Tobias Steffen

LE4F.AGENCY

AGENCY MANAGER

We shape brands through web design, strategy, and storytelling. Navigating the digital landscape with a balance between consistency and trend awareness.

ZIMMERFRISCH

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Our mission at Zimmerfrisch is to enhance hotel cleanliness with our bespoke app while pursuing high ethical standards for the better..

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Business Development, Ethical Sales, Artificial Intelligence, Automation, Webdesign, Coding, Blockchain

working with teams at

Some Projects

My STory

Childhood
and Youth

Growing up in a rural area in the south of the German state Brandenburg, I was rather known as the kid who listened to metal, wore black clothes, preferred to play PC games instead of roaming the streets with friends and hence, was sometimes considered "slightly" off. My tendency towards daydreaming caused me some difficulty to pay attention to things that didn’t meet my interests - And as a result, I barely completed the 10th grade.

Insight: Don't unlearn the joy of simple things and maintain your curiosity. If you don't fit into a stereotype and people laugh at you, try your best not to give a fuck. It's likely that you're wired a bit differently and your current environment isn't the healthiest to further evolve your personality.

2009 - 2015
No perspectives

Post-graduation, I found myself working in a range of different jobs to make ends meet

These ranged from being stuck at a conveyor belt in a fish canning factory, providing phone support as a call centre agent, and even demolishing walls and ceilings in the construction industry
(Surprisingly: I actually found this to be a fun and rewarding workout!).

However, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was limited in these roles, and found myself more and more frustrated with the lack of progress and the superficiality in how people treated each other.

Honestly speaking: Life was far from a breeze - Both, from a job and personal perspective.

Insight: Life is cruel by nature, there is always something lurking around the corner that wants to slap you in the face. Accept these bad situations as best as possible. The second time you encounter a similar one, it might not even bother you at all. Become resilient.

2016 - 2018
Experimenting

The first job I really enjoyed and where things tipped in another direction was when I started to work in the event industry as a freelancer doing the groundwork to set up conventions and concerts. Although the work was extremely demanding physically, it was also a great opportunity to learn much more about how team dynamics work. Every gig was a new experience with a different location, unpredictable scope, and ever-changing crew.

This forced us to work together under pressure to enable each one of us to perform in their roles. At some point (and for some reason), I began to work at tech events and imagined myself as an attende rather than standing behind the stage, waiting for de-assembling everything once it's over. I think this is what triggered me to double down on other ends and close my "purpose gap".

Insight: People, people, people! You will face jobs and situations that are truly bone crushers but the right team will cast the right energy to make this temporary hell something fun.

2018 - 2020
Commiting

So in summer 2018, I made a fast but big decision to get rid of all my belongings to move to my former partner and live with her in a room of 8m² in a shared apartment alongside other people. It sounds horrible but wasn't actually too bad. In the end, I'm unbelievably grateful for these years.

Despite the cramped living conditions, I felt 110% committed to finally turn my lifelong daydreams into something real and tangible.

Driven by the desire to bring my ideas to life and the urge to create, I found myself spending countless hours learning design, digital communication and code, attending or organising meet-ups while networking with strangers from the internet and starting projects that turned from being a small venture into ultra-complex setups over the years.

Insight: If you face the situation in not having financial stability, try to make a game out of it. Get rid of material things, lower your standard as much as possible. Decreasing spendings is, in theory, easier then earning more with a regular job. You will find yourself in a situation where you can lower your working hours and fill the gap with learning and experimenting around on new things.

2021
Experiencing Results

2021 was just crazy. The word "Lockdown" became the best excuse not leaving the apartment to keep focus on keeping up with the global digitalisaztion efforts the pandemic just caused. At some point past decisions materialized and project volumes went ad absurdum for my brain. This was the first time in my life where I was thinking "wtf, is this all true?"

Insight: Enjoy the trip rather than forcing specific things to happen. Otherwise you might run out of energy before you gained enough momentum.

2022 - 2023
Agency Business

With a some resources and even bigger dreams, I just felt like and made my first hires. I'd always been good at keeping myself on track, but leading a team of around a dozen? That was a whole new ballgame, especially in the high-performance field of agency business. It felt like stepping into a time machine set on fast forward. Probably I aged a decade, both physically and mentally, in just a short span of time.

Insight: More people doesn't necessarily produce gradually more outcome. Communication and translation friction is a real thing and should be taken into account for each project. Do you really want to build that next huge organization or do you prefer to stay distributed?

Present

Today and with a lot of reflection, I’m on a journey that has evolved from the initial spark of an idea in 2018 to my lifework. It has become the foundation for turning "strangers" into colleagues, partners and (most importantly) friends who all strive for the same mission: To explore, discover, and create to leave a unique footprint together.

Having my agency run seperately from personal ambitions supports the team in taking ownership by shaping it collectively - while allowing me to gradually step back from daily operation and doing other things without the need to match with the companies brand, workflows and service offerings.

Insight: Stay authentic and don't take yourself too serious - even in a corporate enviroment. Character might be one of the few things that can't be replaced some day. So, be happy when your first impression is pissing off people as this is the best protection for your sanity.

My Values

Inclusivity

Tolerance

Authenticity

Ambitions

Inclusivity

Tolerance

Authenticity

Ambitions

Inclusivity

Tolerance

Authenticity

Inclusivity

Tolerance

Ambitions

Authenticity

Looking For someone To Create With you?

Let's connect and have some chat about your vision and on how I might help you and your team.

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