I was born in Hamburg, and in Hamburg there is an old principle: a handshake counts, a word is kept, you talk straight. I have never set that attitude aside, not even in the fast, often anonymous world of technology. On the contrary, I am convinced that it is a competitive advantage precisely there.
The digital world has estranged us
So much communication now runs through screens that genuine closeness has become rare. People hide behind careful phrasing, commitments turn non-binding, responsibility diffuses. That is convenient, but it costs something valuable: trust and reliability. And without those, nothing great gets built.
I do it differently. I like being on first-name terms, because meeting as equals matters to me. I promise what I can keep, and I keep what I promise. And I am hands-on, I look at things myself instead of only delegating. This is not nostalgia, it is a deliberate decision about how I want to do business.
Where this comes from for me
In Hamburg, the handshake mentality is not a marketing idea, it has a long tradition. The guiding ideal of the honorable merchant is more than five hundred years old in the Hanseatic world: reputation comes before quick profit, a word is a word, and a handshake carries the weight of a contract. To this day, preserving that attitude in business life remains one of the tasks of the German chambers of commerce.
I grew up with it, long before I founded my first company. At home we did not talk much, but when something was promised, it held. No fine print, no excuse the next day. That imprint carries me still. When I shake someone's hand, that is more binding to me than any signature under a PDF that nobody reads to the end anyway.
Why closeness wins right now
The more AI and automation take over, the more valuable what machines cannot do becomes: real trust between people. The execution may turn agentic, the relationship stays human. Anyone who thinks closeness no longer matters in a digital world has misunderstood it. It becomes the real difference, and why that is even a business model, I have described elsewhere.
My experience from more than twenty years in business: the best partnerships did not grow out of contracts, but out of a handshake and the certainty that the other person keeps their word. Contracts protect, but trust builds. A lawyer can help you when something goes wrong. But he cannot spare you the nights when a partner stays at your side even though it is uncomfortable right now. That decides whether a business lasts a year or twenty.
A handshake that still holds today
I remember a moment that says a lot about how I work. A partner and I were sitting on a deal, all the numbers were set, but the contracts were not yet fully drafted. We could have spent weeks twisting every clause. Instead, we shook hands across the table and said: we start now, the paperwork will catch up. And that is exactly what happened. We delivered before the signatures were dry, because both of us knew the word already counted.
My understanding of good partnerships grew out of that same attitude. I would rather build with people who call when there is a problem instead of writing a formal email that covers their back. I value people who own their mistakes instead of glossing over them. That is the core of what I mean by founder friends: you go through thick and thin together, not just through the good quarters. This kind of relationship does not form in a video call, it forms over time, over kept promises, and over the courage to be honestly uncomfortable now and then.
What this means in practice
Be reachable, be honest, be reliable. Answer for yourself instead of hiding behind systems. Keep your word, even when it is uncomfortable. It sounds old-fashioned, but in a time of growing anonymity it is almost revolutionary. I am a family man, a born Hamburger, and an entrepreneur, and in all three roles the same sentence applies: people remain the focus. I have never lost sight of that, and I never intend to.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does closeness matter in the tech business?
Because trust and reliability create what screens so often prevent. The more machines execute, the more valuable the human relationship behind it becomes.
What does handshake mentality mean in concrete terms?
Being reachable, speaking honestly, promising what you can keep, and keeping what you promise, even when it is uncomfortable. On first-name terms, as equals, hands-on.
What does this have to do with the honorable merchant?
A great deal. The Hanseatic ideal of the honorable merchant is more than five hundred years old and puts reputation before quick profit. A word is a word, a handshake counts like a contract. That is exactly the tradition I work in.
Contracts or trust?
Both. Contracts protect, but the best partnerships build on trust, not on clauses.
If you feel the same way, feel free to write to me.
Dennis Weidner
