Community of Cultivators: Edition 57

Here at GCUC we are immensely fortunate to cross paths and work with so many amazing people. Through our work, we’ve cultivated a global community of people we think you should know about.

Community of Cultivators is a blog series we created to introduce you to coworking game changers and connectors. Each month, we’ll release new interviews that we hope inform and inspire you.

This week we interviewed Henning Volkmer, President and CEO of ThinPrint. Henning drives the execution of ThinPrint Inc.’s strategy across the Americas as an expert in print management. He has a well established technological background and has been at the forefront of technology trends for more than two decades. Originally from Berlin, Germany, Volkmer currently resides in Denver, Colorado. If you were at GCUC NA in New York, you likely met him.

Keep reading to get to know Henning!

What in your life are you most proud of cultivating or creating? Why?

That’s an easy one. As much as I am happy to be by myself, I value meaningful, lasting relationships with true friends. It’s enjoyable to share the good times with others and offer help or ask for help when someone needs something. We can accomplish plenty of things by ourselves, but there are so many more when we do things with friends. And celebrating is never as much fun as it is with people we value deeply.

What podcast would you recommend to others and why?

“99% Invisible” because it has an amusing way of highlighting the things around that made modern life possible, safe and enjoyable but are usually taken for granted. Every episode is an exciting discovery of detail in the world around us that makes being out in the world more interesting as I notice some of the things I heard about on the podcast.

What is one piece of advice you give everyone that works with and/or for you?

You can do it! Ask for advice, take a look at the vast written knowledge of the internet, watch a video and try. Of course, there’s a good chance you will fail on the first attempt, but if you learn to stay with the problem, regroup, research again, try again, and maybe again, you will open all kinds of doors for yourself that will lead to much more significant accomplishments than you ever expected. And your computer or phone will never get the best of you ever again.

If you had $500 to spend- what would you buy?

See if there’s anything you can think of that would make someone in your life much happier than anything you can think of doing for yourself. If nothing comes to mind or if it’s simply your turn: Go somewhere, experience something new.

What advice would you give to someone thinking of becoming an entrepreneur?

Listen to your customers and learn to distinguish between things they ask and are willing to pay your asking price that makes for a viable product and things they ask but refuse to value appropriately. It is easy to get lost in a sea of requests, and you need to filter what is good for your business and what is not. The better you understand your customer’s use cases and the closer your relationship is, the easier it is to build valuable partnerships. You never want to be in the position of just being a supplier that gets replaced when a cheaper offer comes along.

If you had to put a quote on your gravestone what would it be

He didn’t even try to live forever but it was a good attempt.