Philipp Wolf

I'm Philipp Wolf, co-founder of The Guiding Principles. I lead marketing, sales and partnerships, and I live in Frankfurt am Main.

What's the solution?

I tend to start there. I learn by doing, but at the start I don't skip the theory.

Who I am

2016
My path started in kitchens. I trained as a cook and became junior sous chef in a 4-star hotel by 21, standing in for the head chef.
2023
In 2023 I spent a year travelling through the US and Canada, far away from everything.
2024
Then I went back to school full-time for two years, food technology with a focus on process engineering.
2026
In January 2026 I joined Ruben's team, the next big step. Today I'm a co-founder of The Guiding Principles. We're building Lift, a new way of working with AI agents. I don't write code. I build with AI coding agents.

My path

August 2016 to June 2019: I trained as a cook at Bergiusschule in Frankfurt am Main, a vocational apprenticeship, IHK-certified.
August 2019 to December 2022: Junior sous chef at the Best Western Premier IB Hotel Friedberger Warte, a 4-star hotel, standing in for the head chef.

2023: A year travelling through the US and Canada. For three months I worked as a cook at The Next Act, a restaurant in Edmonton, Alberta. The turn was less the job and more the year itself.

August 2024 to June 2026: Bachelor Professional in Technology at Berufliche Schule Butzbach, full-time, food technology with a focus on process engineering.
January 2026: I joined Ruben's team at The Guiding Principles, next to my technician school.
January to June 2026: Part-time assistant in the Aseptic Competence Center at Hassia Verpackungsmaschinen, a maker of aseptic filling machines. One day a week, running microbiological test series.
May to August 2026: Unity Systems, the first version of what is now Lift. From June I also worked on the AI video pipeline for our YouTube project.
September to October 2026: Website and outreach for Orisons.
Since August 2026: Co-founder of The Guiding Principles. We're building Lift, a new way of working with AI agents.
- Lift
  - AI agents

What I can do, and where I learned it

Sales, outreach and partnerships

At The Guiding Principles I lead marketing, sales and partnerships. Right now I'm building our marketing strategy and putting our first posts online. The goal is first traction and a small community.

Where I learned it

From November 2026 I also take on the rest of the business side: customer conversations, our posts, a simple overview of the money coming in and going out, and our company records, with questions prepared for qualified tax and legal advisers.
For Orisons, an agent layer for restaurants, I did the outreach and the website, September to October 2026. I built orisons.de with AI coding agents. It went live on 5 October 2026.
We stopped Orisons because we will not run two companies.
I learned it from books like Alex Hormozi's $100M Offers, Seth Godin's This Is Marketing, Donald Miller's Building a StoryBrand and Robert Cialdini's Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, and from videos.

Building with AI agents

Since January 2026 I build with AI coding agents, in Claude Code. I don't write code.

Where I learned it

Course: Ray Amjad
Practice: trying things out

What I worked on: in March 2026 a landing page for craft businesses with an AI analysis, for a project of ours: an 8-step questionnaire, an AI evaluation and a PDF report. In April 2026 a tool that designs frontends from competitor websites. In May 2026 a trading system with several agents. In September and October 2026 the website orisons.de.
From May to August 2026 I worked on Unity Systems, the first version of what is now Lift. From June I also worked on the AI video pipeline for our YouTube project: the music for the videos, a timeline editor, and a script archive where our team voted on scripts.
I learned it from videos, from Ray Amjad's Claude Code class, and by trying things out and having them explained to me while I work.

Food technology and process engineering

Two years full-time at Berufliche Schule Butzbach, food technology with a focus on process engineering.

Source: my school dates, August 2024 to June 2026.

Where I learned it

School: Berufliche Schule Butzbach
Work: Hassia

For my final thesis I followed and documented the commissioning of a glass filling line.
In two food projects we had to found a fictional company. In both, I did the business side and the sales.
At Hassia I ran microbiological test series on aseptic filling machines for dairy products, one day a week. I also checked machine assemblies.

Running a kitchen and training staff

I became junior sous chef in a 4-star hotel by 21, standing in for the head chef. I trained apprentices and new staff, about 15 in total.

Where I learned it

Work: a restaurant in Edmonton
School: my apprenticeship as a cook
Work: on the job

At 20 I helped build the hotel's new daycare catering from zero. It launched in autumn 2021. I developed the recipes and menus, calculated costs and quantities, tested how long the food stays good, and trained staff in hygiene and the care that food for children needs.
The hotel kitchen did à la carte, banquets and breakfast, with a team of 10 to 15 people. It varied.
When I stood in for the head chef, I did the admin next to the daily work: rosters, weekly planning and ordering.
When someone called in sick after the roster was out, I re-planned the week fast, so the work still got done at the right quality. Once we learned one day ahead that 50 more guests were coming. We got it done, and the guests were happy.
In 2023 I worked for three months as a cook in a restaurant in Edmonton, Canada, in English.
I learned it in my apprenticeship as a cook and on the job.

Books I read and study

16 books · titles in English

Covers: Open Library, Internet Archive.

Languages

German (native) and English (professional working proficiency).

Courses and certificates

Where each course shows up
	AI agents
Claude Code class, Ray Amjad (Agentic Coding School)	AI agents
Quality Management Specialist (QMF-TÜV), TÜV SÜD, June 2025
Quality Management Representative (QMB-TÜV), TÜV SÜD, July 2025
Trainer Aptitude Certificate (AEVO), IHK, 2026

Philipp Wolf

My path

What I can do, and where I learned it

Sales, outreach and partnerships

Building with AI agents

Food technology and process engineering

Running a kitchen and training staff

Books I read and study

Marketing and persuasion

Money and habits

Studying now for Lift

Languages

Courses and certificates