Munich Startup: Who are you and what do you do? Please introduce yourselves briefly!
Felicitas Schäfer, Mavin Guides: My name is Felicitas Schäfer. I'm 29 and studied mechanical engineering in Karlsruhe. I'm currently in the final stages of my doctorate in thermofluid dynamics at the Technical University of Munich. Nick Engelhardt is 30 and studied mechanical engineering with me, but with a focus on mechatronics, and currently works as a software developer at BMW. Benjamin Zorn is 27, studied electrical engineering at the Technical University of Munich, and works as a software developer at EFS.
We met during our studies through the international student competition "Formula Student" and have been in touch ever since. Nick and I had been talking about our idea for Mavin Guides for a long time, and during the coronavirus pandemic, we decided to turn this idea into reality and start a company. Looking for support, we presented the idea to Benni, and he was immediately on board.
At Mavin Guides, Benni and Nick now primarily take care of our software, i.e. the app and the server infrastructure, and I, as CEO, am responsible for steering the company in the right direction.
Munich Startup: What problem does your startup solve?
Felicitas Schäfer: We experienced this problem firsthand, and that's when I came up with the idea. At the time, we were on a road trip in America and were in Los Angeles for just a few days. The city is incredibly vast, and we hadn't prepared anything. Of course, we still wanted to see some of it, ideally in a way that suited our interests. Wouldn't it be great if someone who knows their stuff could simply put together a tour for me that I really like, without having to plan anything?
Mavin Guides aims to solve this problem. We're your friend in another city, with the tips you need to make your visit relaxing and memorable—simply the guide in your pocket.
Ad hoc tours instead of inflexibility
In short, young city tourists want the information and insider tips of a guided city tour, but not the cost and inflexibility. They want to start a tour on the fly, without having to do extensive research beforehand or make any kind of arrangement. That's exactly what we offer with our self-guided city tours in the Mavin Guides app.
The app offers city tours on various topics, from classic ones like history and architecture to more modern ones like street art tours and tours of Munich's most Instagrammable spots. Along the way, there's navigation, photos, information, and audio guides directly in the app. We create the tours with everyone who has something to show, including official tour guides, Munich Instagram stars, and even just friends of ours who know their neighborhoods really well.
Munich Startup: But that's been around for a long time!
Felicitas Schäfer: Well, not quite – or do you know of an app that offers exactly that? There are, of course, a few players on the market, but so far, none have made it big because the offerings are simply not right. Some offer tours in 100 cities, but only one or two in each – that's obviously not an attractive offer. Others offer many tours, but the quality is questionable, so every customer has to ask themselves whether they're wasting their time.
We're building our offering city-by-city, meaning we only launch the app for a city once we believe we offer real added value. In Munich, we've obviously done all of our own tours ourselves and think they're really great. Nick and I moved to Munich just a few years ago, and we've learned a tremendous amount from the tours. But Benni, a Munich native, also learned a lot he didn't know before. So, the tours are worthwhile for everyone.
Munich Startup: Has there ever been a point where you almost failed?
Felicitas Schäfer: It hasn't failed, but of course, things haven't been entirely without a few setbacks for us either. When we started our venture, we spent a lot of time researching comparable offerings and the competition. We found a site that was so similar to our plan that we briefly considered whether we should really go with it. Then we took a very thorough look at their model and offerings and came to the conclusion that we could definitely compete – and that we'd rather learn from their mistakes than be intimidated by them.
Pre-seed round planned for 2022
Munich Startup: Where would you like to be in one year, where in five years?
Felicitas Schäfer: Next year, we'll be at the end of the proof-of-concept phase. So far, we've been funding all developments with the share capital of our GmbH, which the three of us raised together. At the end of the PoC, we plan to raise external capital for the first time in a pre-seed round so that we can quickly expand our offerings to other cities in Germany. Munich serves as our home base; we know our way around here and know people who do. Of course, this will be more challenging in other cities. Our goals for next year are Hamburg and Berlin.
In five years, we want to be represented in major European cities, such as London, Paris, Rome, and Barcelona. To achieve this, we will naturally need local contacts, partners, and employees who will ensure that the quality of our offerings remains at the highest level.
Munich Startup: How do you rate Munich as a startup location?
Felicitas Schäfer: Everything we've experienced so far has been very positive – wherever we ask, we receive support and constructive criticism, which is something we can really use. However, we founded our company in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, and during this time, the startup community naturally met less, so we had fewer opportunities to join. But that's changing now, and we're happy that the community in Munich is so strong. For example, we're already really looking forward to participating in the Bits & Pretzels Festival next year.
Munich Startup: Coworking or your own office?
Felicitas Schäfer: I think here, too, we've been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic – even the three of us weren't really allowed to meet at all, and we held many meetings and developments online. With our business model, we'll continue to have relatively few employees in many cities in the future and will therefore rely heavily on remote working.
At the moment we are working from our private homes and that is working quite well so far. We prefer to save the investment for topics that seem more important to us. But if it ever gets to the point where that no longer works, then a Coworking space the logical next step.
