Leadership Is Learned During Days of Thunder Not of Sunshine

In this episode of the iGaming Leader Podcast, Leo sits down with Andreas (Andy) Koeberl, aerospace engineer turned entrepreneur, who built HappyBet from three people to 180, survived COVID wiping out 100% of its revenue overnight, turned around BetGames from a shrinking business into one of the most profitable live dealer companies in the world, and is now building Autonomous Minds, an AI deeptech startup creating what he calls an "agent-first Palantir."Andy talks about what real crisis leadership looks like from the inside, why the sunny periods are more dangerous than the hard ones, and why the only advisors worth having are the ones who've also failed.Guest BioAndreas (Andy) Koeberl is an engineer turned entrepreneur and CEO. He started his career in aerospace engineering before moving to Microsoft, where he honed his commercial instincts. In 2017, he co-founded HPYBET, a retail sports betting business that grew to become one of the top operators in Germany and Austria before being sold to SNI in 2020. He then joined BetGames as CEO to lead a full company turnaround, taking the business from decline to record growth years of 50% in 2024 and 45% in 2025. In late 2024, he co-founded Autonomous Minds, an AI deeptech startup building the data infrastructure layer for the agent era.Key Topics Discussed00:00 – How COVID wiped out 100% of HappyBet's revenue in 90 days.03:00 – Running a seven-figure monthly OpEx with zero revenue.06:00 – The two-column whiteboard exercise Andy used to manage the crisis.08:00 – Why not a single person quit during COVID11:00 – "Andy bombs": dropping unscheduled harsh truths and why it kept the team together.13:00 – "Shock them with your honesty." Advice from mentor Armin Sageder15:00 – Leadership is learned during days of thunder, not sunshine. 21:00 – BetGames: flying to Lithuania and finding great people.27:00 – Turning down a deal that would have more than doubled revenues to protect a niche identity.30:00 – How BetGames went from near-death to the number two crash game in its core markets and record growth.36:00 – What an "agent-first Palantir" actually means.42:00 – Burnout does not come from hard work.Memorable Quotes"You are not allowed to call yourself a senior leader until you've managed at least one substantial crisis. Not successfully. Just managed one.""Everybody can be a sunshine leader. Leadership is only forged during a crisis.""My mentor always told me: shock them with your honesty. I try to live by that in my personal life too.""Burnout does not come from hard work. It comes from emotional stress. And as a founder, you are in with your time, your accountability, and your own cash.""The best advisors are the ones who've been in your shoes and who you can call and say: I have no clue how to handle this, without being anxious about what they'll think."Important LinksFollow Andy Koeberl on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/koeberlandreas/Follow Leo Judkins on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leo-judkins/Subscribe to the iGaming Leader newsletter: https://www.igamingleader.com/signupJoin the iGaming Leader Mastermind: https://www.igamingleader.com/This episode is sponsored by Sumsub, the leading identity verification provider for iGaming operators. Learn more at https://sumsub.link/8gu