Munich Startup: Last time we spoke, you said that Lanes & Planes open up the European market wants. Were you able to achieve this goal?
Veit Blumschein, Founder and CEO of Lanes & Planes: Our last conversation was in spring 2020. A tremendous amount has happened since then: From 40 employees back then, we've now grown to well over 100 "Lanies." And the business travel volume handled through Lanes & Planes has reached entirely new levels. We've also more than quadrupled our revenue. We're incredibly proud that this remarkable development was possible despite the pandemic.
Above all, it also shows that the market continues to have enormous potential. With over 1,000 satisfied companies now using Lanes & Planes, we can clearly see that business travel overall is returning to a similar level to before the pandemic. And that medium-sized companies, in particular, are more interested than ever. digital end-to-end solutions for your travel and expense management We are therefore not only very satisfied, but also more optimistic than ever that we are on the right path to tapping into the European market.
Lanes & Planes: “Pandemic (…) now plays into our hands”
Munich Startup: What obstacles did you encounter along the way?
Veit Blumschein: The pandemic was, of course, a huge challenge for all companies in the travel industry – including us. However, we used the time intensively to further improve the Lanes & Planes platform and streamline our internal processes. This now enables us to offer our customers an even better solution and scale significantly more efficiently. The fact that the market has undergone significant consolidation during the pandemic is actually playing into our hands.
However, we mustn't forget that our enormous growth since the end of the pandemic has certainly brought with it a few challenges: A scale-up that has almost quintupled its volume within a year of the pandemic needs more mature processes, more intensive communication, and, last but not least, more office space to continue working efficiently. All of this has certainly taken effort and didn't happen overnight. But it's also clear that it was worth it, and we are now well prepared for the next wave of scaling.
Well prepared for the next wave of scaling
Munich Startup: How has your solution evolved?
Veit Blumschein: We are continuously developing Lanes & Planes and have implemented well over 300 releases – not all of them just features – for our web application and mobile app over the past two years. In addition to improving the user experience, we are also constantly working on new interface integrations. For example, we now have direct interfaces with Lufthansa, Deutsche Bahn, and Sixt. This helps enormously to ensure particularly attractive terms for our customers. Furthermore, integration into ERP landscapes (=Enterprise Resource Planning, Editor's note) our customers' needs is becoming increasingly important. For this reason, we entered into a strategic partnership with the "All for One" Group this year.
Munich Startup: And how are things looking financially for you?
Veit Blumschein: Fortunately, we are in a very comfortable position because we are so financially secure that we don't need a financing round to become profitable in the medium term. This gives us a great deal of security in the current market situation. This allows us to remain true to our policy of only working with investors who share our vision, as we are not dependent on fresh capital. At the same time, we have a good idea of how we could use additional capital sensibly to place a stronger focus on expansion outside of the DACH region. In this respect, the motto "Nothing is necessary, but everything is possible!" applies here.
When growth really starts, delegate responsibility and trust
Munich Startup: What lessons have you learned so far as a founding team?
Veit Blumschein: One big lesson was definitely that once you're really starting to grow, you have to build a good management team, otherwise, as a founder, you'll just be unable to keep up. This naturally requires inspiring characters who are willing to take on responsibility. At the same time, as a founder, you also have to be willing to delegate responsibility and trust the team. In my personal experience, this sometimes feels awkward and sometimes takes some getting used to. Ultimately, however, it's the only right step and, for true scaling, there's absolutely no alternative. It's also incredibly fun to see how motivated, talented people put their heart and soul into Lanes & Planes and grow enormously as a result.
Munich Startup: What role has the Munich ecosystem played in your journey so far?
Veit Blumschein: In my opinion, a good network is absolutely essential. For me, this especially means not neglecting contact with long-standing contacts. For example, at Lanes & Planes, we had many great business angels right from the start, including those from Munich and the surrounding area, who provided us with tremendous support. These include the founders of Personio and Flixbus. We still maintain regular contact with these people today and exchange ideas. This is incredibly important and also brings us great joy.
Munich Startup: What milestones are you working towards next?
Veit Blumschein: The strong demand for our solution among small and medium-sized businesses makes us very confident that we will become a market leader in the business travel industry in the DACH region over the next three years. We expect to then handle a business travel volume of well over one billion euros for our customers through Lanes & Planes. We are already laying the groundwork for this. Currently, we are pleased to see each month that we are absolutely on the right track.
