Munich Startup: What does your startup do? What problem are you solving?
Markus Weltz, Co-Founder: With One3, we build and operate innovative and smart convenience customer lounges at charging parks for electric vehicles. Operators of charging stations (Charge Point Operators, CPOs) are looking for more than just ideal locations. They are desperately searching for concepts to make their charging points customer-friendly and stand out from the competition. We round out our offering by providing our CPO partners with a full-service package: In addition to the lounges, we also design and build the charging stations themselves and manage the location operationally. This gives CPOs unbeatable reasons to work with us. Because this way they can scale their charging station network and operate their charging locations more profitably.
One3 lounges are fully digitalized, unmanned, and smart
Munich Startup: But that already exists, doesn’t it!
Marc Arnold, Co-Founder: Every driver knows the problems at rest stops. Unfortunately, the few existing lounges at charging parks on the market don’t differ much from them. Too little comfort and an uninviting atmosphere. We’re bringing lounges into the digital age and setting ourselves apart through technology and quality. Our One3 lounges are fully digitalized, unmanned, and smart – this guarantees visitor comfort that matches a modern fast-charging location.
Moreover, there’s no company on the market that offers CPOs a comprehensive concept: from planning and building charging parks to operating customer lounges and managing the location operatively. These turnkey solutions set us apart from the competition.
Munich Startup: What’s your founding story?
Markus Weltz: We’ve known each other for about three years and are former business partners. Marc was CEO of a major store builder and was responsible for building the first lounges on the market. And I worked as a procurist at one of the largest charging infrastructure operators, building the network across various countries. So we both come from a fast-paced environment, know the business, and love taking on new challenges.
Out of a shared desire to build something new, the direction quickly became clear: we want to start a company in a segment where we have expertise and solve existing pain points for our customers today rather than tomorrow! Incidentally, “One3” stands for the 13th letter of the alphabet “M” and our shared lucky number 13.
Marc Arnold: “We look optimistically to the future”
Munich Startup: What have been your biggest challenges so far?
Marc Arnold: A challenging financing environment and – in our opinion – currently far too negative sentiment. We look optimistically to the future, both for Germany’s economic standing in general and for the development of e-mobility in particular!
Munich Startup: How is business going?
Markus Weltz: We’ve officially existed for about four months now and we’re delighted with our first signed contracts across our various business areas. With our current staffing setup, our order books are almost full for 2025. So now we need to set the stage for the expansion ahead.
Munich Startup: How have you experienced Munich as a startup location so far?
Markus Weltz: As a native Münchner who grew up in the surrounding area, it was close to my heart to found a company in Munich. Marc, as a Hamburg guy, has since found his way south, though he always loves catching a whiff of sea breeze. We benefit from a now very strong startup culture in Munich, which is also pronounced in the real estate and mobility sectors. Our base is in Munich, but of course we’re out and about a lot throughout Germany and neighboring countries for our projects.
Munich Startup: Hidden champion or shooting star?
Marc Arnold: We will establish ourselves as a brand and of course want to achieve a certain level of attention and recognition in the market. Clearly: we’ll shoot for the stars!
