Munich Startup: What does your startup do? What problem do you solve?
Enna: Ultimately, we wanted to solve a problem that many of us share. Grandma and grandpa aren’t digital natives and are therefore automatically excluded from many areas (e.g. FaceTime, family WhatsApp groups, etc.). So we wanted to create access to the digital world where you can’t do anything wrong. That’s why we developed our own dock that allows you to control our Enna app on a standard tablet using unique and especially tactile command cards (Enna Cards).
On the other hand, our second app runs on the smartphones of relatives, which allows them to send photos to grandma and grandpa, start video calls and, most importantly, create and order new Enna Cards. So Enna is actually a solution for the whole family.
With Enna, we want to contribute to greater digital inclusion in our society. Still, almost 10 million people in Germany don’t use the internet in everyday life or only sporadically – in most cases because digital devices, apps and the like are too complicated for them. Those affected are mainly people of advanced age, with illnesses or disabilities. With Enna, we have developed a solution that even people without any digital skills can easily and independently access digital services such as video communication, entertainment or support.
Enna: “We combine maximum ease of use with unlimited variety in digital offerings”
Munich Startup: But that’s been around forever!
Enna: To our knowledge, such a tactile operating concept doesn’t exist for our target group yet. There are providers who, like us, aim to bring people into the digital world. In most cases, however, they merely simplify common operating patterns, such as by enlarging icons or simplifying menu navigation. But they also always limit the possibilities that digitalization could bring to just a few applications. Voice-controlled solutions also claim to bridge the digital divide, but are not yet mature enough today for use by target groups for whom conversation with a machine seems abstract and often intimidating. Ultimately, all existing solutions require a non-negligible minimum level of digital competence and intelligence. Enna is different. We combine maximum ease of operation with unlimited variety in digital offerings.
Munich Startup: What’s your founding story?
Enna: The first Enna prototype was built in 2016 by our founder Jakob for his grandmother Liselotte. She had previously complained to him that she was excluded from family groups on WhatsApp and therefore never got to see the great photos that Jakob shared from his travels. With the system Jakob developed, Liselotte was then able to independently access photos and videos from the entire family using just a few buttons. Word spread in their circle of friends and everyone wanted a “grandma PC” for their grandparents. Demand grew so quickly that Jakob couldn’t keep up with production, so he decided to quit his full-time job and focus entirely on “digital inclusion.” Together with co-founders Moritz and Tim, he developed the tactile operating concept and founded our company in August 2020.
Munich Startup: What have been your biggest challenges so far?
Enna: The pandemic was a challenge for us in that access to our (often health-vulnerable) target group was denied to us in many cases. At the same time, we were also not spared from delayed supply chains in the area of electronic components (keyword chip shortage), so we had to postpone our market launch several times. But thanks to great partners, a fundamental optimism in the team and complete confidence in our product and our market, we were able to overcome all obstacles well and now look forward with confidence to the coming months.
Munich Startup: How’s business?
Enna: Our official market launch is still to come, so for now we’re still being a bit reserved in our communications. However, demand is already very high and we’ve received a lot of pre-orders and inquiries.
To reach as large an audience as possible with Enna, we’ll be relying heavily on our own content in the future and our initial tests have worked really well. On TikTok, for example, we went viral right away with our first video. This shows how many people notice a similar problem with their grandparents.
We’ve also been testing Enna for several months in various nursing and disability care facilities, which have also expressed interest in acquiring Enna for their clients.
“We’ve found Munich to be a very good startup location”
Munich Startup: How have you experienced the startup location of Munich so far?
Enna: We are all native Münchners, so we know the city and its opportunities very well and are well-networked. Our office is located right in the middle of Praterinsel, which are also not bad prerequisites for enjoying the city’s advantages. For us as a startup, it was also very helpful to be able to draw on the expertise and support of two Munich accelerator programs: The Strascheg Center for Entrepreneurship of the Hochschule München as well as the Master Accelerator, the startup program from German Entrepreneurship. We’ve found Munich to be a very good startup location, which we can only recommend to other founders.
Munich Startup: Risk or security?
Enna: A healthy mix of both. When it comes to the quality of our product, we don’t want to make any compromises and would always rather play it safe than, for example, go to market too early with an unfinished product. In return, we boldly and openly dive into areas that are completely new to all of us. This includes areas such as nursing care and disability services, but also cooperation with major content houses and other partners, for whom Enna can create access to digitally excluded target groups.
