Marc Beermann ’95 has a rich and diverse educational and professional background. His journey began in high school in Germany, followed by a transformative year as an exchange student at Tabor. He pursued his higher education degree in Economics in Switzerland, studying in St. Gallen and Geneva, before moving into the professional world with a stint in strategy consulting at Bain & Company and in a larger European growth private equity fund. His academic pursuits also included a full-time MBA at Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in Chicago while at Bain. Since 2013, he has embarked on a remarkable entrepreneurial path, founding four tech companies.
Entrepreneurship runs in his blood, inspired by Marc’s father, a renowned business journalist and entrepreneur in Germany. His early exposure to the business world and a significant entrepreneurial experience occurred at Tabor during a junior achievement project in Dick Duffy's class. Marc co-created a T-shirt brand and ignited his passion for business. This foundational experience, plus economic classes, helped himunderstand the Western capitalist system and eventually led him to pursue a degree in economics.
His foray into entrepreneurship was catalyzed by his experiences in real estate technology. After growing his last company to 120 employees and achieving positive cash flow, he sought new opportunities in the construction industry, recognizing its lag in technological adoption. With his latest venture, MOD, he is pioneering an AI-powered supply chain platform for offsite construction, capitalizing on the industry's shift towards industrialization. He relishes the "0 to 1" phase (the startup) of creating new companies, transforming raw ideas into real products.
Without a background in construction, Marc and his co-founder meticulously analyzed the industry, consulting over 100 experts to identify problems and develop a viable tech solution. Building a global network of industry leaders has been instrumental in their success as well as fundraising from a robust network of business angels, family offices, and venture capital funds, cultivated over a decade. Innovation is the cornerstone of his strategy, with MOD developing advanced software technology and forging partnerships with leading research institutions like Stanford, ETH Zurich, and TU Munich. As MOD enters the fundraising phase, he envisions the company becoming the leading supply chain platform for the global offsite construction market in the next decade.
Entrepreneurship is fraught with challenges, particularly managing limited resources and recognizing the entrepreneur as the limiting factor in a startup's growth. Marc emphasizes the importance of allocating time, money, and team effort to critical problems and the necessity of surrounding oneself with exceptional professionals. Personal well-being, a growth mindset, and “being mindful of one’s arrogance” are crucial as the entrepreneur's abilities directly impact the startup's success. Monthly dinners with fellow entrepreneurs over seven years have been a source of reflection and growth, shaping his leadership principles.
Marc advises viewing entrepreneurship as a long-term journey, where some ventures may fail, but the pursuit of turning ideas into reality persists. He emphasizes the importance of using the time and resources at Tabor to develop and test ideas, learning invaluable lessons from even small projects. His key takeaways are: “It always takes twice as long and costs twice as much than the most conservative business plan assumed,” and “It is a lot harder than I thought, but this is probably better not to know before.”
Marc’s journey from Tabor to successful entrepreneurship is a testament to the transformative power of our school and a relentless drive to innovate and solve real-world problems. We look forward to hearing about Marc’s future success.
Although based in Europe, Marc expressed a desire to stay connected with the Tabor community and hopes his children might attend the School by the Sea in the future. He is currently sailing throughout the Buzzards Bay region with his wife and two children.
Three Questions with Marc
Q: What professional resources would you recommend?
Podcasts like Masters of Scale and the Not Boring newsletter by Packy McCormick are sources of motivation and insight. He also highly recommends Winning the Story Warsby Jonah Sachs.
Q:How did your time at Tabor contribute to your journey as an entrepreneur?
I think that Tabor was essential as it was my first exposure to the American "Can-Do" Spirit that deeply inspired me. It was the perfect environment to foster entrepreneurial thinking and acting. I still remember my fellow Dexter mateJames Tosi’94who built surf boards as a senior project. The support and encouragement he received from Tabor was amazing and I was deeply impressed; that is not something I knew from the school system in Germany.
Q: What advice would you share with next generation of entrepreneurs from Tabor Academy?
Use the time and resources at Tabor to develop ideas and turn them into reality; even something small can teach you so many lessons. After Tabor, I started my first company before university and it was a complete failure, but I still benefitted from the learning.
