Munich Startup: Who are you and what do you do? Please introduce yourselves briefly!
Vcoach: The Vcoach team consists of four founders, all with many years of professional experience and perfectly complementary:
Stephanie Mayer (34, M.SC. Business Administration St. Gallen and Cologne) is responsible for Product & Sales. She has already worked for five DAX-listed companies, including in-house consulting for the world's largest logistics group and as Vice President of Channel Management at ProSieben.
Benjamin Gumpp (35, Dpl-Kfm. TUM-BWL TU Munich/CDTM) is responsible for Finance & Operations. He has more than seven years of consulting and industry experience (including as a project manager at Oliver Wyman, one of the leading management consultancies for financial services, and as Vice President of Channel Management at Sat.1).
Tobias Holzer (29, M.Sc. in Physics, RWTH Aachen University) is responsible for technology, particularly for training automation. He is a physicist and machine learning expert. He is a serial entrepreneur in the field of machine learning and, among other things, has built the AI services division for the AI venture studio Merantix. He also enjoys being on stage himself; he is a TEDx speaker and presenter.
Dr. Clemens Lechner (34, German Debating Champion, Graduate Psychologist, Friedrich Schiller University Jena) is a globally recognized researcher in the field of soft skills assessment. Thanks to him, we can incorporate the latest scientific findings into our training in real time.
We came together primarily through our shared enthusiasm for our virtual training product. We share the goal of making high-impact training accessible to as many people as possible through automation, so they can get the most out of themselves, both professionally and personally.
“Transferring to practice is usually a problem”
Munich Startup: What problem does your startup solve?
Vcoach: Good communication is essential for both professional and personal success. For this reason, companies invest 15 billion euros annually in soft skills training alone.
However, existing training solutions are ineffective. They lack flexibility (1-2 day block seminars, bookable weeks in advance), are not scalable (max. 10-12 participants), and transferring knowledge to practice is often problematic. Communication can only be improved through regular practice and feedback – with 12 participants in a group training session, this individual time is rather limited. E-learning is also unsuitable, as few people become better communicators simply by watching videos.
That’s why we have a “Personal Trainer” for communication which provides individual feedback on-the-job in small learning units, thus enabling real and lasting improvement through regular practice.
Munich Startup: But that's been around for a long time!
Vcoach: There are indeed already many soft skills training courses available. However, trends such as digitalization, new work, upskilling, and the war for talent require more customized and accessible solutions. Furthermore, the effectiveness and sustainability of training courses have always been a problem, and the cost-benefit ratio is also suboptimal.
Not just another training! Vcoach is different from what you're used to from traditional (face-to-face) training:
More effective: More practice and individual feedback
More flexible: Digital, simple (5 min/day), self-determined
Cheaper: no trainer, no presence & no travel costs
More objective: Measurable & scientifically based
More innovative: AI-based and can be carried out with a smartphone
“Remote from the start”
Munich Startup: What have been your three biggest challenges so far?
Vcoach: The right sales pitch & channel: A lot of trial and error at the beginning resulted in a solid, repeatable pitch that excites potential customers right from the start. This took a while at first.
Focus! There are a thousand ways to define a product, address customers, and implement technology. It's crucial not to get bogged down in this and to trust your gut feeling, especially at the start when you have little quantitative customer data.
Starting a startup during the coronavirus pandemic: Fortunately, our business model is a perfect fit for the current situation and solves the problem that most in-person training courses are currently suspended. Nevertheless, starting sales just in time for the first lockdown was not an easy task. Nobody wanted to talk to us, budgets were on hold, and many simply couldn't be reached by phone because they were working from home. Fortunately, this has changed significantly since it became clear that business, and thus also training, must continue and that this phase cannot simply be sat out.
We've set up our team remotely from the start, which is incredibly convenient, but also presents some challenges when it comes to team building. We're addressing this through regular virtual team lunches and drinks, as well as—whenever possible—joint in-person workshops.
Munich Startup: How are things going?
Vcoach: Getting listed as a new training provider in companies during the coronavirus pandemic is indeed a bit of a time-consuming process and requires a bit of patience. However, after building the funnel for a few months, the number of licenses sold is increasing significantly every month. What makes us particularly happy, given these circumstances, is that we're receiving extremely positive customer feedback as soon as the first participants complete the training. We've already had several customers purchase additional licenses within the first four months. That's a great sign.
Additionally, our product just won the HR Innovation Award in the "Learning & Training" category. It was presented by Europe's largest HR fair (Zukunft Personal) and a distinguished jury of practitioners.
Most of our current clients are small to medium-sized companies with 500 or more employees. Naturally, our training is particularly interesting for service providers and consultancies – after all, a confident presence is essentially their core business. One of our clients is Namics. Beyond that, our clients are diverse, essentially everyone who has previously booked in-person communication training; for example, the fashion brand Marc O'Polo (training headquarters employees) or the Technical University of Rosenheim (training new teaching staff). We also have several pilot projects with publicly listed companies.
“When it comes to founding a company and product development, you just have to have the courage to do it.”
Munich Startup: How do you rate Munich as a startup location?
Vcoach: We're only partly based in Munich. Clemens is in Mannheim, Tobias in Berlin. So we're more of a virtual team, which is a great advantage, especially in these times. Beyond that, though, Munich is great! We're located – when there's no lockdown – right on Marienplatz and have Wayra You'll have the fantastic opportunity to become part of a strong startup community. There's also plenty to offer investors, and for current and future team members, Munich is a very livable city with excellent leisure activities. Potential customers are also plentiful.
In summary: We highly recommend Munich as a location! However, a certain degree of flexibility and openness to a virtual setup is very helpful when it comes to recruiting!
Munich Startup: Risk or security?
Vcoach: All in! You have to have the courage to bring concepts to market without double- and triple-testing them, and then test them with real data and improve them. That's the big difference between startup and corporate life.
Security is important when it comes to issues like data protection, especially in our business. But when it comes to founding a company and developing products, you also have to have some courage.
