Tobias Riedle is the founder of FindPenguins. He previously presented his travel app on the startup show "Die Höhle der Löwen." We wanted to learn more about the startup and asked Tobias our 7 questions.
1. Who are you and what do you do? Please briefly introduce yourself and your startup!
We are FindPenguinsYou've probably heard that before, especially among travelers or if you watched "The Lion's Den" two years ago. FindPenguins is an app (we also have a website, but that doesn't interest many people these days ✌️) that lets you effortlessly and automatically record travel experiences—basically, in German slang, a "travel blog" app, or as we call it: a "travel profile."
A cool feature is that everything happens automatically: maps, photo albums, statistics, weather, and so on. If you activate our automatic tracking, you'll even get your travel route without having to post anything. But of course, we also want our users to create posts ("footprints") for the places they visit while traveling and upload their photos and videos there. Other users can then follow, like, etc., just like on Instagram or Twitter. At the end, thanks to a clever algorithm, you can order a photo book of your trip, created in just a few seconds, to your home.
There is only one founder, Tobias Riedle, 34, graduate in media informatics.
What sets us apart? We try to encourage our users to not only record trips spanning several months, because our system also works wonderfully for a vacation to Greece or a city trip to Rome. Hence our slogan: "All your trips in 1 app." Just give it a try.
The competition never sleeps
2. But that's been around for a long time!
When we started, that wasn't the case. However, that's changed now, and we've gotten some competition. Let's see who grows the fastest and makes the best decisions.
3. What has been your biggest challenge so far?
As a tech startup like FindPenguins, the biggest challenge is probably the very, very, very large development effort. Everyone is used to standard apps from Apple, Google, Facebook, and the like. Keeping up with that as a small company is virtually impossible. So, we spent about three years developing (and are still doing so) to get to a stage that our users find cool. Luckily, we've finally reached that point! Of course, we don't make any money during this time.
Now we just need to solve the marketing challenge. If anyone would like to help, please feel free to contact us; we're currently looking for employees.
Cooler than Instagram?
4. Let’s get down to business: How is business going?
A friend of mine once said, "Two years ago, I looked at the app and thought, 'It's okay that there aren't that many users.' Today, I look at the app and think it deserves many more users." He also said that he thinks FindPenguins looks almost cooler than Instagram (the app, that is). We love those words, of course! Business is good, but we have a system that could handle 1,000 times more. Now for the facts: we'll reach 100,000 members in the next few weeks, which is pretty awesome.
5. What does Munich mean to you?
Die-hard Munich residents, please skip this paragraph! 😉 No, it's not that bad. However, we started FindPenguins in Chile. So it wasn't really founded in Munich. And we're not really involved in the startup scene here either. That's why Munich is of little importance to our business. Nevertheless, we love our small office on Gärtnerplatz, and Munich as a city is simply amazing. We don't want to leave, not one bit. Even Silicon Valley could be calling (okay, we don't believe that anymore!).
You have to be up for it
6. How will your startup become the next unicorn? Or will we see you soon at Epic Fail Night?
Well, we're already profitable, which means we'll be attending Epic Fail Night as spectators. But FindPenguins won't be the next Facebook. We're an app that requires some work. To create a great travel profile, you should add a few points here and there while on tour, select pictures, and write text. Most people aren't prepared to do that. But if you're up for it, FindPenguins is the right choice for you!
7. Fish on a stick or pork knuckle?
Neither is that great. Pizza?
