Munich Startup: What education and career path have you had so far?
Lena Naderer: I received my credentials in veterinary medicine from LMU München in 2013 and completed my doctoral degree in veterinary medicine there in 2015. After that, I gained practical experience at various veterinary practices. Due to the high workload and lack of professional recognition, I switched to a pharmaceutical company, essentially moving into science. Before founding Filu in 2022 together with Christian Uwe Köhler (CEO) and Justus Richard Buchen (COO), I also completed an Executive MBA at IESE in Munich. These detours gave me the perspective and courage to elevate veterinary medicine to level 2.0.
Munich Startup: What motivated you to start a company?
Lena Naderer: I am a passionate veterinarian and love my profession, medicine, and working with animals. However, the framework conditions for veterinarians are not very good: lots of stress and work but little social recognition. Often it is difficult to balance the profession with family and leisure time. I founded Filu to change that and create a veterinary practice where everyone, especially employees, feels good. Filu stands not only for excellent veterinary medicine but also for new work and work happiness. We represent a new generation of veterinary practices.
A lot of time spent searching for employees and locations
Munich Startup: What would you have liked to know before your first startup?
Lena Naderer: How many different issues come up that you don’t anticipate beforehand. Behind a veterinary practice and a company that expands them, there is more than you might think. I thought finding suitable practice spaces in different cities would be easier. You have to search for a very long time until you find a location where everything is right. Additionally, I invest a lot of time in employee recruitment and working with the team – that is extremely important to me. It’s easy to underestimate the time required for this.
Munich Startup: How has your company been financed so far?
Lena Naderer: We found great investors who are a perfect fit for us and our mission, such as Lukas Keindl, the founder of the US veterinary practice BondVet, Michael Koch, who previously worked at Fressnapf, and YZR Capital, who specialize in health innovations. This allowed us to raise a total of 7.5 million euros in the seed round to begin rolling out our feel-good practices across Germany.
Lena Naderer: “Great ideas just need to be implemented”
Munich Startup: When and where do you get your best ideas?
Lena Naderer: Outdoors in nature and when I spend time with my cats Rudi and Socke. Or riding my horses and bicycles. That’s when I clear my head for new ideas and develop fresh approaches. But especially also when exchanging ideas with other veterinarians and veterinary technicians. Everyone has such great ideas, you just need to “implement” them.
Munich Startup: What are your 3 favorite work tools?
Lena Naderer: I really enjoy working with our state-of-the-art ultrasound and X-ray equipment and – when anesthesia is needed – with inhalation anesthesia. Everything is linked to the practice software and the technology suddenly becomes fun! Another great relief in the day-to-day operations of a veterinary practice is our digital patient record, which we create for all the animals we treat. This data is important for improving veterinary medicine. Our practice tools save an enormous amount of paperwork and administrative hassle.
Pitch tip: “Stand by your dreams”
Munich Startup: Your top tip on “pitching”?
Lena Naderer: Be authentic, be yourself, and stand by your dreams. Show that you have the power to create change and that you are passionate about what you do.
Munich Startup: Does it seem like a good time to start a company right now? Why?
Lena Naderer: Yes, because startups are now recognized in Germany as drivers of economic innovation and prosperity and represent an important economic pillar. Startups are important catalysts for Germany’s economy. There is no good or bad time to start a company, you always need a great deal of courage and confidence as well as a clear vision. If you have that and a good business model, nothing can go wrong.
Munich Startup: What technology or industry would you focus on for your next startup?
Lena Naderer: Definitely AI. It plays an important role in medicine. As soon as market-ready AI applications are available for veterinary practice operations, we will use them and certainly be a pioneer. There’s already a lot in the works. For example, AI-based diagnostic tools are conceivable. AI often sees more than the human eye alone. These are exciting future topics.
Grants for rent?
Munich Startup: What could be improved at the Munich startup location in your view?
Lena Naderer: Munich is a great location and very tech-oriented and open. However, the location is also very expensive because of high rents. This should be balanced by subsidies, especially for young entrepreneurs.
Munich Startup: Which founder would you like to meet in person? And what would you ask them?
Lena Naderer: I already know the founders of BondVet – fortunately! But if I travel further back in time, then Elizabeth Blackwell. As the first woman to earn a medical degree in the United States, Blackwell paved the way for women in medicine. She founded the New York Infirmary for Women and Children and promoted women’s education in medicine. Or Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch. What would also fascinate me is getting to know the founding team of BioNTech.
But I’m particularly curious to meet founders who focus not only on success but also on a positive work environment. Google, Salesforce, and Microsoft come to mind.
