Munich Startup: What does your startup do? What problem do you solve?
Numi.: Numi. enables a digital and customer-friendly return process for products. We operate in the environment of Circular Economy (Circular Economy) and support companies that want to take full responsibility for the lifecycle of their products with our digital white label solution. Numi. enables the easy management and tracking of return flows and automates key functions such as the creation of shipping labels, digital pre-sorting of products by condition, and dynamic customer payouts. We offer an intelligent, user-friendly, and digital process that can be connected to companies' existing infrastructure (e.g., shop systems like Shopify) via API and ERP integrations.
What problem are we solving? We live in a linear take-make-waste economy in which only 8.6 percent of the world's resources are reused. Circular approaches are required to close these loops. Their relevance is increasing dramatically due to both the increasing scarcity of resources and EU directives (Circular Economy Action Plan), so that the majority of all manufacturing companies will have to consider circular models in the next 5-10 years. Currently, it is a major challenge for companies to recycle products and resources after use, as customer access is largely lacking and there are no established digital processes for this.
Munich Startup: But that's been around for a long time!
Numi.: Digital solutions for returns exist, of course, but there are still very few for circular take-back programs. However, this category is becoming increasingly relevant, especially for consumer goods brands, such as those in the electronics and fashion sectors, not least due to the tightened regulations at the EU level. This creates a whole new category of supply chains – circular supply chains.
Numi.: “Our vision is based on a simple insight”
Munich Startup: What is your founding story?
Numi.: Our mission at Numi is based on a simple insight we had several years ago: Our incredible level of consumption and the resulting throwaway society are destroying our planet. Each of us owns an incredible amount of things, and when something breaks (often just a small defect in the product), there are usually hardly any repair options, let alone a good return option that guarantees meaningful recycling. This fact, combined with our growing knowledge of circular principles and business models, led us to believe that existing value chains need to be expanded to include circular systems.
In discussions with many companies, we discovered that the will and desire to implement circularity is present in many. What struck us during this phase was that there are hardly any solutions that address the (initial) use of products. This is where our mission at Numi came from: Making product returns easy and profitable for businesses.
Munich Startup: What have been your biggest challenges so far?
Numi.: With our startup, we're operating in a very dynamic field that's currently developing in parallel. There are some pioneers who are already building their product cycles, but it will still take a few years before the topic reaches the mainstream. Therefore, at this point, it's definitely a challenge to find the right partners for development and to adapt our approach so that we reach as many potential customers as possible, even if they may not have heard of the concept of a "circular economy." So, in addition to building the startup, we're also doing pioneering work in spreading the concept.
“In five years, we will be the leading partner for circular return solutions”
Munich Startup: Where would you like to be in one year, where in five years?
Numi.: We aim to complete our pilot phase within a year and launch our product in 2023. In five years, we will be the leading partner for circular take-back solutions, supporting hundreds of sustainable and future-oriented companies on their path to greater circularity.
Munich Startup: How have you experienced Munich as a startup location so far?
Numi.: We experience Munich as an extremely dynamic startup hub with almost unlimited opportunities. We now have a very good network and regularly exchange ideas with other founders. This is not only fun, but also gives us courage and helps us a lot with the small and large challenges that come with being a founder.
Munich Startup: Outsource or do it yourself?
Numi.: We're more of a "do-it-yourself" crowd, especially in the early startup phase. We try a lot of things and learn an incredible amount of new things every day. However, we also absolutely believe in the power of a good network and regularly seek out targeted input and expertise, as well as challenge ourselves along the way with sparring partners.
