CEO & Chairman of WinWeb; Blogger & Author, Angel Investor and Keynote Speaker.
London, United Kingdom
- Current
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- CEO/Chairman at Winweb
- Past
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- CEO/Chairman at Nacamar Group PLC
- Managing Director at ECS Marketing
- Managing Director at tsvk - Control Systems
- Education
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- Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn
- Recommended
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7 people have recommended Stefan - Connections
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147
connections
- Industry
- Information Technology and Services
- Websites
Stefan Töpfer’s Summary
I started my first business while I was still at university and have been doing so ever since, for over 3 decades.
In 1994 I started WinWeb to do what we do now, help home & small business getting online, what I call "Globalization of the Kitchen Table".
From 1995 I built Nacamar Group PLC (today part of Tiscali/The Carphone Warehouse), into one of the biggest ISPs in Europe, which I sold in August 1999 at the peak of the DotCom boom, it was a crazy time.
In 2000 I went back to transform WinWeb and we developed the On-demand Small Business Infrastructure. It is my belief that very small business needs an infrastructure, consisting of on-demand (SaaS) software, live services, expert advice in a timely fashion and all this supported by 24/7 live support.
In 2005 we finished our development and received full accreditation by the Institute of Chartered Accountants for our on-demand accounting software, the first such accreditation ever.
I write about small business on my blog (www.sme-blog.com), a Top 100 Business Blog. My ambition is to drastically decrease the mortality rate of small business, which is almost a horrendous 60 %. Yet Government, tax advisors and other so called experts are unable to change that, something I find completely unacceptable.
Over the years I have been a key-note speaker at different Business Start-Up, Small Business and SaaS events, my usual subject is Small Business Infrastructure. I have always enjoyed meeting other entrepreneurs and discuss their plans for the future - you never stop learning.
Recently I have been successful in motivating large organisations, like Office Depot, to help in my quest to get small businesses started. While helping with the CSR targets of corporations, it creates a real win-win situation for all parties involved.
On a more personal note I love travelling, nature & travel photography, diving and boating.
Stefan Töpfer’s Specialties:
Small Business Infrastructure, Business Planning, Small Business Failure Survival, Business Start-Up, Personal Business, Sole -Trader, Home Business, Mobile Business, Entrepreneur-ship, Self-Employed, Small Office, On-demand Software for Small Business, On-demand Business Services, ISP/ Telco Infrastructure, VoIP - Voice over IP Services, Web Services and Software, Accounting Software, Blogging, Bookkeeping, Virtual Assistant Services.
Stefan Töpfer’s Experience
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CEO/Chairman
Winweb
(Privately Held; Information Technology and Services industry)
May 1994 — Present (15 years 7 months)
The buck stops here!
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CEO/Chairman
Nacamar Group PLC
(Internet industry)
March 1995 — August 1999 (4 years 6 months)
I tried to steer this very fast growing business. Looking back on it, it was an unbelievable ride. The fact is that IMO we had more success with no money, than the current owner (Tiscali) has had with all the funding - we had passion and vision for our business. But to be fair, I took it as far as I could.
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Managing Director
ECS Marketing
(Import and Export industry)
March 1992 — February 1994 (2 years )
We exported and imported industrial goods.
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Managing Director
tsvk - Control Systems
(Computer Hardware industry)
1988 — 1992 (4 years )
Design and manufacture of industrial computer control systems, and early internet applications (email, etc).
Stefan Töpfer’s Education
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Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn
Physics 1980 — 1985
I left before finishing my degree, after my first business partner died unexpectedly, to keep our company going. Job prospects were not so good at the time.
Additional Information
Stefan Töpfer’s Websites:
Stefan Töpfer’s Interests:
Small Business Issues, New Technology, Nanotechnology, Theoretical Physics, Diving, Nature & Travel Photography, Travel, Boating (motor & sail)
Stefan Töpfer’s Contact Settings
Interested In:
- new ventures
- job inquiries
- expertise requests
- business deals
- reference requests
- getting back in touch
