OMR founder Philipp Westermeyer invests “by instinct” and relies on these startups – do you know them?
When Philipp Westermeyer walks through the OMR offices in Hamburg's St. Pauli district, he seems less like a traditional CEO and more like a host who knows each of his 400 employees by name. He greets them warmly, asks questions, and jokes.
He calls this method, which he learned about during his business studies , "Management by Walking Around." "At the time, I thought it was satire," Westermeyer admits.
Today, Westermeyer is at the helm of a digital media company, which he himself positions between technology giant SAP and the Roncalli Circus.
SAP symbolizes scale and professionalism, while Roncalli stands for fascination and entertainment, he explains with a wink. OMR's annual revenue was recently estimated at 70 million euros—about three times the amount of Circus Roncalli, or 0.2 percent of SAP's revenue in 2024.
The challenge is not to become superficial
The centerpiece of this enterprise, the largest arena under Westermeyer's control, is the annual OMR Festival in Hamburg. This event attracts more than 80,000 people each year and transforms the city into a state of emergency. According to experts, up to 30 million euros are invested annually in its implementation.
“We deliberately put money in at the top so that more comes out at the bottom,” explains Westermeyer, referring to the legendary publisher Henri Nannen.
But this strategy also raises questions: How sustainable is growth when it's based on eventization? What happens when the balance between show and substance is lost?
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