From the lecture hall to a chain of restaurants

Philipp Selzle, founder of the smart food chain “Kaspar Schmauser”, about his time at FAU, his business idea and lots of post-its.

He currently runs five restaurants in Nuremberg, Erlangen, Fürth and Leipzig, with plans for three more already in the pipeline: FAU-alumnus Philipp Selzle is one of the founding members and managing director of “Kaspar Schmauser” – a vegan restaurant chain focused on healthy eating. In our interview, the entrepreneur explains how he successfully gained a foothold on the food market and why he is so happy to return to FAU.

Mr. Selzle, can you tell us a little about the start-up process behind “Kaspar Schmauser”?

We wrote down everything you need to open a restaurant or establish a whole chain of restaurants on post-it notes. We ended up with roughly 500 little yellow, orange and blue notes. And then minute by minute it became clearer what we were doing and how we were going to do it.

What is your company philosophy?

We want the guests who come to our restaurants to feel happier when they leave. And we do that by providing tasty food that is also vegan, modern and sustainable.

How did you arrange the organization of your company with three partners?

We work together really well, because each of us has their own personal expertise. We vote on decisions – with three people there is never a stalemate, which is a major advantage. 2:1 is fairly common, but each of us accept it if the vote goes against us.

What has stayed with you from your time at FAU?

I only have positive memories of my time at university. I particularly enjoyed the lecture “Entrepreneurs and businesses”, as it included a lot of practical examples. At FAU, I also learned to work independently: You need to learn to follow a structure. You need to take care of things yourself.

What would you pass on to younger generations as the secret to success?

Study what you enjoy. You will then put more effort in, as you enjoy what you are doing. In the long term, you will be more successful as you go your own way without being influenced too much by other people.

Author: Nina Bundels

FAU Alumni #MyStory

Die Kurzvideos der Reihe FAU Alumni #MyStory richten den Fokus auf herausragende Ehemalige der FAU, nehmen den Zuschauer mit auf eine Reise ins Studierendenleben der Alumni und geben Einblicke in die beeindruckenden Lebensläufe und Karrieren der heutigen Persönlichkeiten. Dafür kehren sie an den Ort zurück, an dem alles begann: den FAU Campus.

This article is part of the FAU magazine

Innovation, diversity and passion: Those are the three guiding principles of our FAU, as stated in our mission statement. At FAU, we live these guiding principles every day in all that we do – in research, in teaching and when it comes to sharing the knowledge created at our university with society.

This, the second issue of our FAU magazine, underlines all of the above: It shows researchers who tirelessly keep pushing the boundaries of what has been believed to be possible. It introduces students who work together to achieve outstanding results for their FAU, talks about teaching staff who pass on their knowledge with infectious enthusiasm and creativity. And it reports back on members of staff with foresight and a talent for getting to the crux of the matter who are dedicated to improving the (research) infrastructure at FAU as well as people in key positions who are there for their university and are committed to its research location.