Jean Michel Diaz
Co-founder @ Echometer
More about Jean Michel Diaz 👋
When did you start working on Echometer?
Jean: As a Co-Founder, I started working on the idea behind Echometer already in 2016. Since February 2019, the co-founding team has been working full-time on Echometer.
What is your previous work experience?
Jean: I did a dual course of studies (International Management) at Bertelsmann, one of the world’s leading media holdings (RTL Group, BMG, Penguin Random House …). After my studies, I worked as an Executive Assistant in a Bertelsmann & Deutsche Post joint venture.
At Echometer
What do you like / love about working at Echometer?
Jean: I’ve always enjoyed working with people who inspire me – and that’s why, every day, it’s an honour for me to be part of this great team.
If you could write your own job title that best describes what you do at Echometer, what would it be?
Jean: I tend to take the long-term perspective in our team and challenge each decision in the context of the overall picture.
Your favorite retrospective method or team workshop?
Jean: I love thinking about the future and how we can prepare for it. That’s why I really enjoy using a “Pre-Mortem” at the beginning of any new project – to make use of the whole team’s creativity and experience.
What is your personal highlight that you achieved or experienced while working at Echometer?
Jean: Winning our first customers before even having a real product was a huge emotional highlight for me. It boosted my confidence that we are heading in the right direction.
What was your first week at Echometer like?
Jean: As co-founders, we started Echometer by moving into a flat together. Christian, Robin, and I really got to know each other in that setup, and it was very encouraging to see that we made a great, complementary team – also on a personal level!
What was your biggest or funniest fuckup at Echometer?
Jean: On our website, we use images from third parties. One of them is freepik.com – unfortunately, I misspelled their link in our footer. The misspelled link then led to a NSFW page. Fortunately, we found out ourselves (hopefully before anyone else noticed). Learning: always check all links you put on your website. 😉
What is an interesting thing you learned at Echometer?
Jean: Building a startup is hard – only do it if you enjoy it and have the right people in your team. Then it may become a real adventure like no other!
Personal
How would your friends describe you in 3 words?
Jean: Positive, imaginative, dependable.
What are the values that drive you?
Jean: I believe it’s our responsibility to shape the world we want to live in and make it as fair and sustainable as we want it to be. That’s why I deeply believe in Steve Jobs’ idea of “questioning the status quo”.
What are your hobbies?
Jean:
- After sitting at my desk for too long, I like challenging myself in sports – especially swimming and, during Corona, home workouts with Pamela Reif.
- I try to make time for inspiring readings – Homo Deus by Yuval Noah Harari is a great example.
- As a tech enthusiast, I’m excited about new developments in renewable energies, batteries, heat pumps, AI, self-driving cars, and eVTOLs – to name just a few.
- Corona currently makes this tough, but usually I love traveling with friends to experience nature and completely different cultures outside of my “startup bubble”.
A picture of you as a kid?
Jean: That’s my brother Chris and me in Nicaragua’s Pacific Ocean.
Articles by Jean Michel Diaz
New Employee? 5 Tips for the First One-on-One Meeting
You have a new employee in your team, a new team member or a new direct report who reports to you and now you're planning your first one-on-one meeting or appraisal interview? Here you will find al...
10 Tips for Great Retrospective Action Items incl. Examples
A lot is said in retrospectives - but does your team also derive good measures from them? Here are tips and examples of how to make good measures work in retros!
5 phases of a retrospective alone are not enough: the Double Diamond model
Many teams frequently change the format and design of the phases of their retrospective to ensure variety and stimulate the creativity of team members. But what is the decisive factor for a success...
20 Feedback Examples for varied Software Developer Roles
20 concrete feedback examples for various software developer roles plus 1:1 templates and surveys in the Echometer tool.
21 Responsibilities & Tasks of the Team Lead Role
As a team leader, you take on responsibility for the team and its results in addition to personnel responsibility. At the same time, you shouldn't define your activities, role, and responsibilities...
5 whiteboard templates for brainstorming action items in retrospectives
Five whiteboard templates for retrospectives, including application scenarios, examples, and tips for brainstorming effective measures.
12 Retrospective Ideas for Winter, Christmas and New Year
Especially at the turn of the year, there are good opportunities to adapt the format of the retrospective to the Christmas season and New Year. In this article we share a few ideas on how good meta...
Managing Virtual Teams: 5 Tips for great Remote Leaders
The vast majority of literature on leadership assumes that teams are led face-to-face and not virtually at a distance. This is likely to change in the coming years as remote work and globally distr...
The Guide with 6 Tips for Successful One-on-One Meetings
Successful one-to-one meetings are an important tool for managers to build a strong relationship with their employees and to promote and develop your staff. In this article, you will receive a comp...
Software Developer Performance Review: A Guide & Template
Written performance evaluations for software developers in 2025? In a modern working world where feedback culture and continuous development are paramount, classic written performance reviews often...
Driving an agile corporate culture with change management
An agile corporate culture can be promoted with change management methods. We'll explain how it works!
Checklist for Team Leads: 10 key Tasks (incl. PDF)
As a team lead, you take on a lot of responsibility for your employees and your team. This checklist for team leads will make it easier for you to keep an overview and ensure that nothing goes wron...
