Munich Startup: What motivated you to found Lotaro?
Julia Kupke, Lotaro: From the start, it was clear to me that I needed freedom, an entrepreneurial-minded team, and a clear impact that shows in every task I take on. This conviction has accompanied me since my first venture. I feel at home in the startup scene because I have the opportunity every day to create something new and exchange ideas with like-minded people. This motivation drove me to found Lotaro and continues to drive me to give my all every day.
The team as a foundation for success
Munich Startup: What would you have liked to know before your first venture?
Julia Kupke: An important insight I wish I’d had before my first venture is the importance of the right team. Ideas come and go, and situations can change, but the founding team remains. In good times and bad. It is crucial to stick together, grow together, celebrate and fail together – and to build trust. The team forms the foundation for a company’s success and has a decisive influence on the course of the founding process. I paid too little attention to this initially and also didn’t know how to find out if it’s a good match.
Munich Startup: How has your company been financed so far?
Julia Kupke: We have financed our company with our own resources, through what’s called “bootstrapping”. From the start, our goal was to generate revenue directly with our service. We wanted to receive direct feedback from the market about whether customers were willing to pay for our product and whether they were satisfied with it. Many make the mistake of building a product first and then asking customers – we did it the other way around and saved a lot of time and costs.
Munich Startup: When and where do you get your best ideas?
Julia Kupke: While many people find inspiration in meditation, it’s different for me. Sports is extremely helpful for me. Especially when road biking or jogging, many ideas come to me that wouldn’t occur to me as easily at my laptop. Physical activity and movement seem to help me become creative and it’s fun too!
Otherwise, it helps to sit down with my co-founders and discuss, brainstorm, or work on new ideas outside of day-to-day operations. With our different backgrounds, many exciting topics come up.
ChatGPT as a personal assistant
Munich Startup: What are your 3 favorite work tools?
Julia Kupke: My three preferred work tools are:
- Notion: I use Notion to organize structure, processes, and documentation. It allows me to shape my workflows efficiently and manage information clearly. I also use it privately.
- Figma: I like to use Figma for any design work. With its versatile and user-friendly interface, it supports me in creating graphics, UI/UX designs, and prototypes, without me having to be a trained designer.
- ChatGPT: Of course, my personal assistant, ChatGPT, can’t be missing. It’s a valuable support to get quick answers to questions, brainstorm ideas, and help solve tasks. With ChatGPT, I practically have an intelligent helper at my side.
Munich Startup: Your top tip on “pitching”?
Julia Kupke: My top tip on “pitching” is: conduct regular video analyses. It’s important to push yourself out of your comfort zone and look at yourself critically. The best method is to record yourself during presentations and continuously work on the details. Because practice makes perfect, and there’s no limit to how often you can practice. You can even do it daily to continuously work on your presentation skills. Regular video analysis allows you to recognize your strengths, polish your appearance, and continuously improve.
Julia Kupke: “There is never the perfect time”
Munich Startup: Does it seem like a good time to found a company right now? Why?
Julia Kupke: There is never the perfect time to found a company. Of course, a few years ago it was easier in sales because companies had more money available for new initiatives. But in my opinion, it’s much more important to have a high-quality product that enables strong customer loyalty and doesn’t just achieve a one-time sales success. For this reason, it’s also possible today to get a successful start with a product that solves a problem and offers a great user experience.
The focus should be on offering a solution that meets customer needs and provides real added value. If the product has clear market demand and offers a good experience, you can found a company successfully regardless of the current economic situation.
Munich Startup: What technology or industry would you focus on for your next venture?
Julia Kupke: I don’t have a specific focus because it’s always about the user and their needs for me. For me, it’s crucial to solve a pressing problem and provide outstanding user experience. It’s not necessary to pursue the latest innovation.
What’s much more important is to tackle a problem that urgently needs solving while creating a great user experience. If you’re able to convince and excite your target audience by solving their problems and providing them with a great experience, you’ll be successful in the long term. Therefore, my focus is always on providing users with real added value and solving their problems. Regardless of the specific technology or industry.
A desk, internet, good transit access and networking
Munich Startup: What could be improved at the Munich startup location in your view?
Julia Kupke: Regarding the Munich startup location, I see two main areas that could be improved: the availability of office space and its affordability.
Office space in Munich is extremely expensive, which can be a challenge for startups. It’s especially important for startups to work together as a team and grow together during difficult phases. Although startup hubs and similar facilities are promoted, you often see corporate logos on the doors, used for “innovation meetings”.
As founders, we don’t ask for much: a desk, internet connection, good public transit access, and the ability to network with other founders. It’s not about having luxurious sofas or anything like that. Especially in the early phases, 1,000 euros rent is simply too much for a two-person team.
A good startup location should provide affordable workspaces that meet the needs of startups and create an environment that fosters exchange and collaboration among founders.
Munich Startup: Which founder would you like to meet in person? And what would you ask them?
Julia Kupke: Elon Musk.
- I would be interested in learning from him how he gains such clarity about his visions and how he pursues them so consistently. His ability to think big has led him to impressive accomplishments.
- Another question I would ask him concerns his talent for motivating his team and developing the same vision and ambition. Elon Musk has shown that he’s able to attract talented people and inspire them for his projects. It would be exciting to learn how he builds and maintains this engagement and collaboration.
- Overall, I would like to learn from Elon Musk how he manages to implement his visions so effectively and inspire people to believe in his ideas. His experiences and insights could offer me valuable lessons as a founder regarding strategic thinking, motivation, and team leadership.
