PITCH & PEOPLE Episode 50: Clero
All in the group chat, none on the tennis court. Tjard Püschel wants to change that. With his Munich startup Clero, he is developing a platform that brings people together around shared hobbies and makes organizing easier for communities – from running clubs to pottery classes. On Pitch & People, he talks with Kyrill Ring about his business idea, the planned business model, and the challenges of founding a company. Around 1,000 people are on the waiting list, and 30 communities have already signed up. But right before launch, the technical co-founder drops out. What happens next?
Tjard Püschel wants to play tennis. Or soccer. As long as it’s with others. But after returning to Munich, finding people to join in proves harder than expected. Social apps require endless back-and-forth messaging, Instagram lacks the right search tools, and new contacts are often made purely by chance. And in the end, everything winds up in yet another WhatsApp group.
Out of this frustration, Püschel developed Clero. The platform aims to connect people through shared interests and make organizing easier for local communities. In the Pitch & People videocast, the founder shares how he is attracting initial groups, the business model behind it, and why the departure of his technical co-founder changed their launch plans.
Püschel knows the feeling of starting over somewhere all too well. He studied in Stuttgart, spent semesters abroad in Singapore and Cape Town, and finally returned to Munich. Although he knew many people here, he lacked contacts for shared leisure activities. He began looking for a solution—first for himself, then for a business.
Three Tools for One Meetup? There Has to Be an Easier Way.
Püschel conducts more than 200 interviews with potential users and community organizers. In the process, he uncovers a recurring problem: behind a group run or bike tour often lies a great deal of digital busywork. Hosts have to attract new members on social media, answer questions in WhatsApp groups, and organize events using additional services.
Clero aims to consolidate these tasks on a single platform. People specify their interests and discover suitable groups and events. Hosts are able to organize dates, cap attendee numbers, manage waitlists, and sell tickets. Polls and calendar features are also part of the concept.
For communication, Clero relies on posts rather than endless chat threads. A chronological feed displays updates from one’s own groups. Püschel describes the goal as follows:
“I want to get away from receiving 10,000 messages.”
The platform isn’t aimed solely at sports enthusiasts. Communities centered around pottery, sewing, or knitting are also meant to find a home here. Püschel narrows down the launch market geographically: Clero is starting in Munich and will subsequently expand to other cities.
The team has already made adjustments regarding access for new groups. Originally, anyone was supposed to be able to launch a community directly. For the launch, Clero is now planning a screening process: prospective hosts will first submit their concept. This way, the team aims to identify problematic content early on and manage moderation with limited staff resources.
1,000 Interested Users – and Suddenly the CTO Is Gone
Even before the launch, Püschel is already building up reach. He manages social media channels, speaks with Munich sports communities on his own podcast, and wins over the first groups for Clero. Around 1,000 people are on the waiting list. 30 communities have already signed on.
Yet while interest is growing, Clero loses its technical co-founder. The app is about 75 percent complete. At this critical stage of all times, the team has to reassign technical responsibility.
The departure highlights how closely the development of an early-stage startup is tied to the team’s personal financial resources. Once the technical co-founder’s savings were depleted, he took on a full-time job again. Together, they initially pursued a plan to finish Clero on the side. Only after the launch did they want to enter funding talks with initial user data. But juggling the job and the startup proved to be too much.
For Püschel, this is not the first difficult experience in team building. An earlier co-founder had already left the project due to the strain of balancing it alongside her job. He conducted more than 100 conversations in his search for suitable co-founders. Technical skills alone are not enough for him: the personal connection also has to work.
“It really is such an emotional rollercoaster.”
He also has to cover his own living expenses while building the company. Initially, he works on Clero in the evenings and on weekends. The insolvency of his employer at the time marks a turning point: Püschel focuses on the startup and covers his basic living costs with unemployment benefits. For the first financing round, the team is relying on business angels. First, however, the search for a new technical co-founder is on the agenda.
Community should also pay off for hosts
Clero needs not only a functional app, but also a viable business model. To that end, Püschel plans to introduce memberships, a credit system, and partnerships between brands and communities.
Hosts should be able to decide for themselves whether to offer free options or paid memberships. Recurring fees are intended to make their income more predictable. Instead of hoping for enough bookings for each individual event, they can rely on a solid base of members.
To process transactions, Clero plans to use credits as an in-platform currency. Both members and brands will be able to use them. This gives companies access to communities that match their products and target groups. Clero handles the facilitation.
The team had already established initial contacts between brands and groups before the platform launched. In the future, the app is intended to support this matching. Püschel does not disclose specific pricing or the cut retained by the startup.
The platform also needs to provide a reason for users to return regularly. After all, once people have found their tennis group or running club, they can arrange meetups without Clero. Püschel’s answer to this lies in organization: new dates, events, and posts are designed to permanently connect members to their community on the platform.
Tjard Püschel is the founder of the Munich startup Clero. He studied Online Media Management at Stuttgart Media University and completed his Master’s in International Marketing and Brand Management at Munich Business School in 2024. Semesters abroad took him to Singapore and Cape Town. He gained professional experience at companies including Telefónica, Sky Deutschland, and FC Bayern Munich. He also worked as an independent consultant in brand development. His focus areas are branding, digital marketing, and communications. The idea for Clero emerged after his return to Munich: Püschel was looking for people to join him in sports and leisure activities – and found mostly cumbersome ways to get in touch and cluttered group chats. With Clero, he aims to make local communities easier to discover and simplify their organization.
The app still needs time. The community is already meeting.
Clero is also staying in touch with the first groups during the delay. For a community challenge, the team is organizing a scavenger hunt across Munich. Fifteen communities with a total of around 150 to 200 people are taking part.
The event was originally intended to serve as the app’s first test. The team adapted the plan and used the gathering to bring the communities together and prepare for the upcoming launch. At the same time, the hosts themselves were offered something new: instead of organizing events as usual, this time they were able to participate.
Clero plans to expand this support with a “Host Academy.” Monthly workshops are planned for people looking to establish or develop a community. To kick things off, a tax consultant will answer practical questions.
With this, Püschel is already working on an essential prerequisite for Clero’s launch: people who regularly bring others together. They organize events, attract members, and give the platform its purpose. Clero has already captured the interest of initial communities. Now, the team needs to finalize the app and prove that a waitlist can turn into active groups.
