Biography

Dirk Ahlborn is an entrepreneur keynote speaker and the founder and CEO of JumpStarter Inc. JumpStarter is a web portal that creates smarter and more successful companies by using crowdsourcing to fund ideas from initial conception to final product. Dirk is also CEO and Co-Founder of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies. It is JumpStartFund’s well-known undertaking to make the Hyperloop become reality, by using its crowd collaboration concept.

Dirk started his career in 1993 as an investment specialist in Berlin, Germany. After moving to Italy in 1997, he founded several companies in the alternative energy and interior design space. In 2006, he successfully sold one of these companies to a global alternative energy conglomerate.

He is a serial entrepreneur with experience in almost every element of business. His careers have taken him through management, product design, development, manufacturing, production facility design and set up, production cost control, marketing, product distribution, customer service, and sales.

Before co-founding Jumpstarter, he was at the Girvan Institute of Technology, an incubator-accelerator for early-stage high-tech companies. At Girvan, beginning in 2009, he was instrumental in the development of several startup companies, most notably Advanced Turbine Designs, a developer of natural-gas-fueled gas turbine generators for combined heat and power. In the course of his multi-faceted activities at Girvan he also managed mobile and web application developments as well as search engine optimization and online marketing.

Prior to 2009, his activities were centered in Germany and Italy. Dirk is fluent in German and Italian and proficient in conversational Spanish. He holds the credential in banking and insurance from the Organization of German Industry and Commerce.

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Building breakthrough innovations with crowd-powered ecosystems

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Designing Hyperloop

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The new business models that will be changing your industry

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Invest in people

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Not Businesses

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Testimonials

Dirk, thank you very much for speaking at the Nikkei Forum. Everybody was impressed by your very passionate speech. You have lit the audience’s fire!
– GLOBAL BUSINESS BUREAU NIKKEI INC.
Dirk Ahlborn delivered an inspiring talk during the plenary session at the Open Innovation Forum in Moscow alongside Mr. Medvedev, Paul Misener from Amazon and Ofir Akunis from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Space in Israel. He demonstrated to our 12.000 participants a new future of possibility by using innovative thinking and technology. We recommend him as a speaker on stages around the world.
– OPEN INNOVATION FORUM

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Blog Posts

 

Embrace Your Authenticity and Lead Better Teams with Mike Robbins

Great teams aren’t built on talent alone—they’re built on trust, authenticity, and strong human connections....

Read More

Unlock Your Creativity With Progress And Bold Ideas

"Creativity is intelligence having fun." – Albert Einstein Somewhere along the way, many of us...

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How Businesses Can Use More Creative Thinking with Natalie Nixon

Creative thinking isn’t just an extra skill—it’s the ultimate competitive edge. In today’s hyper-competitive business...

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Why Embracing Imperfection Is the True Path to Success

I used to think success meant having it all figured out. That if I just...

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Become a Powerful Leader By Inspiring Others Through Your Actions

What makes a leader truly exceptional beyond simply completing daily tasks? In a world where...

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How Belonging Creates Workplace Magic with Adam “Smiley” Poswolsky

What if the secret to a thriving workplace isn’t more perks or policies—but the power...

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