Yessica Klein
8 min read
09 November 2025
David Schneider’s journey from a small village near Frankfurt to expanding Qualifyze to three different countries might look linear from the outside, but it involved a decade of experience working in investment banking, Fortune 500 companies and at McKinsey as a management consultant as well as juggling a PhD in information systems at the Technical University of Darmstadt, navigating funding pressure and making early product pivots. Originally, Qualifyze was a B2B marketplace for chemicals (then called ChemSquare), but David learned that the bigger problem was verifying whether suppliers met quality and regulatory requirements. So Qualifyze became a startup revolutionizing pharmaceutical supply-chain compliance, evolving from simplifying GxP audits to providing AI-driven predictive insights and a vast database of supplier knowledge to enhance supply-chain transparency and reduce risks for over 1,400 pharmaceutical companies worldwide.
How did you end up launching Qualifyze in Frankfurt?
I had started my PhD in the nearby city of Darmstadt, and I realized that Frankfurt was the right place for my startup mostly for personal reasons. My wife and I needed stability for our family, and I also had access to the technical talent I needed from the Technical University of Darmstadt. The first software engineers were local, though we eventually opened an office in Barcelona for access to a broader and more attractive talent base.
How did you manage to launch Qualifyze while finishing your PhD and starting a family?
It was extremely challenging. I underestimated the workload of doing both. I quit my job at McKinsey to focus on the startup. My wife and I agreed that if, within one year, I couldn’t pay myself at least a minimum salary, then I would have to stop working on Qualifyze and find another job. The first one and a half years were particularly tough because we were figuring out our business model while juggling uncertainty at home. But perseverance, a clear goal and support from my family helped me push through.
How did you handle uncertainty and high-pressure decision-making?
Execution is key. Decisions need to be made quickly, even without perfect data. People are the most important asset; you need the right team around you. Most decisions are two-way doors and cheap to reverse. In the early days, the speed of decision-making outweighs the quality. Empower your team, they will then feel accountable and correct the decisions if needed.
I learned that ego can hinder progress, but transparency allows your team to move faster and make better decisions collectively. Always focus on what the business truly needs, not just what you enjoy doing.
How did you meet your cofounder?
By chance, through an introduction from a CEO I had initially approached for investment. He passed my details to his chief of staff, who eventually became my cofounder. Interestingly, he lived with me and my family for a while which made the early days of the startup quite intense but also very collaborative. Unfortunately, he's no longer part of Qualifyze after experiencing burnout.
“Europe has the ingredients for success; it just requires founders to navigate complexity strategically.”
What are the biggest lessons from your journey so far?
Things always take longer than you think – that's number one. Then I would say you’re never focused enough. You think you’re focused, but you’re not. That’s number two. And people are by far the most important item. It’s always the people, always. This is something that has become very important for us at Qualifyze.
Finally, be very clear on how you measure success and on what you’re actually optimizing for. Related to that: make decisions often. In the beginning, you won’t have all the data you need to make all the right decisions, so you tend not to make a decision – you wait and wait for the data to come – but that doesn’t happen. The faster you make a decision, the more determined you become in the execution.
What makes Frankfurt a good (or challenging) place to build a startup?
Frankfurt and its surroundings are convenient and livable, especially for families. It’s a small, well-connected city with nature nearby and a strong professional network. But the founder mindset isn’t as common here. Many people come for jobs, not to start companies. The talent pool is good but limited, so scaling a tech company locally can be tough. Investors, accelerators and a bigger talent ecosystem are more concentrated in Berlin, Munich or London, which means early fundraising often happens elsewhere.
How do you see the European ecosystem for founders?
Europe has everything in place to build great companies, but you need access to the right talent. The number one priority – going back to what I said earlier – is people. Having access to the right people is key. To me, this means that Europe needs to be a livable place, right? People want to come to Europe, but it has to be easy for European companies to hire and to motivate the right talent. Being able to hire internationally and do this easily without any risk, that’s still a big priority.
Europe is also a bit more reactive compared to the US. There are lots of regulations, which increases decision-making complexity, and the markets are smaller. For example, if you start in Germany, you quickly have to expand to Italy, the UK or France. That accelerates your development and forces you to think internationally early.
Access to early-stage investors is actually strong. I don’t believe the lack of capital is the reason Europe doesn’t produce more unicorns; it’s more about mindset and the complexity of building a business here. But once you’ve built a strong company, you can get funding both in Europe and elsewhere.
“I completely underestimated my workload. When you start a company, it takes up everything. It was a very challenging time.”