A sabbatical year opens up many possibilities. Swiss entrepreneur Daniel Kästli decided to make the most of his own by studying in the Aalto EMBA program. Collaborative learning, honest discussions with other leaders, and the Self-development Process were his favorite aspects of the EMBA program – an experience he describes as transformational in many ways.
Daniel Kästli has an impressive track record in the startup world. He was part of the early team that helped build Frontify into a fast-growing B2B SaaS scale-up headquartered in St. Gallen, Switzerland. He also co-founded Spontacts, a leisure-time social platform later acquired by Scout24 Group.
“I’ve worked for large global organizations, too. As interesting and rewarding as that can be, I felt a bit like a cogwheel in a well-built machine: my possibilities to really shape the bigger picture were limited. What I love most is helping companies grow from idea to scale,” he smiles.
After successfully leading customer success at Frontify and building international teams across New York, London, and St. Gallen, Kästli decided to take some time off, recuperate, and process everything he had learned in executive leadership roles.
“A year in my wife’s home country, Finland, seemed just the ticket to carve out what would be next. We arrived in the summer, and I applied to the Aalto EMBA program straight away. Before my studies officially started, I took quite a few electives. I was hooked from day one,” he reminisces.
“The Aalto EMBA is a very holistic and contemporary program. Diversity and sustainability are core values that you can genuinely feel in every module.”
New insights for a new startup
Kästli underlines that nearly every topic covered in the EMBA offered insights, skills, and tools that he has now put to good use in his professional life.
“At the beginning of my EMBA, I co-founded a new startup, wyrd.io. Of course, I drew a lot from my previous roles as well, but the Aalto EMBA helped me build on those experiences, sharpen my thinking, and further develop the vision we have for wyrd.”
His newest venture, wyrd, is a platform that brings modern leadership into organizations and makes people development part of everyday work. It combines positive psychology, behavioral science, and technology to support healthier team dynamics, stronger leadership, and more sustainable performance.
I have countless examples of valuable lessons that either helped me directly with my new company or will certainly do so in the future.”
“As an HR tech startup focused on leadership and development, we help companies build a healthier, future-ready performance culture. Our approach is grounded in science but designed for practical use in modern organizations. We help leaders and teams create clarity, work with their strengths, improve collaboration, and turn development into everyday action,” Kästli describes.
“I gained ideas and perspective for wyrd from so many disciplines at Aalto EE: strategy, people management, communication, marketing, and more. I have countless examples of valuable lessons that either helped me directly with my new company or will certainly do so in the future.”
Becoming a better leader
For Kästli, picking a favorite subject among everything he studied is easy: the Self-development Process.
“I know many people name it as their absolute favorite part of the Aalto EMBA, and I am going to be thoroughly unoriginal and follow suit,” he laughs.
“It honestly changed my life. Our instructor did a fantastic job of pulling us all in the right direction and helping us find out what would make us better leaders.”
One of the key lessons Kästli learned about self-development was that nobody becomes a better leader through new knowledge and awareness alone:
“You need to set yourself meaningful goals and then practice, practice, practice. This notion has had a significant impact on both my leadership and my private life. I now regularly reflect on how things are going and set attainable goals. I utilize all the tools I gained at Aalto EE to take steps toward reaching my aspirations.”
Insights on emotional recognition were particularly meaningful for Kästli.
“At first, I didn’t expect to get much out of these particular lessons because I don’t usually experience big emotional swings. I don’t jump from highs to lows,” he explains.
“But self-observation led me to realize that there are situations where I definitely get irritated: for example, if I thought I was responsible for something and then someone else made a decision. In the past, small things like this have made me act in ways that were not smart. I now have the tools to recognize my emotions and consequently make better decisions.”
Kästli gives a practical example of a situation where everything he learned from the Self-development Process made a huge difference:
“In a company I helped co-found, we had to navigate difficult founder transitions. I strongly feel that the emotional insights and emotional intelligence I gained during the Aalto EMBA helped us handle the situation with clarity, respect, and care.”
Thought-provoking group discussions in an international setting
Back home in Switzerland, Kästli lives close to the University of St. Gallen, which is known for its excellent EMBA program. He readily admits that EMBA studies closer to home would certainly have been an easier option than studying abroad.
“But life isn’t interesting if you always go for the low-hanging fruit. I went to Australia to get my first university degree in IT, and to Finland to get my EMBA,” he explains.
After his sabbatical year was up, Kästli and his family moved back to Switzerland, but Kästli continued attending all his remaining EMBA modules in person in Helsinki.
“Once I got a taste of the collaborative learning environment, I didn’t want to miss out on a single in-class session.”
What really elevated the lessons were the thought-provoking group discussions that drove home the practical value of everything we learned.”
“There’s always a bit of luck involved in these things, but I had the pleasure of being part of a truly great EMBA cohort. The group dynamic was a perfect fit. Everyone exchanged ideas openly and honestly, and our interactions were enormously rewarding.”
Kästli admits he was initially surprised by how collaborative the learning at Aalto EE was.
“Every module provided a strong foundation from experienced instructors, delivering the latest, relevant insights from modern academia. But what really elevated the lessons were the thought-provoking group discussions that drove home the practical value of everything we learned.”
“Looking back, it’s clear that sharing unfiltered stories with other experienced leaders was just as pivotal to my learning as the module content itself. In my view, collaborative learning is Aalto EMBA’s greatest competitive edge compared to other EMBA paths.”
Forward-thinking, Nordic leadership
Kästli notes that Aalto EE’s wide range of elective studies provided a great extension to all the core modules. On his own EMBA journey, two elective modules were particularly impactful:
“Power and Influence gave me the tools to identify power dynamics and politics within an organization. It has made a huge difference in how I navigate situations to encourage and engage people,” he emphasizes.
“The Cognitive Leadership module changed how I organize my mind. It helped me develop thinking skills and utilize cognitive tools. In essence, I learned to declutter the many thoughts I have in my mind – with a little help from technology.”
While Kästli is all for making the most of the latest tech tools, he cautions against relying too heavily on them while studying.
“The key to learning is simple: the more you put in, the more you get out. AI can be a fantastic study buddy, but you won’t gain a deeper understanding if you don’t think for yourself.”
Kästli says he is happy to recommend the Aalto EMBA program, especially to leaders who want to grow and are ready to reflect seriously on how they lead.
“Wouldn’t it be great if more people took the time to become better leaders – and no one assumed that they must already be exceptional just because they hold a very important leadership title?”
“That is what I appreciated about the Nordic approach at Aalto EE. It encourages reflection, openness, and a sense of responsibility that many organizations need today.”