popularc is an online marketplace for architecture and home-building competitions. The Munich-based startup aims to connect creative designers and architects with individual clients and quality-conscious construction companies. Co-founder Sebastian answers our 7 questions.
1. Who are you and what do you do? Please briefly introduce yourself and your services!
popularc is a platform for architecture and home-building competitions. We want to offer builders the opportunity to launch their own architectural competition for their dream home, select their favorite from a wide range of creative house designs, and then realize it with one of our construction partners.
Individual architectural concepts at a fixed price and mediation of construction partners
We are Sebastian Doppelhammer (39), architect and managing director of co.mod Architekten GmbH and Peter Kaufmann (30), civil engineer/MBA and managing director of Kaufmann Bau GmbH.
The idea for the online marketplace originated in a small study group during my architecture studies at the Munich University of Applied Sciences. Our goal was to develop individual and architecturally sophisticated designs for single-family homes and to alleviate the building owner's fear of excessive architectural costs. We were SCE Incubator and developed the first prototype of our platform.
After we launched our platform and were able to realize the first design concepts for our clients with our creative community, my current co-founder, Peter Kaufmann, became aware of our platform. Peter is a civil engineer (with an MBA) and managing director of KaufmannBau GmbH. He builds single-family and multi-family homes using solid timber construction with his own company. Since he found our marketplace idea incredibly exciting, he suggested we pursue the project together.
2. But that's been around for a long time!
No. There is currently no platform on the German market that offers architectural services as a competition for small to medium-sized projects for private clients.
Mission: Sophisticated houses and a more diverse cityscape
Currently, only 3,510,000 single-family and multi-family homes in Germany are planned and built by architects. The majority, more than 9,510,000, are built by the prefabricated housing industry or by property developers. These catalog homes are almost exclusively seen in our new housing developments. Architecturally sophisticated homes are unfortunately all too rare. We want to change that with our popularc platform!
3. What has been your biggest challenge so far?
Perseverance – in team building, but also in concept development.
It took some time to find the right team for this project. Together with my partner Peter Kaufmann, we now have not only the architectural expertise on board, but also the building contractor's experience in house construction.
The conservative architecture industry needs a revolution
Together, we aim to revolutionize the architecture industry in Germany—which is fundamentally very conservative toward innovation and digital progress. Therefore, our initial focus has been on the niche segment of single-family and multi-family homes.
4. Let’s get down to business: How is business going?
The popularc platform was completely redesigned this year and adapted to the new concept for single-family and multi-family homes. We are currently in the soft launch phase and are using the time for testing and optimization.
Our creative community of architects and designers is growing steadily; several projects have already been successfully completed, and further project inquiries have come in. At the same time, we are continuing to expand our network of construction partners and preparing our marketing campaigns.
5. What does Munich mean to you?
Munich has a great architecture scene, even if it is somewhat conservative in some areas. However, the city offers us everything we need for our startup, including great contacts with architectural publishers, international software manufacturers, and events unique in Germany, such as BAU Munich, ExpoReal, BIM World, and Bits & Pretzels, to name just a few.
From our perspective, Munich has a great startup scene. At the SCE Strascheg Center for Entrepreneurship, as well as BayStartUP we could always count on support!
For us, Munich is simply the most beautiful city in the world, besides “laptops and lederhosen”!
Digital transformation for the architecture industry
6. How will your startup become the next unicorn? Or will we see you soon at Epic Fail Night?
Digital transformation has already taken place in many industries. We believe this digital transformation will not stop at the architecture industry either. Processes are increasingly changing, and customers are demanding more individuality, variety, and cost optimization.
With popularc, we're striving to transform the architectural design process and optimize it for our clients. Many things that clients can't even imagine today will soon become reality—to name just one: "popularc goes virtual reality!"
7. Pork knuckle or fish on a stick?
Steckerlfisch – we love the Oktoberfest and the beer gardens in Munich!
