Innovation isn’t born in comfort zones, it thrives in transformative environments. This sentiment couldn’t be truer when analyzing the cultural metamorphosis within startups today, especially ones like Berlin-based Choco. As a serial entrepreneur with multi-disciplinary expertise, I’ve witnessed time and time again how successfully embracing AI is not about tools alone, it’s about cultural resets, strategic foresight, and building psychological safety for experimentation.
Choco’s journey from crazy summer parties to hackathons is nothing short of a roadmap for startups transitioning into AI-first companies. Their deliberate pivot captures the essence of how modern startups evolve to stay competitive in the rapidly changing technological landscape. In this article, I’ll share insights into Choco's transformation, including actionable advice, frequent mistakes to avoid, and personal perspectives from my experience in deeptech, AI, and education startups.
The Cultural Pivot: Crazy Summer Parties vs Hackathons
Choco’s transformation was not merely about integrating AI, it was about redefining what success and growth looked like within their organization. From lavish summer parties to regular hackathons, they embraced the wake-up-call that generative AI is no longer a playground but a survival tool. This shift resonates with any entrepreneur trying to balance old-school startup perks with future-focused productivity.
Hackathons at Choco became rituals of collaboration, creativity, and problem-solving. The rules? No rigid schedules, consistent brainstorming, and ultimately public recognition. The outcomes were impressive, AI-powered tools reducing manual entry by 60%, bug triaging systems handling issues before escalating to engineers, and even inventory-counting technology that utilized simple photographs.
A How-To Guide: Applying Lessons from Choco’s AI Reset
Startups at any stage can integrate similar concepts into their operational DNA. Here’s how:
1. Grant Permission for AI Experimentation
Many employees hesitate to incorporate AI, unsure of its 'permission' to disrupt workflows. Make it clear that AI isn’t optional, it’s integral. At Choco, leadership encouraged experimentation, starting with simple tasks like automating Slack channels or generating marketing copy. Open a shared channel for ideation to nurture a grassroots approach.
2. Organize Hackathons Regularly
Hackathons don’t need to be extravagant, they need to be motivating. Start with small internal competitions to showcase any productivity ideas linked to AI. Formalize these events with simple rules, public recognition, and outputs related to your mission. A hackathon isn’t about deciding the “best idea”; it’s about fostering psychological safety for innovation.
3. Budget Liberally for AI Tooling
Limiting experimentation by imposing tight budgets for AI tools is counterproductive. If an employee proposes to try OpenAI’s Codex for custom chatbot integration, approve it without micromanagement. This unrestricted access sparks creativity while fortifying the team’s technical muscle in AI-related tools.
4. Document and Share Learnings
Choco’s Slack channel didn’t just exist, it thrived with AI experiments posted without fear of ridicule. Create a sandbox or a dedicated knowledge base to collect what works, lessons from failure, and standout prototypes. Build from this collective input over time.
5. Celebrate Early Wins
Hackathon winners became company champions and earned visibility company-wide. This public acknowledgment boosts morale while encouraging hesitant employees to join future initiatives. Recognition at all-hands meetings or even symbolic rewards (medals, custom t-shirts) go a long way.
Common Mistakes in Transitioning to an AI-First Culture
1. Top-Down Mandates Without Buy-In
Leaders often fail when they enforce an AI-first mindset without catalyzing grassroots enthusiasm. Choco succeeded because its CEO didn’t dictate; rather, he participated in experiments. Permission paved the way, but participation spurred action.
2. Over-Reliance on Tools Without Strategic Planning
AI is not a magic wand, it’s a tool for human augmentation. Too often, startups chase shiny tech without first strategizing its applications. As demonstrated by Choco, AI workflows should align with business goals, whether reducing manual intervention or improving operational efficiency.
3. Neglecting Failures
Failure is primal to experimentation. Penalizing attempts that don’t achieve desired outcomes discourages innovation. This damages the risk-taking spirit that drives breakthroughs.
Insights for Entrepreneurs
From my vantage point, Choco’s journey inspires some deeper lessons:
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Psychological Safety Is Non-Negotiable: Creating spaces for employees to fail boldly is critical. As someone whose own startups thrive on experimental methodologies, I know that experimenting recklessly, even publicly, can be the fastest route to success.
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Grassroots Beats Top-Down: True transformation doesn’t come through executive mandates, it happens when individuals feel empowered to contribute to the vision. Align AI initiatives with your team’s values and encourage ownership.
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Ritualized Innovation Works: The concept of ritualized processes (e.g., hackathons) sustains long-term organizational changes. Within my game-based startup incubator, I build rituals into skills development to enjoy similar results: team engagement soars, and creativity thrives in structured freedom.
AI Transition Is Survival: Statistics Prove It
Choco reduced manual order entry time by 60%, showing how impactful AI-powered shifts in operational workflow can be. Beyond efficiency, embracing AI across processes also increases resilience against external shocks like rapid labor shortages or supply chain disruptions. Entrepreneurs who can emulate Choco's dual focus on technical innovation and cultural transformation will find themselves not only surviving but thriving.
Conclusion
Choco’s cultural pivot offers more than just an operational reset, it demonstrates how modern startups should evolve their identity in response to AI’s rise. Gone are the days when summer parties defined success; now, hackathons, innovation, and tangible team-wide progress take precedence.
To my fellow entrepreneurs: If you wish to stay competitive, begin by offering psychological permission for experimentation, nurture grassroots innovation, and ritualize AI transformations in everyday efforts. Also, keep learning from real-life examples like Choco’s scaling strategy. The rewards? Not just operational triumphs but cultural resilience, better team engagement, and sustainable growth.
Embrace the reset. And as the Mean CEO says: never settle for comfort zones. Navigate change deliberately, and unapologetically!
FAQ
1. What does Choco’s AI reset involve?
Choco’s AI reset focuses on transitioning from traditional startup perks, like summer parties, to hackathons aimed at fostering AI-driven innovation. The initiative emphasizes experimentation, grassroots engagement, and integrating AI into operations. Learn more about Choco’s AI transition
2. How did hackathons change Choco’s internal operations?
Hackathons became a core ritual at Choco, focused on collaboration and creativity, with outputs like AI-powered tools and bug triaging systems. These events shifted the company culture towards productivity and innovation. Inside Choco’s AI hackathon culture
3. What is psychological safety, and why is it essential for innovation?
Psychological safety at Choco involved creating spaces where employees were encouraged to experiment with AI without fear of failure or ridicule. This fostered a risk-taking spirit that drives breakthroughs. Learn about psychological safety in practice
4. What tools are used in Choco’s AI transformation?
Choco incorporated tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Codex, and Claude, allowing unrestricted access for employees to experiment with AI integration into workflows. Explore Choco’s AI tooling
5. How does Choco ensure grassroots engagement in its AI-first strategy?
The CEO encourages participation and personally experiments with AI tools, enabling grassroots innovation through Slack channels and hackathons where employees shared their findings and ideas openly. Discover more about grassroots engagement
6. What results did Choco achieve through its AI initiatives?
Choco reduced manual order entry time by 60%, streamlined processes like inventory counting, and increased operational resilience and efficiency. Review Choco’s operational impact
7. What are some common mistakes startups make when transitioning to AI-first cultures?
Startups often fail due to top-down mandates, over-reliance on tools without strategy, and penalizing failed experiments. Choco overcame these by promoting experimentation and aligning AI goals with business objectives.
8. How does Choco’s “unlimited AI tool budget” foster innovation?
Employees proactively request AI tools like GPT Enterprise Pro or custom software integrations without budget caps, sparking creativity and enhancing technical skills. Read about Choco’s budget policy
9. What lessons can entrepreneurs learn from Choco’s AI journey?
Entrepreneurs should prioritize grassroots innovation, psychological safety, and ritualized processes like regular hackathons to create sustainable AI transformations. Explore Choco’s example for startups
10. Why does Choco focus on rituals like hackathons instead of traditional perks?
Rituals like hackathons sustain long-term organizational change and foster team engagement and creativity, replacing outdated measures of success like summer parties. Learn why rituals matter for startups
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
Violetta Bonenkamp's expertise in CAD sector, IP protection and blockchain
Violetta Bonenkamp is recognized as a multidisciplinary expert with significant achievements in the CAD sector, intellectual property (IP) protection, and blockchain technology.
CAD Sector:
- Violetta is the CEO and co-founder of CADChain, a deep tech startup focused on developing IP management software specifically for CAD (Computer-Aided Design) data. CADChain addresses the lack of industry standards for CAD data protection and sharing, using innovative technology to secure and manage design data.
- She has led the company since its inception in 2018, overseeing R&D, PR, and business development, and driving the creation of products for platforms such as Autodesk Inventor, Blender, and SolidWorks.
- Her leadership has been instrumental in scaling CADChain from a small team to a significant player in the deeptech space, with a diverse, international team.
IP Protection:
- Violetta has built deep expertise in intellectual property, combining academic training with practical startup experience. She has taken specialized courses in IP from institutions like WIPO and the EU IPO.
- She is known for sharing actionable strategies for startup IP protection, leveraging both legal and technological approaches, and has published guides and content on this topic for the entrepreneurial community.
- Her work at CADChain directly addresses the need for robust IP protection in the engineering and design industries, integrating cybersecurity and compliance measures to safeguard digital assets.
Blockchain:
- Violetta’s entry into the blockchain sector began with the founding of CADChain, which uses blockchain as a core technology for securing and managing CAD data.
- She holds several certifications in blockchain and has participated in major hackathons and policy forums, such as the OECD Global Blockchain Policy Forum.
- Her expertise extends to applying blockchain for IP management, ensuring data integrity, traceability, and secure sharing in the CAD industry.
Violetta is a true multiple specialist who has built expertise in Linguistics, Education, Business Management, Blockchain, Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property, Game Design, AI, SEO, Digital Marketing, cyber security and zero code automations. Her extensive educational journey includes a Master of Arts in Linguistics and Education, an Advanced Master in Linguistics from Belgium (2006-2007), an MBA from Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden (2006-2008), and an Erasmus Mundus joint program European Master of Higher Education from universities in Norway, Finland, and Portugal (2009).
She is the founder of Fe/male Switch, a startup game that encourages women to enter STEM fields, and also leads CADChain, and multiple other projects like the Directory of 1,000 Startup Cities with a proprietary MeanCEO Index that ranks cities for female entrepreneurs. Violetta created the "gamepreneurship" methodology, which forms the scientific basis of her startup game. She also builds a lot of SEO tools for startups. Her achievements include being named one of the top 100 women in Europe by EU Startups in 2022 and being nominated for Impact Person of the year at the Dutch Blockchain Week. She is an author with Sifted and a speaker at different Universities. Recently she published a book on Startup Idea Validation the right way: from zero to first customers and beyond, launched a Directory of 1,500+ websites for startups to list themselves in order to gain traction and build backlinks and is building MELA AI to help local restaurants in Malta get more visibility online.
For the past several years Violetta has been living between the Netherlands and Malta, while also regularly traveling to different destinations around the globe, usually due to her entrepreneurial activities. This has led her to start writing about different locations and amenities from the POV of an entrepreneur. Here’s her recent article about the best hotels in Italy to work from.
About the Publication
Fe/male Switch is an innovative startup platform designed to empower women entrepreneurs through an immersive, game-like experience. Founded in 2020 during the pandemic "without any funding and without any code," this non-profit initiative has evolved into a comprehensive educational tool for aspiring female entrepreneurs.The platform was co-founded by Violetta Shishkina-Bonenkamp, who serves as CEO and one of the lead authors of the Startup News branch.
Mission and Purpose
Fe/male Switch Foundation was created to address the gender gap in the tech and entrepreneurship space. The platform aims to skill-up future female tech leaders and empower them to create resilient and innovative tech startups through what they call "gamepreneurship". By putting players in a virtual startup village where they must survive and thrive, the startup game allows women to test their entrepreneurial abilities without financial risk.
Key Features
The platform offers a unique blend of news, resources,learning, networking, and practical application within a supportive, female-focused environment:
- Skill Lab: Micro-modules covering essential startup skills
- Virtual Startup Building: Create or join startups and tackle real-world challenges
- AI Co-founder (PlayPal): Guides users through the startup process
- SANDBOX: A testing environment for idea validation before launch
- Wellness Integration: Virtual activities to balance work and self-care
- Marketplace: Buy or sell expert sessions and tutorials
Impact and Growth
Since its inception, Fe/male Switch has shown impressive growth:
- 5,000+ female entrepreneurs in the community
- 100+ startup tools built
- 5,000+ pieces of articles and news written
- 1,000 unique business ideas for women created
Partnerships
Fe/male Switch has formed strategic partnerships to enhance its offerings. In January 2022, it teamed up with global website builder Tilda to provide free access to website building tools and mentorship services for Fe/male Switch participants.
Recognition
Fe/male Switch has received media attention for its innovative approach to closing the gender gap in tech entrepreneurship. The platform has been featured in various publications highlighting its unique "play to learn and earn" model.