In the “7 Questions for…” section, the Munich Startup Team takes a closer look at Munich startups. This time, founders Lukas and Hubert von nate our questions. They have developed an app that allows you to generate free donations for social projects. For this purpose, advertising is placed on the phone user's lock screen: with each "swipe," the user donates a small amount. Most recently, the career of nate as part of the BR production “Startup Bavaria” track.
1. Why did you decide to apply for the Startup Bavaria program? What were your hopes for the program?
When we applied to Startup Bavaria in the summer of 2015, we were still at the very beginning. We had just finished the initial designs for the app screens. At the same time, we knew that four crucial months lay ahead, culminating in the launch in December. And Startup Bavaria fell right in that time. For us, it was a perfect audience test for our app.
2. Have these hopes been fulfilled, or were Startup Bavaria and the coaches able to provide concrete help with your idea/project?
Startup Bavaria has enabled us to make a lot of progress in several areas. We had great publicity through BR, were able to make some valuable contacts, learned a lot about sales from our coach Julia, and, not least of all, thanks to the grand prize, we're now flying to SXSW.
3. What were the most helpful tips from your coach?
As mentioned, we were able to learn a lot, especially in the area of sales, from Julia's years of sales experience. For example, she clearly demonstrated to us that selling always involves more listening than talking.
4. What was the funniest experience while filming the show?
My highlight was when Hubert and I talked for minutes about the hard job of the sound engineer and later realized that we still had our wireless microphones on and he had overheard everything… 😀
5. Let's assume Startup Bavaria goes into a second round. In your opinion, are there any startups for which the format is particularly suitable?
I think the competition was a good fit for us. Therefore, I also believe Startup Bavaria is best suited to startups that have a clear concept and secured their first round of financing and are now entering the critical phase of market entry. Furthermore, the format is clearly more suitable for B2C startups.
6. What has been your biggest challenge so far during the founding period?
Definitely the launch weeks and the realization that you can plan and test as much as you want, the truth is still "out there" so to speak ; ) In the 3 weeks after the app was online we learned at least as much about what is important to users as we did in the 4 months of alpha and beta testing beforehand.
7. What does Munich mean to you?
For us, Munich was the perfect place to launch our startup. A booming startup scene, numerous corporations and agencies that are important to us as an advertising platform, and, specifically, a very productive working environment at Impact Hub. And, of course, the proximity to the Alps was also a decisive factor for us as mountain goats.
Thank you very much, dear nate-Team!
If you want to learn more about the donation app, click here to website.
