Seven questions, seven answers! Munich startup in conversation with Bilendo.
1. Who are you and what do you do? Please briefly introduce yourself and your startup!
The Bilendo GmbH was founded in April 2015 by founders Markus Haggenmiller, Jakob Beyer, and Florian Kappert, based in Munich. The three founders and managing directors have represented the company in its operational business from the very beginning. Bilendo is the first B2B SaaS provider for optimizing corporate liquidity and automating the entire dunning process.
The self-onboarding service is available to all companies immediately and without any technical setup. Bilendo helps all users optimize their entire accounts receivable management and the administration of outstanding items. The service starts immediately after invoicing, imports all necessary data via interface or document recognition, automatically reconciles incoming payments from business accounts with outgoing invoices, sends the required documents such as reminders and dunning notices by email and post, and provides useful reports on the status of transactions. All of this can be done fully automatically upon request. One of the key differences from other solutions on the market is the fact that companies can use Bilendo without leaving their existing software landscape. Bilendo therefore works for every company.
2. But that's been around for a long time!
No, fortunately, that doesn't exist yet. Dunning always takes place either as a process in the accounting department or as a manual, internal process, parallel to the bookkeeping by the tax advisor. In both cases, dunning is time-consuming and presents a challenge even for established and well-organized companies. With Bilendo, companies also have the option of fully automating the process. The self-learning software helps from the very beginning to send reminders to the right people, at the right time, and using the right wording. Despite the automation, the processes remain transparent, and you can intervene at any time and reschedule individual invoices within the framework of the automation. Fortunately, there is no other service of this kind.
3. What are the three main ingredients for your recipe for success?
Most important is our experience as a team. Jakob and I have been programming together for about 16 years. Markus, Jakob, and I have known each other for over four years and have worked on projects together before. In addition to the experience that helps us make quick decisions, we have managed to build a quick-witted team in a short period of time, develop a market-ready product, and win numerous customers for this product. The biggest challenge remains the importance of staying focused on the right things. Focus is extremely important both in everyday life and in long-term projects.
4. Let’s get down to business: How is business going?
I believe fish don't like butter, and ultimately, the bait shouldn't be for the angler, but for the fish. Things are going extremely well. Since Bilendo can be used without any technical hurdles, we're gaining new potential customers practically every day. I also believe our numbers shouldn't be made public yet. After all, it only interests other startups or, potentially, competitors, and they can simply ask us how things are going.
5. What does Munich mean to you?
Munich is a perfect location for us. Munich offers everything a serious business needs. There's definitely a productive serenity and professional working style in Munich that, in my opinion, is unmatched anywhere else in Germany, except perhaps in Hamburg. Personally, we value Munich for all its clichés: our culture, nature, beer gardens, mountains, proximity to Italy, and, of course, football. As founders and managing directors, Munich, with its two top universities and virtually the top IT location in Germany, is the ideal starting point for people who want to make a difference. Young people in particular are more likely to work in the startup environment to gain experience and, if they wish, later work for one of the top international corporations. The startup scene in Munich may be smaller than in more internationally renowned locations and generally quieter. Nevertheless, we have to realize: all that glitters is not gold: Not all loudmouths are successful. In the end, we all have to be measured by success, and Munich offers us the perfect foundation for this.
6. How will your startup become the next unicorn? Or will we see you soon at Epic Fail Night?
If payment practices in Germany remain at least as they are, we are confident that with the best dunning solution in Germany, we will become a major player in the FinTech environment. The foundation has been laid. Now we want to know.
7. Fish on a stick or pork knuckle?
Fish on a stick!
