At the Munich startup Mix My Shampoo Fans of special hair care can create their very own personal shampoo. Over two billion vegan hair care options are available here. Markus Peetz, one of the founders, gives us seven answers to seven questions.
1. Who are you and what do you do? Please introduce yourselves briefly!
The original founding team consists of Lisa Sobotta (27) and 
me, Markus Peetz (29). Lisa and I studied business administration together in Denmark and founded the first personalized delivery service in Denmark while we were still studying. We found our third husband, Dipl. Ing. Hicham Najjari (40), while searching for a hair care specialist. Hicham has his own natural cosmetics factory and specializes in the development and production of high-quality natural cosmetics.
We've even been able to expand our team with two new co-founders. Starting in October, we'll have strong support from Mario Barisic (26) and Christina Schledewitz (26). Both also have a business background and focus on the finance and modeling industries.
Together, we've created Mix My Shampoo, a product unlike any other in the world. Tailored to each individual hair type and featuring a choice of organic care and fragrance ingredients, whether for dry hair, oily hair, damaged ends, an itchy scalp, or a bit of everything.
2. But that's been around for a long time!
There is currently no global solution in the hair care sector that combines the megatrends of individuality, natural cosmetics, and online business. We are closing this gap in the market with our product and service portfolio.
3. What are the three main ingredients for your recipe for success?
The unique product for individual hair care: Over the years, we have built up a wealth of expertise, which is highly valued by our customers. This is reflected in our very high repeat order rate and extremely low return rate.
The perfect team: Different skills and strengths make us an unbeatable team.
The ambition: This has been extremely awakened in all of us. We've gone through a very challenging time and, following the bootstrapping approach, have made a lot out of very little. This experience has strengthened us enormously and allows us to build our company with less stress and, above all, for the time being, independently of external capital.
4. Let’s get down to business: How is business going?
We're very pleased with our business development so far. Since entering the market, we've focused on product optimization and website expansion. We haven't invested any marketing budget yet and are growing purely organically, through referrals, which we're very pleased about.
Our business model is also generating considerable interest among potential investors and competitors in related industries, so things remain exciting.
Next, we will focus more on building reach and increasing awareness.
5. What does Munich mean to you?
Munich is a fantastic city and offers a high quality of life. We particularly enjoy the surrounding area, which helps us clear our minds after a stressful day at work. We actually get our best ideas when we can unwind by the Isar River or in the mountains and enjoy nature. Our family also has strong ties to this city.
And the startup scene is impressive. They say: there are founders in Berlin, and entrepreneurs in Munich. I think there's some truth to that...
6. How will your startup become the next unicorn? Or will we see you soon at Epic Fail Night?
Aside from the fact that we're all convinced of the success of our business model, we'll probably never see each other at Epic Fail Night. The valuable experience and vast knowledge we gained during our founding years won't be lost even if the business model fails. Quite the opposite – we'll still be able to benefit from it later, whether through a new startup or as employees in a company.
One of my favorite sayings that sums it up: "The first company I founded failed with a bang. The second company still failed, but that was kind of okay. I recovered quickly, and the third company survived. It wasn't a great story, but it worked. Number four was PayPal." I myself am already in the middle of starting my third business and hope to be able to skip a step.
7. Fish on a stick or pork knuckle?
Obatzda 😉
Update from August 26, 2019: Due to disagreements within the founding team, the company was dissolved and is now operating under a new constellation.
