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Tom Vogel's Blog

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  • A New Way to Realize Deep Sell for Enterprise SaaS
    12.08.2026

    A New Way to Realize Deep Sell for Enterprise SaaS

    Selling SaaS means no longer just demonstrating exciting features. Non-functional features have gained importance. And you can make money from them.

    Written by

    Tom Vogel

    Digital Transformation Entrepreneurship
  • Should You Set AI Targets for Your Company?
    10.08.2026

    Should You Set AI Targets for Your Company?

    AI is possibly as transformative as electrification in the 1880s. In contrast to AI, I doubt leaders set electricity consumption targets.

    Written by

    Tom Vogel

    Digital Transformation Leadership
  • The Month-End Closing Checklist: Boring, but Effective
    05.08.2026

    The Month-End Closing Checklist: Boring, but Effective

    Many month-end checklist tasks could be automated, but not this one: Thinking of what the changes since last month mean for your business.

    Written by

    Tom Vogel

    Entrepreneurship Leadership
  • AI or Not AI? Sometimes You’re Faster Without It
    03.08.2026

    AI or Not AI? Sometimes You’re Faster Without It

    Everyone promises you can automate your business with AI and chill at the grill. Well, automation and AI don’t always pay off.

    Written by

    Tom Vogel

    Entrepreneurship
  • 3 Signs It’s Time to Renegotiate Your Contracts
    29.07.2026

    3 Signs It’s Time to Renegotiate Your Contracts

    Technology moves faster than any contract can follow. Three real-life examples of why you have to renegotiate your contracts.

    Written by

    Tom Vogel

    Entrepreneurship Leadership
  • Every Entrepreneur Needs AI. And SaaS. And Maybe Excel
    27.07.2026

    Every Entrepreneur Needs AI. And SaaS. And Maybe Excel

    AI tools are flashy but token-based. SaaS is reliable but has vendor lock-in. Here’s why Excel still belongs in every entrepreneur’s toolkit.

    Written by

    Tom Vogel

    Digital Transformation Entrepreneurship
  • Bootstrapping Over Billions: Ukraine’s Lessons for Entrepreneurs
    22.07.2026

    Bootstrapping Over Billions: Ukraine’s Lessons for Entrepreneurs

    The West spent billions on drones. Ukraine built better ones for $800 in homes. Wartime bootstrapping lessons for entrepreneurs.

    Written by

    Tom Vogel

    Entrepreneurship
  • Summer Laziness: Not Efficient, but Highly Effective
    20.07.2026

    Summer Laziness: Not Efficient, but Highly Effective

    Build what’s not urgent. Think without an agenda. Read outside your field. React without rushing. That’s my summer laziness formula.

    Written by

    Tom Vogel

    Entrepreneurship Leadership
  • Strategic Ambiguity: Everything Is Clear, Until It Isn’t
    15.07.2026

    Strategic Ambiguity: Everything Is Clear, Until It Isn’t

    Starting a business has never been easier. The risks and uncertainties have never been higher. That’s strategic ambiguity in a nutshell.

    Written by

    Tom Vogel

    Entrepreneurship Leadership
  • AI Doesn’t Replace Your Distinct Skills. It Multiplies Them
    13.07.2026

    AI Doesn’t Replace Your Distinct Skills. It Multiplies Them

    If you have distinct skills but don’t use AI, someone with the same skills who does will overtake you. Be quick or die.

    Written by

    Tom Vogel

    Digital Transformation Entrepreneurship
  • Hesitation Looks Like Thinking. It’s Just Avoiding a Decision
    08.07.2026

    Hesitation Looks Like Thinking. It’s Just Avoiding a Decision

    No amount of hesitation removes the cons of a decision. At some point, you have to jump. Even without knowing all the details.

    Written by

    Tom Vogel

    Entrepreneurship Leadership
  • Dry Spells Don’t Last. But Entrepreneurs Have to Outlast Them
    06.07.2026

    Dry Spells Don’t Last. But Entrepreneurs Have to Outlast Them

    Wars stall pipelines. Admin loops kill momentum. Chaos hides monsters. Every entrepreneur faces dry spells — here’s how to outlast them.

    Written by

    Tom Vogel

    Entrepreneurship
  • Be Quick or Die: Why the World Needs Godspeed Now
    01.07.2026

    Be Quick or Die: Why the World Needs Godspeed Now

    An alcoholic reducing alcohol by 3% annually reaches sobriety by 2100. That’s exactly how slow we’re moving on all the big problems out there.

    Written by

    Tom Vogel

    Active Reserve Clean Energy Digital Transformation Leadership
  • Shared Mental Model, Part II: Why It Takes Multiple Iterations
    29.06.2026

    Shared Mental Model, Part II: Why It Takes Multiple Iterations

    Puzzled looks, repeated questions, and eye-rolls: the sure signs your team doesn’t have a shared mental model yet.

    Written by

    Tom Vogel

    Active Reserve Leadership
  • The Shared Mental Model: Harder to Build Than You Think
    24.06.2026

    The Shared Mental Model: Harder to Build Than You Think

    Everyone thinks they’re on the same page. Almost nobody is. A shared mental model isn’t a meeting or a slide deck; it’s hard mental work.

    Written by

    Tom Vogel

    Crisis Management Entrepreneurship Leadership
  • Why Is Leadership So Difficult?
    22.06.2026

    Why Is Leadership So Difficult?

    If leadership were simple, we wouldn’t need models, training, or leaders at all. Here’s what makes leadership so hard.

    Written by

    Tom Vogel

    Leadership
  • Employed, Elected, or Active Reserve: Switzerland’s Secret
    17.06.2026

    Employed, Elected, or Active Reserve: Switzerland’s Secret

    Employed professionals, elected officials, and active reserve volunteers: Switzerland needs all three to function. Two stories explain why.

    Written by

    Tom Vogel

    Active Reserve
  • Substance Over Form: Stop Wasting Time on the Wrong Things
    15.06.2026

    Substance Over Form: Stop Wasting Time on the Wrong Things

    When people are short of time, why do they do unnecessary things? Three observations from a crisis simulation that apply everywhere.

    Written by

    Tom Vogel

    Crisis Management Leadership
  • Why Enthusiastic Entrepreneurs Are More Successful
    10.06.2026

    Why Enthusiastic Entrepreneurs Are More Successful

    People call me “Mr. Yonder”. This is down to my enthusiasm for my product, my team, and my work, and it’s one of the most powerful sales tools.

    Written by

    Tom Vogel

    Entrepreneurship Leadership
  • Stop Whining. Suffering Is Part of Entrepreneurship
    08.06.2026

    Stop Whining. Suffering Is Part of Entrepreneurship

    Lost deals, silent prospects, churning customers, and outages on your wife’s birthday. Suffering is part of entrepreneurship. Here’s how to keep going.

    Written by

    Tom Vogel

    Entrepreneurship
  • The World Is Changing Faster Than Your Business Plan
    03.06.2026

    The World Is Changing Faster Than Your Business Plan

    Geopolitics disrupts travel. Energy disrupts costs. AI disrupts jobs. Here’s how entrepreneurs turn all three into opportunity.

    Written by

    Tom Vogel

    Entrepreneurship
  • ISO 27001 Certification: Check. Maintenance: Good Luck
    01.06.2026

    ISO 27001 Certification: Check. Maintenance: Good Luck

    The audit is one day. The maintenance is 365. Here’s what startups get wrong after their ISO 27001 certification, and how to fix it.

    Written by

    Tom Vogel

    Digital Transformation Entrepreneurship
  • Why Escalation Is Every Entrepreneur’s Worst Move
    27.05.2026

    Why Escalation Is Every Entrepreneur’s Worst Move

    Q told Bond always to have an escape plan. For entrepreneurs, the best escape plan is avoiding escalation beyond what can be repaired.

    Written by

    Tom Vogel

    Entrepreneurship Leadership
  • Out-of-Office Replies Are Making You Obsolete
    25.05.2026

    Out-of-Office Replies Are Making You Obsolete

    Out-of-office replies feel harmless. But chain enough of them together and you’ve just killed a deal, a project, or your own career.

    Written by

    Tom Vogel

    Entrepreneurship Leadership
  • Stop Budgeting Like a Consumer. Forecast Like an Entrepreneur
    21.05.2026

    Stop Budgeting Like a Consumer. Forecast Like an Entrepreneur

    Entrepreneurs run rolling cashflow forecasts to spot trouble years ahead. I applied the same model to private budgeting.

    Written by

    Tom Vogel

    Entrepreneurship
  • Your Business Doesn’t Matter. The Universe Said So
    20.05.2026

    Your Business Doesn’t Matter. The Universe Said So

    In cosmic terms, your startup is invisible. That’s not depressing — it’s the most liberating thing an entrepreneur can hear.

    Written by

    Tom Vogel

    Entrepreneurship Leadership
  • You Took Investor Funding. How Do You Get Out Again?
    18.05.2026

    You Took Investor Funding. How Do You Get Out Again?

    Two co-founders asked me an important question over a beer: “How do we ever get out of investor funding again?” Here are some of my answers.

    Written by

    Tom Vogel

    Entrepreneurship
  • Tactical Terms: How To Turn Vague Discussions Into Action
    13.05.2026

    Tactical Terms: How To Turn Vague Discussions Into Action

    “Let’s discuss it” is not a plan. “I need to think about it” is not progress. The military concept of tactical terms changes everything.

    Written by

    Tom Vogel

    Active Reserve Leadership
  • AI Takes Your Meeting Notes. But Who Reads Them?
    11.05.2026

    AI Takes Your Meeting Notes. But Who Reads Them?

    AI meeting notes feel productive. But the decisions that matter are taken in bar conversations or spontaneous calls, not in formal meetings.

    Written by

    Tom Vogel

    Digital Transformation Entrepreneurship
  • Move Fast and Break Things, Or Think First and Win?
    06.05.2026

    Move Fast and Break Things, Or Think First and Win?

    Rushing to build what one customer asks for is a trap. Here’s how taking your time leads to better products and stronger demand.

    Written by

    Tom Vogel

    Entrepreneurship Leadership
  • The Best Entrepreneurs Know When to Slow Down
    04.05.2026

    The Best Entrepreneurs Know When to Slow Down

    Speed is an entrepreneur’s superpower — until it isn’t. Here are 5 situations where slowing down delivers better results.

    Written by

    Tom Vogel

    Entrepreneurship Leadership
  • Only in Switzerland: When Tech Entrepreneurs Meet in a Shooting Range
    29.04.2026

    Only in Switzerland: When Tech Entrepreneurs Meet in a Shooting Range

    An anecdotal insight into three entrepreneurs meeting at a compulsory shooting exercise mandated by the Swiss active reserve system

    Written by

    Tom Vogel

    Active Reserve Entrepreneurship
  • Always On-Call: The Reality for Every Entrepreneur
    27.04.2026

    Always On-Call: The Reality for Every Entrepreneur

    Like parenting, entrepreneurs can’t opt out of crises. Stay calm, always carry your tools, and fix problems wherever you are.

    Written by

    Tom Vogel

    Entrepreneurship
  • The AI Tightrope: Chasing Wonders or Following Pragmatism?
    22.04.2026

    The AI Tightrope: Chasing Wonders or Following Pragmatism?

    Believe it or not, space exploration is a good analogy for AI developments. And like for space exploration, data separates hype from results.

    Written by

    Tom Vogel

    Digital Transformation Entrepreneurship
  • Cut Costs, Boost Sales: The Entrepreneur’s Tightrope
    20.04.2026

    Cut Costs, Boost Sales: The Entrepreneur’s Tightrope

    In good times, business is easy: Demand and investor appetite are soaring. But what about bad times? Entrepreneurs need to walk a tightrope.

    Written by

    Tom Vogel

    Entrepreneurship
  • Stop Testing the Safe Parts of Your Code: A Real-Life Story
    15.04.2026

    Stop Testing the Safe Parts of Your Code: A Real-Life Story

    End-to-end tests miss the fatal errors. You need the annoying testers who ask the dumb questions to find the real risks in your code.

    Written by

    Tom Vogel

    Entrepreneurship Leadership
  • 24 Hours to Fix a Disaster: A True SaaS Recovery Story
    13.04.2026

    24 Hours to Fix a Disaster: A True SaaS Recovery Story

    When a data migration went wrong and wiped production data on a Thursday, our team had one goal: Full SaaS recovery before the weekend.

    Written by

    Tom Vogel

    Crisis Management Entrepreneurship Leadership
  • The World Is Broken. Entrepreneurs Need to Help Fix It.
    08.04.2026

    The World Is Broken. Entrepreneurs Need to Help Fix It.

    Geopolitics, energy shortages, and economic downturns aren’t just news headlines. They’re your business problem, too.

    Written by

    Tom Vogel

    Crisis Management Entrepreneurship Leadership
  • Dirty Rivals, Clean Hands: Why We Never Hit Back
    06.04.2026

    Dirty Rivals, Clean Hands: Why We Never Hit Back

    When rivals spread lies and poach your customers, hitting back feels tempting. Here’s why we resisted, and why you should too.

    Written by

    Tom Vogel

    Entrepreneurship
  • Entrepreneurship in Troubled Times: Don’t Deny, Don’t Delay
    01.04.2026

    Entrepreneurship in Troubled Times: Don’t Deny, Don’t Delay

    What connects an airline pilot in April 2020, a Serbian taxi driver in January 2020, and today’s Iran war? Two survival rules for leaders.

    Written by

    Tom Vogel

    Crisis Management Entrepreneurship Leadership
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About Me

I’m a tech entrepreneur, active reserve officer, and father of three — writing about entrepreneurship, leadership, and crisis management from hard-won experience. No AI, no fluff, no promos. Just plain-text insights for people building and leading under pressure.

When I’m not solving problems, I find clarity in the mountains around Zermatt.

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