Munich Startup: What does your startup do? What problem do you solve?
Johannes Bader, Heyroom: We founded Heyroom to revolutionize finding roommates for shared apartments. Heyroom is based on a vibe score and provides a clear overview of potential roommates tailored to the needs of the shared apartment residents. No more copy-paste applications and endless shared apartment casting sessions – with us, finding new roommates is simple and stress-free. We believe that harmonious living together in a shared apartment is crucial for the well-being of residents. With Heyroom, we want to ensure that utility-based shared apartments become a thing of the past and that people can feel comfortable in their shared apartment.
Munich Startup: But that’s been around for ages!
Johannes Bader: Heyroom offers shared apartments an innovative solution to quickly and easily find the right roommates. When posting a vacant room, shared apartments can add their “vibe” – interests and values like “hiking, day drinking, environment, art, vegetarian”. Based on the vibe score, applicants can directly see who is the best fit for them. The ranking system is based on compatibility and creates harmonious shared apartment life, regardless of gender, nationality, age, or salary. Heyroom improves the image of shared apartments and makes living in a shared apartment more accessible to many. Such a service did not exist on the market before, but we developed it to revolutionize shared apartments.
Munich Startup: What is your founding story?
Johannes Bader: Two years ago, my two friends and I lived together in Munich. When I had to move out, the question arose of how we could find someone who would fit into the shared apartment. That’s why I sent an unsolicited application to market leader WG-Gesucht and shared my vision of how the platform could really improve and innovate. Unfortunately, my application was skillfully ignored. That’s why we took matters into our own hands and created Heyroom, a highly innovative solution, within just 12 months that is unrivaled on the market in terms of user-friendliness and user experience.
By now, Heyroom is no longer just one person, but a team of seven interdisciplinary and multicultural experts with experience in top management, IT, and advertising. We are an unbeatable and high-performing team with extremely high-quality output.
Heyroom: “Simple and uncomplicated way to find the right roommate”
Munich Startup: What have been your biggest challenges so far?
Johannes Bader: Our target audience is people who live in shared apartments and are looking for new roommates. The process of finding the right person who fits into the shared apartment is often time-consuming and frustrating when you don’t have a suitable platform.
The biggest challenge is reaching this target group, since there have been no new options or solutions on the market for years and virtually no advertising has been done in this area. Many shared apartment residents are therefore not yet actively looking for alternatives and instead stick with the old and inadequate platforms for shared apartment searches.
At Heyroom, we want to close this gap and offer a simple and uncomplicated way to find the right roommate. Once our target audience hears about us and uses us, they are enthusiastic about the benefits Heyroom offers them.
Munich Startup: Where do you want to be in one year, and where in five years?
Johannes Bader: Currently, we are revolutionizing the shared apartment scene in Munich and ensuring that no one has to live in utility-based shared apartments anymore. We already have over 2,500 registered users and have brought together more than 50 roommates. And that exclusively in Munich and within 3 weeks.
Since we see that many people are already moving within Munich, vacant rooms are becoming available and creating a chain reaction that is completely changing the Munich shared apartment scene.
In one year, the Germany rollout will be complete and user numbers will be well over one million, which reflects approximately 25 percent of the total market in Germany.
Our vision is to become Europe’s shared apartment platform and make it easier for over 20 million people to find the right shared apartment and roommate. We will also work hard to ensure that shared apartments are considered in building planning in the future so we can shape the housing of tomorrow and give shared apartments a voice in society.
Munich Startup: How have you experienced the Munich startup location so far?
Johannes Bader: The startup location in Munich is mainly dominated by B2B businesses, which leads to a lack of social aspect. Particularly in the area of digital advertising, revenue streams, and guerrilla marketing, there is often a lack of expertise in the network, which therefore hasn’t really helped us. Nevertheless, we received great interest from TU München and LMU München to collaborate with us on research or teaching projects. Our topic has a high social aspect, is forward-thinking, and views shared apartments as the most sustainable way of living today and in the future.
Munich Startup: Outsource or do it yourself?
Johannes Bader: Right now: do it yourself and get support and input from the network. Check it out: www.heyroom.app – no agency is going to build you an app like this and the associated marketing.
