Munich Startup: What motivated you to start a company?
Emilia von Keyserlingk: To be honest: I was exhausted. As a management consultant, I was constantly on the road, my calendar was full, my back was broken – literally. I had no time for exercise, even though I knew how important movement is.
Then EMS training came into my life. A 20-minute session per week, nothing more, and suddenly my back pain disappeared. I was fitter, more upright, more energized. The only problem was: EMS only existed in studios, expensive, with cables, with a spray bottle, with a lot of effort. And that’s when I thought: Why doesn’t this exist more simply? Why isn’t there a comfortable EMS suit for home with guided training via app? That question was the start of Pepper. I wanted a solution that really works, but is so simple that anyone can use it.
Sidebar: What exactly is EMS and how does it help build muscle?
EMS stands for electrical muscle stimulation. Sounds technical, but it’s actually quite simple: gentle impulses activate the muscles. This happens with every normal movement too, we just amplify it. And in a targeted way.
You put on the suit, start the app, and work out almost your entire body in just 20 minutes. It feels a bit like an intense workout with a light vibration – and delivers real results. EMS can make muscle building up to 300 percent more effective than traditional training. And because it’s gentle on the joints, it’s also ideal for people with back problems or little training experience. In short: muscle building without dumbbells, without equipment, without a gym – that’s Pepper.
Munich Startup: What would you have liked to know before your first startup?
Emilia von Keyserlingk: How intense the highs and lows feel. I knew that founding a company was a rollercoaster, but I underestimated how personal it would become.
My biggest learning: Talk to other founders. Almost every problem someone else has faced before, and sometimes a short conversation is enough to gain new clarity.
Munich Startup: How has your company been financed so far?
Emilia von Keyserlingk: Pepper is funded by business angels, and not just with capital, but especially with knowledge. As a first-time founder, that was pure gold for me. I was able to learn from their experience, especially in product development, sales, and international scaling.
Munich Startup: When and where do you get your best ideas?
Emilia von Keyserlingk: While taking a walk. Without my phone. Without music. Without distractions. Being outside, thinking, breathing. That often brings me the best insights.
Munich Startup: What are your 3 favorite work tools?
Emilia von Keyserlingk:
- ChatGPT – perfect for quick ideas, text drafts, and new perspectives
- Notion – my central tool for organization and planning
- Slack – for quick and efficient team communication
Munich Startup: Your top tip on “pitching”?
Emilia von Keyserlingk: Tell your own story. Authenticity beats any buzzword. If your product solves a real problem, show how it changed your own life. That’s where connection happens.
“More capital for diverse founding teams”
Munich Startup: Does it seem like a good time to start a company right now? Why?
Emilia von Keyserlingk: I believe: it’s never been more exciting than right now. New technologies, especially AI, are opening up huge opportunities – also in health and fitness. At the same time, funding has become more difficult. But: if you solve a real problem, you’ll always find a way.
For female founders, it’s still often a rocky road – I wish there was more targeted support, more visibility, more capital for diverse founding teams.
What technology or industry would you focus on with your next startup?
Emilia von Keyserlingk: Health again! There’s hardly anything more motivating than having your work create real, positive impact on people’s lives.
Munich Startup: What could be improved at the Munich startup location from your perspective?
Emilia von Keyserlingk: Munich has great initiatives like Werk1 and a strong founder community. But accelerators that have really made a difference for me, like Grace in Berlin, don’t exist here in this form yet. Munich could definitely catch up on that!
Munich Startup: Which founder would you like to meet in person someday? And what would you ask them?
Emilia von Keyserlingk: Phil Knight, the founder of Nike. I love the book Shoe Dog, in which he tells the story of Nike’s early years. I would ask him what he would do the same today and what he would do differently in hindsight.
