Munich Startup: What does your startup do? What problem do you solve?
Peeku: Peeku is a digital platform for user-generated erotic literature – by women, for women. We offer an alternative to existing erotic content on the internet, which is mostly produced by and for men. Women are demonstrably less aroused by visual or auditory stimuli than men and, especially when it comes to sexual arousal, prefer to get themselves in the mood with their own imagination. Through user-generated content, we also offer an authentic perspective on female desire and break with outdated role clichés and stereotypes.
Munich Startup: But that's been around for a long time!
Peeku: Erotic literature is very popular! However, existing platforms are mostly in the "sleazy corners" – they are overloaded with obscene advertisements, the published stories sometimes contain illegal topics, or the registered users behave inappropriately and make readers feel uncomfortable. It's not a place where you feel comfortable and want to explore your sexuality. With Peeku, we are creating a space where women feel safe and can explore and live out their fantasies. We offer an aesthetic and modern environment that focuses on female pleasure – without any sleazy image.
Munich Startup: What is your founding story?
Peeku: We were friends long before we founded Peeku. In our friendship, sexuality and desire were always topics we could discuss openly and without shame. We repeatedly noticed one problem: female desire has been portrayed from the male perspective for far too long. It was clear to us that we had to change that! We want to rewrite the history of female desire – from the perspective of us women.
Peeku: “Every woman should have the right to live out her own sexuality independently and without fear.”
Munich Startup: What have been your biggest challenges so far?
Peeku: We're both career changers, originally architects. Since we don't have a traditional business background, we're currently learning a lot. At the same time, we see this challenge as a great strength. We're self-teaching many topics and occasionally take unconventional paths. The most important thing is to always listen to your gut feeling, and we've had nothing but positive experiences with this so far.
Munich Startup: Where would you like to be in one year, where in five years?
Peeku: We have a lot planned for 2023! We want to further expand our online offering and are planning some collaborations with great companies. Peeku is currently 100 percent bootstrapped, and we will launch the first funding rounds in the spring. Our goal is to be internationally oriented right from the start, as female pleasure is definitely a globally relevant topic. Every woman should have the right to live out her sexuality independently and without fear.
Munich Startup: How have you experienced Munich as a startup location so far?
Peeku: We believe Munich is a good location to start a business. There are great programs and organizations that really help you progress and always provide us with the right contact person for any issues. What we would like to see is that, in particular, Female founder scene in Munich is growing even stronger and many great women are joining with whom you can exchange ideas.
Munich Startup: Risk or security?
Peeku: If you're putting everything on the line and starting your own business, there's only one answer: the courage to take risks!
