Munich Startup: What does Savrr do? What problem do you solve?
Nico Gemkow, co-founder of Savrr: Savrr is the new approach for sustainable growth in e-commerceWith our "Save Now, Buy Later" (SNBL) payment solution, we address both economic and social problems. From an economic perspective, retailers benefit from increased sales, long-term customer loyalty, and increased wallet share, while Savrr offers a means to combat cart abandonment and low customer lifetime value. On the other side of our B2B2C business model are consumers who are rewarded for saving on a product or brand. The social problem we want to counteract is society's growing indebtedness through the use of seemingly attractive "Buy Now, Pay Later" (BNPL) services.
Munich Startup: But that's been around for a long time!
Nico Gemkow, co-founder of Savrr: Of course, the concept of saving isn't new. And the idea of "Save Now Buy Later" has been floating around the fintech bubble for some time. What's new, however, is the easy integration of a customizable SNBL solution into online shops. Other competitors, of which there aren't many, especially in the German market, are currently pursuing a marketplace approach using savings apps.
Savrr aims to positively influence financial behavior
Munich Startup: What is your founding story?
Nico Gemkow, co-founder of Savrr: The fundamental question we asked ourselves as part of an innovation project together with Volksbank Mittweida and the venture builder Mantro was: "How can we have a lasting positive impact on Germans' financial behavior in times of rising debt and short-term loans?" One of our main concerns, however, was not to hinder the business of (online) retailers, but ideally to actually support them positively. With Savrr, we achieved just that – a win-win situation.
Munich Startup: What have been your biggest challenges so far?
Nico Gemkow, co-founder of Savrr: One of our biggest challenges was undoubtedly the development of our MVP (Minimum Viable Product). On the one hand, we were under a certain amount of time pressure, as our MVP was still far from 100 percent complete when we signed Zalando as our first major test partner. On the other hand, the demands on ourselves understandably increased to meet the needs of Europe's largest online fashion retailer with our product.
Munich Startup: Where would you like to be in one year, where in five years?
Nico Gemkow, co-founder of Savrr: In one year, we aim to have successfully established our SNBL payment solution on the German market. We want to see the first positive impact on consumer financial behavior and increase our business customer base to a low double-digit number within this period. We have ambitious goals for the next five years. We plan to offer our services not only in Germany, but across Europe or even globally. The long-term goal is to be recognized as a leading provider in the field of SNBL solutions.
Startup location Munich: Interested and open community
Munich Startup: How have you experienced Munich as a startup location so far?
Nico Gemkow, co-founder of Savrr: Munich has proven to be an extremely positive location for us so far. There is a wide variety of relevant events here, such as the Royal Jungle or the Bits & Pretzels, which offer us valuable networking opportunities. The interest and openness of the Munich startup community have been a great help. By the way: For anyone attending this year's Bits, please stop by our booth and say hi – we look forward to seeing you!
Munich Startup: Outsource or do it yourself?
Nico Gemkow, co-founder of Savrr: Do it yourself. We've decided to manage all aspects of our business ourselves, together with Volksbank Mittweida. In addition, Mantro, as an incubator, provides us with the necessary resources and support to implement everything in-house, thus maintaining maximum flexibility.
