Martin Saidler was born in Vienna, Austria in 1967.[1] His mother came from Slovakia and he grew up speaking Slovak at home.[2] He attended the University of Vienna where he studied journalism and political science.[2] He then moved to Berlin where in 1997 he founded the employment website Jobinteractive.com.[3] In 1998, it became one of the major job portals in Germany.[3] In 1999, Beisheim Holding Switzerland (BHS) acquired Jobinteractive.com.[4] BHS combined it with other businesses in a company called Scout24.[5] Saidler stayed with the company until around 2001, scouting opportunities for them in central Europe, and cashed out just before the dot-com bubble burst.[4][6]