Johannes
Herold

He builds what he needs himself.

For over 30 years, Johannes has been building digital companies, from early internet infrastructure to products using AI. He works in Lübeck, is a kitesurfer, and has been meditating for more than ten years.^3,5

• Held back three times. He repeated a grade three times in school. At 16 he built chatworld, a chat and community solution that RTL, Sport1 and Ikea later used.^11,12,3
• The own problem first. The same question every day: Is there enough wind today? Five tabs, three weather sites, no clear picture. So he built wynd. His principle: "I build products that solve my own problems — then share them with the world."^2,16
• The quiet Johannes. Two people live in him, he writes: the entrepreneur, driven by curiosity, and the quiet Johannes, who knocks softly from within. Perhaps, he writes, breathe was always built for the quiet Johannes.⁴
• A timer instead of a course. In 2016 he was burned out. Meditation helped him back, but he found the apps too full of courses and content. He wanted only a timer and silence, so he built one for himself.⁵

What a conversation with Johannes is worth having about.

Two minutes offline, built with AI.

breathe helps people switch off: rituals, a meditation timer and breathing exercises, for people who believe they have no time for it. The app is free for iOS and Android, with no course and no account.^1,5,6

It began in 2016 with the timer he built for himself. Without any marketing, it got 30 to 100 downloads a day for years. In three months he rebuilt breathe completely with AI; the new app went live in March 2026, again without advertising. In May 2026, 16 new languages were added.^4,5,6

Products that create time and focus.

idearockers is his AI venture studio in Lübeck, founded in 2013. It builds products that create time, focus and clarity, and advises select teams on AI strategy, prototypes and product development.^1,8

Ocean, wind and the next session.

Johannes is a kitesurfer and wingfoils. On Instagram he shows sessions on the Baltic Sea at Pelzerhaken, in Mallorca at Son Serra de Marina and Pollença, in Soma Bay on the Red Sea, and in the Namib.^3,14

• Kitesurfing in the desert. In 2019, he was one of the few allowed to kitesurf right in the Namib: stillness, vastness, no phone reception, campfires, nights full of stars, and alone on the water in front of the dunes.¹⁴
• Among founders. At the Founders Kite Club in Viana, Portugal, he met entrepreneurs who kitesurf like him.¹⁴
• The solar eclipse. In August 2026, he saw it in Mallorca, near Colònia de Sant Jordi: "It was one of the most beautiful moments of my life."¹⁴
• Beyond the water. Football all his life, gaming, as well as longevity and personal growth.³

Online since 1996, today with AI.

18 years, from domain check to sale.

It began with a website offering a domain check. With his team, he turned it into one of the leading providers of domains and web hosting in Germany, serving private website operators as well as large corporations. In 2019, customers included Axel Springer, Sennheiser, onpage.org and modomoto.^13,10

Where he was written about.

Articles, news items and his own texts.^4,10,11,12