Interview with Florian Hasibar, co-founder of Mytalents.ai

Today, Florian Hasibar talks about his career from graduating from the Financial Accounting degree programme at CAMPUS 02 to founding Mytalents.ai, and how the content of the degree programme has shaped his career and the company's mission.

Why did you choose the Financial Accounting degree programme back then? Rechnungswesen und Controlling entschieden?

I have always been interested in finance, data and analyses. I already had the opportunity to specialise in Financial Accounting during my time at the commercial academy. It was therefore only logical to continue along this path during my studies. This decision prepared me perfectly for various stages of my career, from auditing to financial management in a software company. Today, I am the proud co-founder of my own company.

When you think back to your studies, what do you particularly like to think about?

I like to think back to the strenuous, but also incredibly instructive times. During my studies, I realised that success also means working hard and sometimes accepting certain inconveniences.

What was the turning point for you in the application of AI in your day-to-day work?

The biggest turning point was on 30 November 2022 with the release of ChatGPT. In my last company, where I was Head of Finance, Data and Growth Marketing, we immediately recognised the opportunities and integrated generative AI into our workflow. With success - our KPIs improved dramatically and our productivity more than doubled. The question quickly arose: Can we train the entire team, including software developers, customer service agents, etc., in the use of AI tools like ChatGPT?

How did mytalents.ai come about?

After I pitched the idea to Fabian, a good friend and long-time software developer and AI expert, we were both immediately enthusiastic. The idea for mytalents.ai was born out of the need to make AI knowledge accessible to the masses.

What is the vision and mission of mytalents.ai?

Our vision is to democratise AI skills. Our mission is to provide people not only with specialised knowledge, but also with the necessary ethical awareness for the use of AI. We offer customised online courses for different professional groups and specialist areas. At mytalents.ai, every employee in marketing, sales, HR, software development or finance learns how AI can be used safely and efficiently in their day-to-day work. We offer a broad, low-threshold and constantly growing range of online courses for self-study. This enables companies of all sizes to train their employees in the use of AI tools.

What challenges have you faced so far and what advice do you have for other founders?

One of the biggest challenges we have faced so far has been quickly putting together a dedicated team that shares our vision. We have also had to find suitable course developers to quickly build up an extensive course portfolio. It is important to us that every team member has the same enthusiasm for AI and AI tools as we do. I give weekly updates to the team on the latest developments and changes in the field of AI. We encourage everyone to take a look at the courses on our platform, because it is important to us that we ourselves are the best showcase customers.

In addition, it was a great challenge to get our platform ready for the market in a very short time, while at the same time holding intensive discussions with investors and partners.

Ein wichtiger Tipp, den wir anderen Gründern geben möchten, ist, die Idee von Anfang an am echten Markt zu validieren und von Tag 1 an mit Kundinnen und Kunden zu sprechen. Oft neigen wir dazu, uns in die Entwicklung zu vertiefen und ein vermeintlich „perfektes“ Produkt zu schaffen, nur um festzustellen, dass es am Markt nicht ankommt. Der direkte Dialog mit den Kundinnen und Kunden ist von unschätzbarem Wert. Es kann so einfach sein wie direktes Feedback einzuholen. Dadurch können wir schnell lernen, was funktioniert und was nicht, ohne zu viel Zeit und Ressourcen in die Entwicklung eines Produkts zu investieren, das letztendlich niemand haben möchte.

What role does AI play in the productivity of companies?

KI hat das Potenzial, die Effizienz in Unternehmen dramatisch zu erhöhen. Unsere Erfahrung zeigt, dass die Implementierung von generativer KI die Produktivität steigert. Eine kürzlich von Deloitte durchgeführte Studie untermauert unsere Vision: 93 % der befragten heimischen Führungskräfte stehen der Einführung von KI positiv gegenüber, doch die Umsetzung bleibt zurück. 71 % identifizieren fehlendes Know-how als Haupthindernis, wobei fast die Hälfte der Meinung ist, dass öffentliche Plattformen und spezielle Aus- und Fortbildungsangebote die Investitionen in KI vorantreiben könnten. Wir möchten dazu beitragen, dass Europa nicht nur mithält, sondern anführt.“

Wie kann KI im Finanzbereich angewendet werden?

Artificial intelligence naturally has advantages in the financial sector, just as it does in other areas. Specific use cases could include perfecting budget planning, automating accounting processes, personalising software launches, analysing internal control systems (ICS), expanding financial expertise, mastering meetings and presentations with confidence, designing job interviews and job advertisements and creating checklists for account reconciliation and month-end closing. The applications are almost endless.

Should RWC students be afraid of AI?

Ganz im Gegenteil. Wie in einer IBM Studie zitiert wurde: „Wir werden nicht von der KI ersetzt, sondern von Personen, die KI einsetzen. Jeder, der sich früh mit KI und KI-Anwendungen beschäftigt, wird einen Vorteil in der Zukunft haben, deswegen ist es auch unabdinglich, KI-Kompetenzen in der Lehre zu schulen. Hier geht der Studiengang RWC aber schon in die richtige Richtung und evaluiert eine Implementierung – wahrscheinlich als einer der Finanzstudiengänge in Österreich.

Thank you very much, Florian, for the interesting interview and good luck with your company.