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AskBrian is the Digital Assistant All Busy Professionals Need — Founder Interview

Updated: 20 hours ago

This story was migrated from our old blog, originally published on January 13th, 2022.

What Is This About?

AskBrian is a digital assistant designed for busy professionals who need research, presentations, and data analysis done fast. This first episode in a dedicated series explores how the AI-powered service handles tasks that would normally take hours — delivering results in minutes for consultants and executives.

Executive Summary

  • This story was migrated from our old blog, originally published on January 13th, 2022.

  • This blog post first appeared first on old medium publication (https://medium.

  • The best way to identify investors and cooperation partners for early-stage startups.

  • This is the first interview in our series with the KI Bundesverband (https://ki-verband.

  • Our interview guest this week is Pavol (https://www.


In this episode of Startuprad.io, host Jörn "Joe" Menninger sits down with the founder of AskBrian to explore how this DACH-based startup is tackling real market challenges. From early-stage hustle to scaling strategy, this founder interview dives deep into what it takes to build a startup in the German-speaking ecosystem.

This story was migrated from our old blog, originally published on January 13th, 2022.

If you can order a pizza with an AI bot, … you should also be able to order the analysis of a company with an AI bot.Pavol Sikula, Founder and CEO AskBrian.ai


New Blog

This blog post first appeared first on old medium publication (https://medium.com/startuprad-io), and was moved to this blog with the relaunch of our website in summer 2024.


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The first skill was actually “AskBrian, tell me a joke”Pavol Sikula, Founder and CEO AskBrian.ai

Our Cooperation with the German AI Association (KI Bundesverband)

This is the first interview in our series with the KI Bundesverband (https://ki-verband.de/en/), Germany’s association for artificial intelligence. The association has 350 members consisting of startups, experts, and corporates. KI Bundesverband is therefore one of Germany’s largest associations dedicated to AI, with members from AgTech, Fintech, BioTech, Cybersecurity, Manufacturing, Logistics, and many more fields of business. In the interview series, we will have members of the association giving you a glimpse in what is going on in AI in Germany.


The Founder

Our interview guest this week is Pavol (https://www.linkedin.com/in/pavol-sikula/), CEO and Founder of AskBrian (https://www.askbrian.ai/) a virtual AI assistant for professionals. The idea of AskBrian stems from Pavol’s background in management consulting, where he spent more than a decade with Roland Berger and Stern Steward & Co, in restructuring. In his spare time, Pavol is also a kid’s soccer coach.

All of our data is securely hosted, GDPR compliant, in Germany.Pavol Sikula, Founder and CEO AskBrian.ai

The Startup

AskBrian is the AI assistant for busy professionals like management consultants or investment bankers. It helps by automating everyday tasks like listed and private company profiles, translations in multiple languages, making PowerPoint more attractive, and converting documents e.g. PDFs and Pictures to the format of your choice e.g. Word.


Venture Capital Funding

AskBrian closed already two funding rounds, for undisclosed amounts. They intend to raise another funding round in Q1 2022.


The Video Interview is set to go live on Thursday, January 13th, 2022 at 17.00 CET in Frankfurt



The Audio Interview Podcast

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The Interviewer

This interview was conducted by Jörn “Joe” Menninger, startup scout, founder, and host of Startuprad.io. Reach out to him:LinkedInTwitterEmail


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Automated Transcript


[0:00] Startup Red Dot IO.


[0:09] Your podcast and YouTube blog covering the German startups.


[0:14] With News interviews and Live Events hello and welcome everybody this is Joe from startuprad.iocure startup podcast and YouTube look from Germany welcome to 2022 happy New Year guys and it sounds a little bit strange since we are recording this in November20:21.Nonetheless I do have a guest here but before that I wish you all the best for the new year it can only get better than the last one that’s it.Pavel how you did Hey Joe thank you for having me first of all and Happy New Year to all of you I’m very good at for you alsoI’m doing great thank you we have to tell the audience this is kind of ourkick-off since we’re doing a new series with kathi bundesverband which literally means the German a is Association and you are all fruitindividuals and we thought it would be good start to kick off the new year with that content so I’d like to welcome you.And welcome the a cottony bundesverband the German AI Association on board.After we’ve cleared that out of the way I’ve been looking through your LinkedIn profile as I always do and I realize you’ve been.


[1:37] Doing quite a lot,including being a soccer coach which I found pretty interesting you studied with a master in international finance I do believe you arrived here in Germany and I.Seen pretty hard stuff you didtaxes tax advisory and auditing not a fun job but take us a little bit to your journey and what do you learned in how did you end up with an AI starter because I do believe from international finance.And taxes it’s quite long stretch to our Let’s do an AI startup how did this happen,it’s greater the journey and I fully understand the question and I’m happy to tell you about my basic story but it’s probably easier explained that it maybe soundsso my The crucial part in my career was that I’ve been for 15 yearsin top management consulting a Dragon Dragons Den Stuart both in Munich both focusing on the restructuring and cost optimization programsand this is also where my journey with Brian started so I’ve seenin the life of management consultants and also incorporate headquarters of large and medium corporations.There is so much time and talent wasted with recurring non-core tasks nobody really likes to do.


[3:01] And there are usually Technologies and data sources out there being able to help you with this task.But the people often don’t know this solutions cannot afford them.Or just don’t trust them because of that the security issues and this is this was the triggering point for me starting to automate.Multiple tasks of business professionals.


[3:24] In a creative and completely new way so this is this is basically the story I can elaborate about my aha moment a little bit more,for everybody who doesn’t know German we may translate the aha moment meaning that is the moment he got the inside like oh now I got that interview we say aha.So exactly and this the inside moment was when I’ve been working with my colleagues on a proposal for a Consulting project.


[3:56] And we’ve been working on the on the document and we have just only few hours left it was already at night and we needed a case study for theattachment of the of the proposal and then that it came but it was perfect but in the wrong language and the question was who has the passion and time to translate few slides at night for a proposal which needs to go out.Next next day means translating your from German to English.And of course you could spend hours with it or you could do copy paste copy paste to a machine translation webpage.And then I thought come on this is such a stupid task to do copy paste copy paste website plus is omelettes and secure.Why don’t you buy and why don’t you build an assistant which knows the best digital services.Combines them and make them available to his users and the idea was to create this kind of digital assistant,for business related tasks of business professionals.


[4:58] This was the idea and then I started experimenting with different different Technologies and the idea was really to use the both technology as the core technology behind where I thought if you canask but to deliver you a pizza with salami and mushrooms you can also ordertranslation of a document conversion of a document or the analysis of a company and this was the idea where I started to build up.


[5:29] Just one question in which language was the case study.The case that he was originally in German and target language was in English if I reckon I remember right in this was already end of 2017 so sometimes left that you do this translations all the time yeah.Yes that can tell you a few stories about this in a few nights wasted on that.This is especially if you talk to somebody the next morning who then says oh yeah I get the whole picture taking German he would meet.


[5:59] Yeah yeah yeah it’s great to have this situation all the time also when the project runs and then you need to talk with so let me translate this at one point in the future there will be a smart speaker with askbrian on it.And it will be in every office of professionals investment bankers consultants and they say askbrian translate me this is this,your vision.


[6:24] So it’s not my vision it’s reality and just of only one difference is that the brand doesn’t work like Alexa and Siri via audio so he works,in written language so you can write him an email or Microsoft teams message and asking him for translating the document on analyzing a company.And it’s not in the future it’s right now so these are the two different.But my idea and my vision is that Brian in the future will not be only able to perform 20 tasks like he is today.But there will be probably much much more including some some customized solutions for big corporate I see and.


[7:06] It would have been just great to have this smart speaker but then I can seereally a lot of things going on stupid jokes going wrong in the office for example askbrian deliver 100 coffees to this address,yeah of course this is also use case we can think of so you’re still thinking about the smart speaker okay I see it.


[7:35] Yeah the problem is you know job in smart speaker is you can say translate the presentation from English to German that’s this still somehow need to deliver the presentation the basis for it right for some use cases it makes no sense but you could of course askbrian,the smart speaker if it doesn’t disturb your colleagues,hey send me the analysis of Siemens and Brian knows your email and your Ms teams ID and send you the presentation without you,typing it down yeah of course some use cases would work also on Via audio hahahaI already have a lot of stupid ideas there but basically you’re doing this for professionals who,are repeatedly repeatedly repeatedly doing the same stuff out as we’ve been talking for example here in Germany translating German English English German.Maybe in other countries translating French English English French I don’t think there is a big need for German presentation in France and and.This stuff like this company profiles and that’s.Askbrian actually make up the stuff as it goes or do you really have like a bigdatabase of let’s say copper profiles of translation or you’re working with some other translation software in the back.


[8:56] So regarding the translations maybe to undress this is our clients are also International corporations we which need stuff translated in all the languages of the subsidiary sothis is also common use case where HR and marketing departments translate training documents and.Product documentation is in other languages when it comes to the company analysis we really started like scraping the.Beta out of the internet but the quality was that bad that we said we just even though we invested months of development time into it we said we just cannot give or make this skill available in this quality to our users,so we negotiated the big big big data providersand found an agreement with Revenue David Thomson Reuters where Brian gets the information on all publicly traded companies around the worldand we have also a data provider for German companies for 4 million German companies,and negotiating with other partners to complete the scope that one day brand will be able to deliver the data on all approximately 400 million companies around the world.


[10:04] I see that that would be actually great.What else can ask Ryan do because I do see a pretty big use case for late at night.Let’s say assume it’s a smart speaker again and you’re sitting there at 2:00 a.m. all the team is tired but still needs to work a little bit and the the somebody says askbrian tell us a joke,in fact jokes it was the first skill even me as non Tech person was able to build so the first interaction of Brian was tell me joke and he told you a joke soas of now it’s not one of the skills we promote but you can always ask Brian for a joke.And so if you look at how our customers are currently using brand it.


[10:54] Leading scale is translation second one is the company there is this third one our slide Graphics because sometimes you need.Cool templates and icons to pimp up your presentation to make it more attractive,and you would you probably know yourself how much time you sometimes lose with this kind of annoying stuff that nobody notices and realizes when it’s done properly.And number for skill would be converting of documents that means,converting PDF documents no matter if natively created or scanned or photographed ineditable formats into Excel word and PowerPoint you just send a PDF document to Brian say hey make me work out of it and in three minutes you get your document backso I believe a coolcool feature as also incorporates in the office worse sometimes the Departments and you PDF documents instead of editable ones so you cannot use it and Brian Kenny help you to convert itvideo in 3 minutes or faster into a format you can work with.


[12:01] Aha but only information I was missing here at what number is the tell me a joke and what yeahso you’d remember come to call or how do you know know and number four number one it’s not that frequent we don’t push it at that sometimes people ask for it I don’t know it would be number20 so it looks like the job is funny enough for the people are too busy for jokes I assume they’re too busy but still let’s assume it’s in the top 20.


[12:31] Yeah that’s that would be that’s definitely the case okay that is what you guys are right now doing so basically I assume your companyheadquartered in Germany and everything the AI does is also here on service in Germany talking about data security especially if you are in a really competitive environment like Consulting you’re always concernedwhere is my data and can competitive potentially Agate see dead.Yeah so usually the first question when we present brightness does it really work and the cool thing is everyone can try it immediately if you go to our website you can try the immediatelyand you can see directlyafter you register for the free trial that it’s Works without any download or something now so and really the second question we are always asked iswhat about data security and privacy so all our infrastructure is is hosted in Germany and we have also an external gdpr.Agency making sure that we are gdpr compliant and it’s all secure and confident what we do.One of the aspects is also that if our users share their files and content with us,we just save it for the time of processing the task and then delete it after.


[13:52] So that means we have very rigorous processes in this field because as you said also our clients process sensitive information with Brian and remake it.Absolute secure place.


[14:06] I see a my next question would have been then if somebody moves from company a to Company B how much can they actually transfer of their account.


[14:16] So what we usually have is that you can buy brand as an individual then it’s related to your email address your private email address or your work email address and then it stays always with you.And the second business model we have is that we say.


[14:32] Brian answer all the questions from gets Partners come or all the questions from vcg calm yeah and then Brian answers all the.Emails coming from new employees.As long as they have the email account and if you want to take your account with you then just let us know and we are happy to win a new customer I see a CCC so.That is the status right now basically you have a handful of skills and they tailored towards busy professionals.And the you do it mostly.In written form and what what are you currently working on right now is it.


[15:20] Increasing the skills to get deeper into your audience your Target customer or is it to broaden your customer base with what you already have.


[15:33] So in fact we are extending Brian basically in 33 Direction it’s the skill set so we are continuing to add new skillsright so not just improving the existing skills like adding additional countries in the scope of company information brand provides but it’s also adding new skillswhich will be valued by our current Target groups but also others for example transcribing audio recordings into text.In automated way where you just Center your iPhone recording to Brian’s and they make me work out of it.So this will be our tie current Target group like but also some other Target group so also adding new skills mean extending our Target group.And then also in terms of regions as of now we very much focus on Germany Austria Switzerland you could say but Brian is ready for Global rolled out because he can translate for example to 100 languages yeah so he’s basically ready to go out.


[16:33] And and then we are extending Brian he’s also in a sense that as of now you can communicate with Gran Via email teams.And we are working also then on slack as the next Communication channel because we want to have Brian where work-related communication happens.And we don’t want to make it too complicated for the user to have an extra appextra website and so on you just don’t need nothing you just need the email address right into email to brine or a slack Channel and then you can get the help of Brian sochannels skills Target cups.


[17:09] That sounds pretty much like you need a lot of money I currently have an investor looking for investors or are you guys bootstrap.


[17:20] So this is a cool question so we started by bootstrapping but we see seeing them there if we want to buy and include good data and growth rapidly we need external funds so we have.Now already to investment rounds behind us all the private investors on ovc involved and we are searching for the.Investors for the next financing round maybe in the beginning of Q2 2022.That pretty much sounds like it’s a series a or Series be already.


[17:52] I know I would say so I guess you said it so it’s probably late seat and early serious a.Early series aici q1 2022everybody who would like to reach out to you of course as always there is a link down in the show notes wherever you are listening to this or watching this and then you can get to the block.All of our of our episode the very simple reason is.As well in YouTube as in all the podcasting apps we are limited to I do believe 4,000 characters and that’s not sufficient for our show notes,that’s why we keep it in one place and their people can reach out to you can you tell usa little bit about your experiences with AI and askbrian because I’ve once watched a little bit TV and there was a I trained by the US military where it was supposed to spot.Ratted tanks in the woods but all all the pictures of the trees without tanks.With during sunny weather and everything with the tank was during cloudy weather so actually day I learn to differentiate between trees.When it’s sunny and when it’s cloudy did if you’re also have something happen like this.


[19:16] So you talk about those shortfalls of certain training.Training data you use for I know the example of involves right so usually the snow and my trees on a,bitter means there is evolved even though there is no wolf yes I know this problem as well and in fact,it’s like like AI technology is progressing but maybe to give you an idea we are having a look at at multiple AI Technologies.And selecting only a few of them being ready to really help you in business life so I would say maybe one in 10 Solutions were deliver what they promise on a sufficient level.And this is also a big part of what we do we find the Technologies which work and include them in Brian in a simple to use.Integrated interface so for example also converting PDF documents using optical character recognitioninto editable formatting so we have tried multiple Technologies and fifty thousand of the best ones and my experiences we know how often Brian is wrong how often he is right and we keep on improving ithim and it’s all right just managing expectations and I know there is a huge Variety in the expectations of our users somethingyou need to see.


[20:37] The stick with the default formulation we proposed for translating files but some right hey Brian I hope you are doing a having a great day,it would be great if you could help me by translating this presentation into English and please don’t mind no problem if it’s within two hoursso sometimes the people have these expectations and expectations and sometimes the people think Brian is the firstbrain which can help you with any task you can imagine of so there is a lot of expectation management work we have to do but the amazing thing is that a is developing extremely rapidly and I think this is also a advantage of prime thatwe helped the to close the gap between the stupid work you need to do at work and make the best Technologies which really work availableat your fingertips,I see a city and I hope the answer was was not too too too long to bake and I know that that that’s totally fine when I’m thinking what are you guys doing it sounds like you have a tag team of like 100 people in the basement sittingyeah it’s great that the perception is like this so that means I’m selling it right no we are a very small team of 5 plus 10 people so we have five full-time and ten part-timer running the whole company.ICC that also sounds like you’re always interested in talking to talented coders.


[22:02] We have currently yes fans we are all searching for you do persons but until the next financing Round We Are.Perfectly happy so I haven’t say that then half of our resources is taken house is all others and of course then after the next financing round we will search for more talent in both areas so so so so Business Development andTech because we want to accelerate the growth of brain in terms of skillsand and his capabilities and available Theory via multiple channels.


[22:36] Ha ha ha I see see see and that that also sounds like you you’re going to extend offices like for example to North America and get trains running there.


[22:48] So the big plan is until the end of 25 we want to have 1 million users and to get there we probably need to go Global answerwe are starting here in Germany in fact we are a post Corona company so we don’t have a really a physical fit so we work as a remote team.But yes in the plan in order to make it work I believe you will need locations and yes us has a huge Market,we have in mind I see a sea and what when you said a 2025 One Mini customers what came to mind is the comic Pinky and brain,what we going to do tonight brain the same as every night pinky something world I love those too yeah can askbrian also do a pinky and brainBrian De brand sounds a little bit like like the the friend of pink here yeah that there will be a skill I would request at random intervals it’s just said longer the world how about yeahit was just a pleasure talking to you.Thank you very much I have a lot of fun and fortunately you won’t be the last person in our cooperation with the AI with the German AI Association and,thank you very much best of luck and let us know how you guys doing thank you Joe it was my pleasure and fun yeah.


[24:16] Music.


[24:24] Www dot start a friend that I oh remember sharing is caring.


[24:30] Music.


What Is AskBrian?

AskBrian is an AI-powered digital assistant designed for busy professionals. Founded by Pavol, the company applies the logic that if you can order a pizza with an AI bot, you should be able to handle professional tasks the same way. This is the first interview in Startuprad.io's series with the KI Bundesverband (German AI Association), highlighting Germany's growing AI startup ecosystem.

Introduction

Originally published January 13th, 2022, this interview launches Startuprad.io's series with the KI Bundesverband (German AI Association). The guest is Pavol, founder of AskBrian, an AI digital assistant for professionals. AskBrian's premise is compelling: if AI can handle consumer tasks like ordering pizza, it should be able to assist professionals with their daily work. The partnership with KI Bundesverband signals the growing maturity of Germany's AI startup ecosystem.

Executive Summary

AskBrian represents the application of AI to professional productivity — a digital assistant that automates tasks for busy professionals. Founded by Pavol, the company is part of the KI Bundesverband (German AI Association), positioning it within Germany's organized AI ecosystem. This interview inaugurates Startuprad.io's partnership series with KI Bundesverband, providing a platform for German AI startups to reach an international audience.

Key Takeaways

  • AskBrian is an AI-powered digital assistant helping busy professionals automate tasks and boost productivity.

  • This is the first interview in Startuprad.io's series with KI Bundesverband (German AI Association).

  • Founder Pavol built AskBrian on the premise that AI should handle professional tasks as easily as consumer ones.

  • The KI Bundesverband partnership highlights the organized growth of Germany's AI startup ecosystem.

Atomic Answer

Entities Referenced in This Episode

  • Pavol — Founder of AskBrian

  • AskBrian — AI digital assistant for professionals

  • KI Bundesverband (German AI Association) — Series partner

  • Topics: AI assistant, professional productivity, German AI ecosystem, KI Bundesverband, automation

Quote Highlights

  • AskBrian is the AI assistant for busy professionals like management consultants or investment bankers, automating everyday tasks like company profiles, translations, and document conversions.

  • AskBrian closed already two funding rounds for undisclosed amounts, with plans to raise another funding round in Q1 2022.

  • This is the first episode in a dedicated series exploring how the AI-powered service handles tasks that would normally take hours, delivering results in minutes.

  • The DACH-based startup tackles real market challenges, from early-stage hustle to scaling strategy in the German, Austrian, and Swiss startup ecosystem.

Related Episodes on Startuprad.io

Relationship Map

  • Jörn "Joe" Menninger → Host of → Startuprad.io

Partner with Startuprad.io

Startuprad.io is the leading independent media platform covering startups, venture capital, and innovation across the DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) and Europe. We offer B2B partnership opportunities for companies looking to reach startup decision-makers, founders, and investors.

Subscribe to the Podcast

Frequently Asked Questions

What is AskBrian and what does it do?

AskBrian is an AI-powered digital assistant designed for busy professionals. It automates routine tasks, allowing professionals to focus on higher-value work — applying the same AI convenience consumers enjoy (like ordering food) to the professional context.

Who is The KI Bundesverband and what is their role?

The KI Bundesverband is the German AI Association, an industry organization representing AI companies and startups in Germany. Startuprad.io partnered with them for a series of interviews profiling member companies.

Access Europe's Startup and Technology Decision Makers

This article is part of Startuprad.io's structured coverage of the European startup ecosystem, with deep editorial roots in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The platform reaches a highly targeted audience of founders, operators, and investors — over 90% of whom are based in Europe. Companies partner with Startuprad.io to gain visibility within this ecosystem and build credibility where business decisions are made. Explore partnership opportunities.

About the Host

Joern "Joe" Menninger is the host of the Startuprad.io podcast and covers founders, investors, and policy developments across the DACH startup ecosystem. Through more than 1,300 interviews and nearly a decade of reporting, he documents the evolution of the European startup landscape. Follow Joern on LinkedIn.

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