Munich Startup: What does Ballgaze do? What problem do they solve?
Fandi Hartl: We help companies identify early on which technical decisions create risks, increase complexity, or lead to technical debt in the long term. —and where efficiency and quality levers lie. Because in technical systems, projects rarely fail due to people, but rather due to flawed decisions that no one sees.
Ballgaze analyzes complex technical systems and shows teams at a glance:
• where hidden risks arise,
• which decisions have unexpected consequences,
• how complexity can be reduced and where the greatest leverage for efficiency lies.
Our target group includes everyone who has to make decisions under technical complexity: developers who want to recognize hidden complexity, prioritize technical debt early, and make better technical decisions; research teams who want to make risks visible, narrow down focus areas, and communicate transparently with quantitative KPIs; system engineers and project teams who want to understand cross-domain dependencies, identify bottlenecks early, and execute projects better; project managers who want to visualize high-risk areas, uncover legal issues, and prioritize decisions based on facts; startups that want to make scalable decisions, enable growth, and strategically position themselves through benchmarks; and companies that want to reduce complexity, increase quality, and manage technical debt across teams and regions in a measurable, traceable, and future-proof manner.
In short: We evaluate technical decision-making and bring clarity to where previously there was only intuition.
Why Ballgaze looks at complexity differently
Munich Startup: But that's been around for a long time!
Fandi Hartl: When someone tells us, "That already exists," we take a step back and ask very specific questions: Where exactly? For which systems? And with what impact? Because, of course, many tools exist in the research field of 'Technical Debt Management' – but almost none of them are designed for mechatronic systems. Most solutions come from the software world, and that's usually where their scope ends. Ballgaze addresses this gap by connecting three areas that have rarely been considered together: the psychology of decision-making, systems engineering, and data-driven decision models.
Munich Startup: What is your founding story?
Fandi Hartl: I have examined over 150 technical systems. And I have found patterns that no one likes to see, but everyone should understand. As a researcher at TUM, I analyzed technical systems from more than 20 companies in my master's thesis and later in my doctoral research, in the automotive, automation, additive manufacturing, food engineering, and other sectors.
The same patterns emerged everywhere: decisions made under certain conditions generate long-term negative effects, often completely unnoticed. This can be explained psychologically, structurally, and systemically. I received two faculty awards for this work. At some point, I asked myself: why do these findings remain in research when industry so desperately needs them? Ballgaze is my answer.
Translation into practice and team building
Munich Startup: What have been your biggest challenges so far?
Fandi Hartl: The biggest challenge was never the research. It was translating it into practice.
We didn't want to build some generic tool that looks great in PDFs but fails in reality. We wanted a tool that developers and managers would actually use. Whether in everyday work, on projects, under stress, or in conflict situations. The second big step: building a team that is not only a good fit technically, but also human, values-driven, and aligned in terms of life experience and startup stage. That's harder than it sounds.
Expansion into other industries
Munich Startup: How are things going?
Fandi Hartl: We are currently in the most exciting phase: when research meets real customers.
We are currently working with our first paying customers. We support projects, analyze decision-making processes, and further develop the tool directly with the users.
Our goal for next year is clear: Ballgaze software for businesses as a SaaS solution. In five years, we want to be the leading standard for technical decision analysis.
and expand into other industries.
Munich Startup: How have you experienced Munich as a startup location so far?
Fandi Hartl: For us, Munich is the ideal location: Here we find strong industry partners, excellent universities, and a politically stable funding landscape. At the same time, there is a mature yet still innovative startup ecosystem – and an environment that effectively combines work, life, and family. For a deep-tech startup like ours, this mix is truly invaluable.
Understand risk instead of avoiding it
Munich Startup: Risk or security?
Fandi Hartl: I don't believe in blind risk. I believe in conscious risk.
Risk only arises where information is lacking. That's why my principle is clear: information is king. The more information you have, the less risky a decision feels.
At Ballgaze, we systematically analyze, measure, and assess risks. Security isn't achieved through avoidance. Security is achieved through understanding risks. That's precisely what we help our clients do.
