Finding a suitable agency isn't always easy and can take a long time. As a result, it's not just time-consuming, but also expensive—money that you can save in the future thanks to Agenturmatching.
The Munich-based startup was founded by Sophie Schade (30) and Axel Roitzsch (31). For three years now, the two have been working hard to shake up the German-speaking agency industry. Sophie earned her master's degree in energy technology and economics from the University of Duisburg-Essen, while Axel earned his bachelor's degree in media studies and philosophy with a focus on information technology, business administration, and media law from the University of Regensburg.
Smart matching system
After graduating, Axel joined the fischerAppelt agency in Munich as a management trainee in 2013. He quickly realized how much time, money, and energy goes into acquiring new clients.
"I thought to myself: this can be done easier, faster, and more digitally. Together with Sophie, I then set about designing and creating a business plan for our platform, which eliminates the time-consuming partner search and inefficient new customer acquisition – and that was the birth of Agenturmatching."
The platform connects agencies and advertisers via a smart matching system: Agenturmatching's independent brokers pre-select which agency best fits the client's requirements. The client is presented with a shortlist of up to five agencies willing to take on the project and submit their ideas for the brief.
According to Axel, this results in a win-win situation for both sides:
“Companies receive shortlists that are perfectly tailored to their needs, and agencies are protected from unsuitable requests – this saves a lot of time and money.”
The focus is initially on German-speaking countries
Admittedly, the idea isn't entirely new: several international startups are following a similar basic concept. The largest player is Silicon Valley-based Globality. The startup launched in early 2017 with $40 million in funding. Sortlist, meanwhile, acts as its Belgian counterpart. Axel and Sophie are initially focusing on the German-speaking region, but plan to compete internationally in the future. They have complete confidence in their company:
"We're solving a problem that costs Germany vast amounts of money and time. Selecting the right agency costs 1.1 billion euros annually. For example, when marketing managers search for "advertising agency" on Google, 8,730,000 results are displayed. Once you've chosen a few interesting addresses, the real work begins: You have to send email inquiries or compare prices, service offerings, and ideas – the selection process can sometimes take up to six months."
According to Agenturmatching, the requested shortlist is available within six days – at the latest. According to Axel, over half of the companies are so impressed by the platform's selection that they even forgo a pitch.
Two target groups as a challenge
The biggest challenge for Axel and Sophie is the so-called "two-sided market." They don't have to serve just one target group, but two: the agencies on the one hand, and the companies on the other. Both have different needs, demands, and expectations.
"It can sometimes be challenging to find a solution that satisfies both parties—but only then can we be satisfied. So far, we've always been able to resolve this particular situation very well through discussions and feedback."
This is also reflected in the bare numbers: Since its first month, Agenturmatching has generated revenue, and to date, over 1,000 agencies have registered on the platform – from advertising and PR agencies to branding professionals and SEO specialists. In addition, there are a few valuable partnerships:
"We are very pleased that we have already carried out successful matches with institutions such as the German Red Cross or brands such as Tom Tailor. Every day at least one company starts a search request. In 2016, Agenturmatching also became an official technology partner of the GWA (General Association of Communication Agencies), and since February 2017 we have also Sales management as a cooperation partner on board.”
The integration into the industry-relevant magazine was further confirmation for the founders that they were solving a well-known problem in the media industry. At the beginning of the year, more than €1 million in agency fees had already flowed through Agenturmatching. The team has now grown to eleven employees.
Seven-figure financing round planned
The team feels more than at home in Munich. Agenturmatching was initially selected as one of twelve startup teams at the LMU's Entrepreneurship Center and received valuable support:
"This intense and enjoyable time brought us so far that we were able to launch Agenturmatching in 2015 and found Kekulee GmbH in Munich in the same month."
The young company is now headquartered in a chic office directly on the Isar River in the Glockenbachviertel district. To clear their heads, they regularly head to Schliersee. Sophie says:
Munich offers creative retreats, incredible networking potential, and—most importantly for us—it's home to many agencies and clients. Everything fits together perfectly for us.
To further boost business, the necessary small change will soon be collected, says Sophie:
"We're aiming for a seven-figure financing round this fall, among other things to drive our expansion. In five years, Agenturmatching will no longer be our sole B2B matching platform. We want to extend our idea—bringing business partners together through expert matching—to other industries."
And those who work hard deserve to party sometimes. Where can you find the Agenturmatching team in Munich's nightlife? Axel relies entirely on the expertise of his co-founder:
"Sophie checks the DJ sets in advance and chooses which club we'll be celebrating at on our bi-weekly team nights. We like to end up at Corleone or Harry Klein."
