Simpleclub is receiving a total of €3 million from German family entrepreneurs, including Marie-Christine Ostermann (Rullko), Fabian Kienbaum (Kienbaum Consultants International), and Matthias Bruch (Globus). With this strategic investment, they aim to advance digital vocational training in German SMEs and thus alleviate the shortage of skilled workers. Other investors include existing investor 10x Founders, VC Bonsai Partners, as well as Florian Glinicke (Glinicke Automobilgruppe), Lutz Goebel and Eva Kempf (Henkelhausen), Eike Klein and Marek Lehmann (U+I Interact), Andreas Krengel (WEPA Gruppe), Stefan Peukert (Masterplan), Hauke Schwiezer (Gen Talents, Startup Teens), Jürgen Schwiezer (former Roche board member), Robin Tschöpe (Leasingmarkt.de), and Gülsah Wilke (2hearts).
"Training people is not just a matter of the heart for us, but a necessity! Simpleclub ensures that we can offer young people a digital and contemporary education,"
explained Marie-Christine Ostermann, managing partner of the family business Rullko and President of the Association of Family Businesses.
“Simpleclub is an essential lever to address the shortage of specialists and teachers”
"Simpleclub is a key lever for addressing the shortage of skilled workers and teachers. This creates a win-win-win situation: Apprentices receive flexible and personalized training, while companies and their trainers are relieved, as are vocational schools and their teaching staff,"
supplemented Fabian Kienbaum, Kienbaum Consultants International.
The startup plans to invest the funds in the digitalization of additional training occupations. Based on the vocational school curricula, the startup's subject and didactics experts create the content in the form of text, videos, interactive graphics, and exam questions.
Alexander Giesecke, founder and CEO of Simpleclub, explains:
"We are very pleased about the investment from German SMEs. The fact that the impetus for better vocational training comes from the heart of the German economy is an important signal and a result of our strong growth: the quadrupling of our core B2B business compared to the previous year."
Nicolai Schork, founder and managing director of Simpleclub, adds:
"Our commitment is so important right now because we're seeing more and more trainers retiring. We're helping to address a key cause of the skills shortage."
