How an influencer with existential angst makes money from students

Anyone who is on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook or TikTok often comes across offers that sound tempting: from weight loss powder to lucrative investments. In our series, reporter Judith Henke takes a look at these products. What is behind it, how serious are you?

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These are the typical questions that every business administration freshman asks himself every day: What kind of outfits do you need for a successful business administration degree? Can you go out in public without a Ralph Lauren shirt? And the most important thing: Can you enter investment banking with a criminal past?

Regarding the last question, I’ll bite back the answer that’s on the tip of my tongue and prefer to listen to what the expert says: Influencer and founder David Döbele. Because his followers asked him these questions.

Döbele has bad news for everyone who has had one or the other capital gains tax refunded too much in the past. Because he says: “To be honest, I had to bring a certified certificate of good conduct to UBS at the time.”

But at least Döbele gives the all-clear for everyone who wants to venture out in public without a Ralph Lauren shirt. This is risky, but allowed. But in order for the business administration degree to be successful, it is still advisable to have “at least five shirts in different colors”.

David Döbele uploaded a number of these small videos to his TikTok channel, one more absurd than the other. In one he shows how high performers – that is, top performers – tie their ties. In another, he explains where the most expensive doner kebabs are in Germany.

In his short videos, Döbele portrays himself as outsiders would imagine a cliché business administration graduate – and has thus become an internet phenomenon. More than 71,000 people follow him on TikTok, and his YouTube channel has almost 39,000 viewers. What some of his followers are probably wondering: is Döbele serious?

Whether self-mockery or not – the absurd social media presence is definitely a good marketing strategy. Because Döbele draws attention to his company Pumpkincareers, which he founded in early 2020 – at that time still under the name Career Friend.

The start-up is aimed at economics students who want to get a coveted job in investment banking or management consulting. According to their own advertising, Pumpkincareers wants to advise them on “getting the most out of their studies.”

The company’s website also lists some success stories. For example, students who got internships at a large consulting firm with the help of Pumkincareers.

Coaching with the aim of becoming an intern – seriously? I thought that internship applications are quite predictable: submit a cover letter and CV, conduct an interview, maybe take some kind of entrance test. That should be possible without the help of Pumpkincareers, right?

Apparently not – at least if I believe the company’s promotional video. “Did you know that the most popular employers in investment banking, consulting or private equity only accept three percent of applicants at most?” asks a male speaker in the animated clip, which can be seen on YouTube.

Only very few who would apply for a job or an internship received an offer. “Even with a perfect CV, you usually fail in the highly competitive application process, which consists of numerous tests and interviews,” adds the spokesperson. Many would deny themselves the opportunity to be in the top three percent as early as their bachelor’s degree.

Such a video would not have motivated me as a freshman, on the contrary. I probably wouldn’t even have dared to apply anywhere. And the video “The great danger of the winter semester”, which David Döbele recorded together with Pumpkincareers co-founder Jonas Stegh, also seems rather unsettling.

There, the two explain that there could be dire consequences if you start studying too late in the winter semester. The grades would deteriorate, and there was no time to apply for internships. And before you know it, after one and a half semesters you already have a bad applicant profile.

Quite a lot of pressure – but with its coaching Pumpkincareers offers the desperate students a solution for all their problems. Advertising that starts right where young people’s existential fears begin – am I the only one who feels disturbed here?

Not quite. Micaela Schwanenberg from the consumer advice center in Saxony is also critical of this marketing method. “If a company advertises with special emotions, such as fear, caution is required,” she says.

But perhaps business administration students should be afraid – and not of getting dirty on their Ralph Lauren shirt. Perhaps David Döbele is right and it is really more difficult for aspiring business administrators to get a top internship than to get rich with currency bets.

To be on the safe side, I asked several consulting firms and banks what criteria they use to select their interns. It’s not quite as competitive as described by David Döbele.

For example, anyone applying to Credit Suisse must have completed four semesters of their studies, show an interest and willingness to learn, have an innovative and proactive personality and be able to work well with others. According to the Swiss money house, it makes no difference which university the applicant studied at.

The latter surprises me a little. Because if I took a sip of wine while watching David Döbele videos every time he said “Target-Uni”, I would quickly get drunk. “Target Uni” refers to universities that have a particularly good reputation with companies – for example the University of Mannheim or the WHU based in Vallendar.

Study places at these target universities are correspondingly in demand, and applicants with a 2-level high school diploma are often at a disadvantage. But don’t worry: Pumpkincareers also has success stories in which students from less renowned universities have gotten top internships.

This also made Felix Meier curious, who actually has a different name. He is studying business administration at a university very close to him, he writes. In fact, he was happy with it. But Döbele’s videos had drawn his attention to the fact that universities were probably differently renowned. “It unsettles you.”

Likewise, Döbele repeatedly emphasized in his videos how important it is to have a good grade point average. His average was in the middle 2 range. “I was ashamed of myself.” He put himself under so much pressure that he ultimately had to take therapy sessions.

Meier almost started coaching at Pumpkincareers. But the application process, which he found unpleasant, dissuaded him.

Because before a student is even funded by Pumpkincareers, he must first have an interview. “Here, our talent scouts screen your profile to find out if you’re a good fit to work with us,” the company’s website says. Very elitist.

But what is not immediately apparent on the website: the cost of the course. So I asked David Döbele directly and Pumpkincareers.

The company has announced through its law firm that in most cases the price would be in the mid-four-digit range, namely between 3,000 and 7,000 euros. Anyone interested would be given a sum in the context of a preliminary talk and a better acquaintance, this follows a fixed price model.

In return, Pumpkincareers would work with the participants for years, reviewing their application documents, preparing them for interview situations, supporting them in applying for scholarships and giving them access to a large network. In addition, the coaches have experience in the relevant industries.

But for consumer advocate Micaela Schwanenberg, a price that is not directly apparent is still a warning signal. “Consumers should avoid coaching offers that do not make the pricing, the contract design and the methodology of the course transparent on their website,” she says.

A four-digit price for coaching – can every student afford that? In a video Pumpkincareers uploaded to YouTube, a client named Nicola says he couldn’t have funded the coaching himself.

“But then there was also the offer – it came directly from Pumpkin – that there was German education,” he continues. They would have financed the coaching for him. Döbele then says that this means that if Nicola later made money, he would have to pay a little more back, but he doesn’t have to pay anything for the coaching now. “That means there are no excuses,” is his conclusion.

But going into debt for career advice—is it really worth it? To be fair, I’ve also had a few Pumpkincareers customers write to me who are totally convinced that their investment was worth it.

But there are also enough advisory services offered by the universities – usually free of charge or financed through the semester fee and taxes.

For example, the Goethe University in Frankfurt offers counseling sessions, and it also organizes events where students can network with consulting firms and banks in the region.

An offer that David Döbele could have used. Because the founder completed his bachelor’s degree at the Goethe University – and was among the top five percent of his class.

According to his LinkedIn profile, he did two internships during his studies, one of them at UBS. But Döbele was probably not drawn to investment banking – after his studies he started his own business with “Pumpkincareers”.

So he never did the jobs he regularly prepares his customers for. As a founder, Döbele probably knows what it’s like to take risks. And time management is something that self-employed people like him have to learn early on.

But Döbele seems to have had no problem with that even during his studies. In a video uploaded to YouTube, he gives a lecture, saying that during his bachelor thesis, because he had a few other things to do, he hired five people through Fiverr to research data for him.

He could have invested the time himself, he says. “But why?” The main thing is that he submitted his bachelor thesis at the right time.

Strange. Before submitting my bachelor thesis, I had to sign that I had done it myself. Is that different at the Goethe University?

I ask a spokesman for the university, who forwards the video to the Department of Economics. And lo and behold: Döbele’s approach does not seem to have been in accordance with the rules. The department is now examining whether to take action against it.