großen Sale:

Bestände checken.
Rabatte kalkulieren.
Creatives entwickeln.
Kampagnen aufsetzen.
Onlineshop vorbereiten.

und so weiter …

Obendrauf noch hohe Ziele und maximaler Druck.

Ich kenne viele E-Com Brands, die während dieser Zeit sogar eine Urlaubssperre verhängen und trotzdem nicht hinterherkommen. 

Und das ist völlig nachvollziehbar.

Als Glow25 noch viel kleiner war und noch Primal State hieß, war ich für die Black November Kampagnen verantwortlich, das Team damals waren noch 2 weitere Kollegen.

Ich weiß noch, wie ich Tag ein Tag aus bis nach Mitternacht am Schreibtisch saß und irgendwie noch Copy, Landeseiten, Emails und Co. zusammengebaut habe. 

Also falls du eine kleine E-Com-Brand gerade baust: I feel you. 

Heute läuft das alles etwas anders.

Glow25 ist erwachsener. 

Wir haben dedizierte Teams für Content, Performance Marketing, Logistik, Finance und alle anderen Departments, die bei einem Sale involviert sind.

Gefühlt "jede Person" im Team hat irgendwo mit angepackt. Und bereits viele Wochen vor November mit dem Kampagnenbau gestartet.

Jetzt geht es darum, den November auch erfolgreich abzuschließen. 

Auch unser Logistik-Team darf die Rekordumsätze in zeitnahe Lieferungen für unsere Kundinnen in ganz Europa verwandeln.

Woran ich mich noch gewöhnen muss:

👉 Das alles passiert in meiner Rolle als Ex-CEO und Gesellschafter komplett ohne mein Involvement.

Ein Beweis, dass Glow25 von und mit einem fantastischen Team geführt wird.

Vielen Dank an das gesamte Team für euren Einsatz.

Let’s grow & glow together ✨

🌍 Scaling news: Glow25 almost quit international markets, now we are exploding. What changed? 

Ok ... let’s talk about failures.

At Glow25, while the DACH market was booming, we struggled to repeat our growth story in international markets for some time. 

And honestly, we were disappointed. And asked ourselves:

How can this be?

We had a strong international team under Lea Wagner, Marcele Guimarães, and Clarisse Pieter. 

We even installed a special task force, the: 

🥷 "ISU - International Scaling Unit" 

... that was working tirelessly to create powerful marketing funnels in markets outside of DACH.

The result? We grew nicely.

But Glow25 does not like "nice".
We love BAM. 

So what was the issue? 

Not the people. They are highly talented, dedicated, and great.

The issue was our "company mindset" that was driven by us founders, and especially by me as the former CEO. 

I personally had a huge blind spot in creating our organization. 

Yes, we were speaking English. 
Yes, we hired international talent. 

But the company identity was "German", 99% of everything we were doing was for the DACH market, with international being an afterthought.
 
The consequence:

No alignment on international product launches.
No alignment on marketing ops.
No alignment on messaging.
No alignment on reporting.

We treated internationalization as sort of an external project.

No wonder we failed.

And even though some team members pointed this out to me in the past, I was so focused on Germany that I did not really "get it". 

It took our new CEO Steven Mattwig and CFO Arnd Mückenberger to point this problem out earlier this year. 

They did, and together with the team, they are solving it fast. 

👉 Now, internationalization is at the very core of our organization.

As a result, we can identify behaviors and patterns from customers across all countries.

This enables us to combine country-specific measures with global best practices to create maximum impact within a certain market.

The results speak for themselves:

🔥 Now, we’re already No.1 in the Netherlands on Bol & Amazon.
🔥 Now, we just secured our first retail listing in the Netherlands.
🔥 Now, we are hitting 8-figure-level, while growth is accelerating.

As you can see in the pic, the search volume for our brand is going up all over Europe.

I LOVE the fact that we turned a weakness into a strength.

We could have just said:

Ok, let's keep Glow25 a DACH company for now. 

But this felt strange. We felt that this company is meant to have a global impact in the pro-aging field. 

We just needed some more time to crack the code.

In the end, it comes down to a simple question:

"Are you building a local or an international company?"

If it's an international one, you have to massage this identity into every goal, process, and project you are thinking about. 

Sounds easier than it is. 

But it’s worth it. 🔥

Thx Glow25-Team!

P.S.: Are you scaling internationally? How is it working?

Peartree International Lda

Helping small businesses and solopreneurs to grow their business without growing their to do list and feeling stressed.

Admin Services for Solopreneurs and Small Businesses | Consultant, Mentor and more

As the founder of COO-on-demand, I bring over ten years of leadership experience and seven years as a COO to help startups, small businesses, and medium-sized companies overcome operational challenges, boost productivity, and enhance cost-efficiency. I specialize in providing fractional or temporary COO services, enabling businesses to optimize operations, relieve overwhelmed CEOs, and execute strategic plans effectively.

COO on demand (fractional and temporary COO services)

As Mentor, Consultant and Coach I helped many expats start and manage their businesses in Germany. They value my patience, calm approach, and over 10 years of experience navigating Germany’s bureaucratic landscape as a decision-maker. I simplify complex requirements into clear, actionable steps and provide honest advice on risks. My coaching background helps me address your fears and sense of overwhelm, giving you a clear path and structure to grow your business with confidence and motivation— and without making tax or accounting mistakes. 

→ 7+ Years of Experience as CEO, COO and CFO
→ Accounting & Controlling Nerd
→ Passionated about helping others
→ Founded several companies
→ Certified Brain Coach
→ Master in Sales & Marketing
→ Since 2024 Expat in Portugal

Expat Business Mentor, Consultant and Coach

Self-Love Harbour

Self-Love Harbour provides everything around personal growth made simple. Our Vision Board Kit enables everyone to get the life you desire through high-quality self-coaching exercises.

COO and Co-Founder

ActiNovo

Taking over the management activity at LipoCraft Germany GmbH for the brand ActiNovo, responsible for the professional and disciplinary management of 20 employees with 14 nationalities in the departments Marketing, Business Development, Customer Service, Product Management, Purchasing, Fufillment and the Online Shop.

My main tasks: 
- Responsibility, further development and internationalization of the strategic and content-related positioning and orientation of the ActiNovo brand.  
- Implementing successfully a partner network (affiliates, influencer, health practitioners)
- Internationalization of the ActiNovo brand with successful market entry and registration in China, 
  Guadeloupe, Bosnia and Turkey 
- Monitoring and strategic further development of the website and store (actinovo.com) including successful conversion from Shopware 5 to 6 as well as all other marketplaces (e.g. Amazon, Faire, Ankorstore)  
- Strategic further development of product management as well as new product launches    
- Planning, development as well as implementation of marketing relevant processes and conception of global marketing strategies and campaigns   
- Analysis and implementation of SEO and SEA optimization as well as management of performance marketing and management of external agencies

Chief Executive Officer

Successful spin-off of all end-customer activities around the ActiNovo brand from PlantaCorp into the newly founded LipoCraft GmbH and parallel assumption of the role of Chief Operating Officer.   

My tasks and achievements: 
-Doubling of revenue (7-digit).
-Establishment of a professional marketing, sales, customer service, fulfillment, purchasing and product management department 
-Creation of a brand value statement and communication guidelines 
- Implementing successfully a partner network (influencer, health practitioners)
-Introduction of a new pricing system with consideration of reseller margins  
-Responsibility, further development and internationalization of the strategic and content-related positioning and orientation of the ActiNovo brand   
-Internationalization of the ActiNovo brand with successful market entry and registration in China, Guadeloupe, Bosnia and Turkey 
-Supervision and strategic further development of the website and store (actinovo.com) including successful conversion from Shopware 5 to 6 as well as all other marketplaces (e.g. Amazon)
-Strategic further development of product management as well as new product launches    
-Planning, development and implementation of marketing relevant processes and conceptual design of global marketing strategies and campaigns   
-Analysis and implementation of SEO and SEA optimization as well as performance marketing management 
-Implementation of affiliate management (awin and own software)  
-Expansion of B2C and B2B marketing and responsibility of all marketing communication areas  
-Contract management with our distribution partners 
-Conception and implementation of medical studies on bioavailability 
-Steering of external agencies 
-Introduction of a HR software as well as applicant management software 
-Conception and implementation of an employee feedback system
-Conception and implementation of personnel development
-Conception and implementation of a performance-oriented bonus system

Chief Operating Officer

PlantaCorp GmbH

Responsibility for the overall operations of a highly innovative contract manufacturer of liposomal dietary supplements. 
Tasks / Achievements: 
-Establishment of a professional and stable company organization with an employee growth of 80% in less than 3 years. 
-Conception and implementation of an internationalization strategy 
-Providing a sustainable sales growth where sales and gross margins more than doubled, significant EBIT increase
Technical and disciplinary management of 18 departments as well as continuous development of managers 
-Conduction of management feedback meetings with concrete development of measures for further training 
-Establishment of a professional B2B marketing department
-Creation & implementation of a marketing strategy 
-Implementation of a new website incl. content creation and SEO 
-Implementation of Hubspot CRM 
-Development of the sales staff with internal and external trainings 
-Sales controlling and optimization of price calculations 
-Automation & optimization of order processing 
-Establishment of a professional finance department with 4 people 
-Consultation with tax advisors & support in the preparation of proper annual financial statements 
-Preparation of sales plans and budgets as well as key figure reports to check the profitability of the company   
-Optimization and digitalization of all HR processes especially personnel administration applicant management & personnel development 
-Support in the search, selection and recruitment of key positions 
-introduction of cost center management and allocation of costs according to cause 
-Optimization of cash flow / liquidity management incl. forecasts from all company divisions
-Establishment of a logistics department as well as a purchasing department 
-Introduction of an inventory management system / ordering system and optimization of inventory turnover rate

Levensgaarn GmbH

Olympus Surgical Technologies Europe

Technical and disciplinary management of employees in the service supply chain (supply chain manager / warehouse staff).
Responsibility for material planning, operational purchasing, stocking and forecasting in the Medical Repair Service. Introduction of inventory controlling as well as KANBAN.

Manager Service Supply Chain

Hinrich Plambeck GmbH & Co.KG

Management of 30 employees, responsible for human resources (focus Recruiting and talent management), finance, controlling, accounting, purchasing, logistics, process management and IT.
- Business Planning, Budgeting and Forecasting
- Sales and Marketing controlling
-Digitization of all company processes and increase of gross profit through purchasing management and cash flow.
-Project manager: Successful introduction of warehouse management system and tour scheduling program for the vehicle fleet.
-restructuring of article master data for over 50,000 articles. 
-Contact person for auditors, banks and authorities. 
-Responsible for the proper preparation of the annual financial statements.
- Implementing HR development measures 
- responsible for actively recruiting

-Successful integration of all processes and master data into Bauwelt Delmes Heitmann in the course of a merger.

Commercial Director

Poburski Futura GmbH

Responsible for developing an international B2B Marketing strategy.
-Implementing CRM (Microsoft Dynamics)
-Defining and implementing an international B2B Marketing strategy
-Calculating and negotiating of construction projects (value 500.000 € to 3.000.000 € each)

Senior Marketing Project Manager

Running your business wasn’t supposed to feel this overwhelming, right?

You started this journey to share your passion, connect with your customers, and build something meaningful. But now you’re buried in a mountain of admin work, financial tasks, and endless to-dos that take you away from what you love most—growing your passion business.

Does this sound familiar?

You are:
→Full of good ideas but have no time to execute them because you are stuck with admin tasks?
→Overwhelmed by the constant pressure to keep up with everything?
→You know you can increase your income but feel burned-out and lonely taking on all the responsibilities by yourself?
→Tired of wasting time and energy for the same problems over and over again?

Hi, we’re Christian and Diana – the duo behind Peartree International.

Diana is an expert in virtual assistance, specializing in organizing the chaos and handling the day-to-day tasks that keep your business running smoothly. She offers support in Marketing and Sales as well, leveraging countless years of experience in generating leads and business.

Christian brings years of experience as a CFO, COO and CEO, helping small business owners like you simplify bookkeeping, automate processes, and build a strong financial foundation and strategy.

Together, we offer a unique blend of personalized support designed to help small entrepreneurs thrive.

Here’s how we can help you:
→ Virtual Assistance: Inbox management, scheduling, and organization handled by Diana.
→ Bookkeeping & Receipt Management: Financial clarity without the stress.
→ Automation & Systems: Christian’s expertise in streamlining your workflows to save you time.
→ E-commerce Support: Smooth online sales and operations.
→ Marketing Consultancy: Guidance to maximize your brand’s potential.
→ Taking over Marketing and Sales for you
→ Project Management and Accountability Partner
→ Consulting and Mentoring around all areas of your business.

We know how overwhelming running a small business can feel. That’s why we don’t just offer services—we become your trusted partners in growth, helping you take back your time and focus on growing your business.

Why choose us?
Because we’ve worked with entrepreneurs just like you. We understand the challenges of juggling admin, finances, operations, marketing and sales, and we’re here to help you break free from the overwhelm.

Ready to reclaim your time and focus on what matters most?

Reach out via DM

Christian Pereira Piechoczek

I wasn’t struggling with LinkedIn.
I was struggling with myself.

When I first started, it wasn’t the platform that felt hard.
It was the overthinking and second-guessing.

And here’s the science behind it:

→ The brain already burns 20–25% of your total energy at rest.
→ It’s not built for endless rumination.
→ When you overthink, your brain activates the same circuits as real problem-solving, so it drains energy as if you’re “working” all day.
→ That’s why you feel exhausted before you even do anything meaningful.

And I didn’t just overthink posts.
I overthought comments, DMs, replies, tone, wording — everything.
Every interaction felt forced because I was trying to sound like the gurus instead of myself.

It all felt off… because it wasn’t me.

Looking back, the craziest part is this:
I didn’t trust my 10+ years in sales and marketing simply because I didn’t understand the algorithm.

Here’s what finally clicked:

The algorithm is mostly outside your control.
Your voice, your strategy, and your peace of mind aren’t.

And from there, everything began to feel intentional instead of chaotic.

Sell Without Being Pushy or Burning Out | I Help Content Creators Build a Sales System That Feels Natural

No alternative text description for this image

People act like lead magnets work on autopilot.
Mine absolutely didn’t. Not for years.

Most of my entrepreneurial journey was spent waiting for my lead magnet to finally “take off.”

My first attempt back in 2018?
A newsletter I launched with zero clue what to actually send out.

Then I finally created “proper” lead magnets with a polished email sequence behind it.
Still flopped more often than not.

After 7 years of trying, testing, and failing forward, here’s what I learned:

1️⃣ Targeting was too broad.
I wasn’t speaking directly to my ICP — just “people who might be interested.”

2️⃣ Double opt-in destroyed conversions.
So many leads never clicked the second confirmation.
Damn you, GDPR. 😅

3️⃣ Poor sender reputation.
No authentication → straight to the spam cemetery.
RIP beautiful emails.

4️⃣ I didn’t explain the value clearly.
People won’t subscribe if they don’t understand why they should.

5️⃣ Quizzes that demanded email too soon.
Interest was there but friction was higher.

All of this taught me something important:

A lead magnet is still one of the best tools to nurture leads,
but only if the experience is relational, not transactional.

Most lead magnets create way too much friction.
They stop genuinely interested people from exploring your solution.

And honestly:
the setup of 9 out of 10 lead magnets still screams “capture the email” instead of “build the relationship.”

So now I’m testing something new.
Something cleaner, simpler, and far more human.

Follow me so you don’t miss it: Christian

Comment → connect → DM → call → pitch.
Is anyone else completely exhausted by this?

When I decided to take LinkedIn seriously and sell my expertise, I thought I needed to “learn the algorithm.”
So when a few LinkedIn experts slipped into my DMs, I was open to it.

One of them actually started strong.
They asked thoughtful questions, explored my goals, and helped me articulate the challenges I was facing.
We agreed to a call and I genuinely felt hopeful.

But on the call it changed quickly.

Instead of helping me build a content strategy or improve reach (the thing I came for),
I was presented with a solution centered around DM conversions and sales call tactics.

And here’s why I didn’t hire them:

→ They never connected their solution to my actual problem.
→ Nothing was clearly defined: no structure, no outline, no deliverables.
→ And most of the call was spent trying to convert me, including adjusting the offer and price on the spot.

By the end of it, we were both disappointed.
I didn’t get any closer to solving my problem.
And they didn’t win a client.

And that’s when the real problem became obvious:

The default social selling playbook is exhausting, for both sides.

It’s robotic.
It’s rushed.
It ignores context, readiness, and actual human connection.

And it’s definitely not how I want to be sold to.
If I followed that strategy myself, I’d burn out in weeks.

I’d rather take the opposite approach:
→ build real connection
→ understand someone’s readiness
→ and create a conversation that respects both sides

At the end of the day, I don’t want a rushed “yes.”
I want a conversation where both sides feel good about moving forward.

Do you also feel that the default approach on LinkedIn has become way too transactional?
—
Hi, I’m Christian, relationship marketing expert.
If you hate selling on LinkedIn, I help you build a sales system that matches your personality and values.
Follow  Christian for more.

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The Battle

Rafael Frenk

Christian Pereira Piechoczek

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Performance ScoreRafael Frenk's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreChristian Pereira Piechoczek's LinkedIn Performance

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taplio

The Battle

Rafael Frenk

Christian Pereira Piechoczek

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Rafael Frenk's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreChristian Pereira Piechoczek's LinkedIn Performance

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Performance ScoreRafael Frenk's LinkedIn Performance