Interview with newcomer of the year Ruth Bosse

With Ark Software, Ruth Bosse has built up one of Germany's most exciting gov-tech start-ups in a short space of time. Following a successful pre-seed financing round of 2.1 million euros, she has now been named "Newcomer of the Year" at the German Startup Awards. In an interview with Startbase, Ruth talks about the significance of this honor, her personal startup journey, the impact of the award on Ark and her plans for the coming years.

Ruth, congratulations on being named "Newcomer of the Year" at the German Startup Awards. Take us back to the moment of the award ceremony: what went through your mind when your name was called?

I was absolutely delighted, what an award!

What does this award mean to you personally, as a founder, but also as a person who has invested a lot of time, energy and conviction in building Ark Software over the past few years?

A lot. When I had the idea of bringing AI to the public sector in 2024, I was met with a lot of doubt. Most people thought that administrations were too analog and too slow. In my opinion, it's the other way around: if I had to work with the software used in administrations today, I would be slow too. Now, two years later, AI is a key issue for the public sector. Friedrich Merz himself emphasized this in his welcome speech at the German Startup Awards. The fact that we have now been recognized confirms that I am working on the things that I personally find important.

When you look back on your start-up journey so far: Was there a moment when you felt that Ark Software really had the potential to make a big difference?

Definitely. Firstly, when the referrals and inbound requests started to really take off. Cities had already heard about us from neighboring municipalities and network meetings, other departments were asking if they could use the tool too, and counties were procuring the software for all their municipalities. Secondly, when we acquired our first very large customers, such as Berlin and Schleswig-Holstein.

The award recognizes you as a founder, but behind every startup is a team. Who was the first person you wrote to after the award ceremony and why?

First Carla, our first employee, who believed in us even before customers or investors. But I could just as easily have written to Alex or Nick, who manage engineering and product for us and do a fantastic job, my CoS Lennart or Sophia, Tassilo, Julia, Daniel, Merlin, Toni, Daniel or Chiara. Each and every member of the team is a huge added value and Ark wouldn't be what it is without them: they all take on a lot of responsibility, go the extra mile where necessary, develop quickly and at the same time have their heart in the right place and are really great people. I am incredibly grateful to have such a great team around me every day and would recommend every founder to invest enough time in hiring and to be selective. It pays off extremely well. And if anyone is interested - we have a few positions open at the moment, please get in touch :-)

The jury selected you from a large number of founders. What do you think the jury saw in your story or in the development of Ark Software?

The jury was looking for personalities who are role models for future founders. I have always worked on the big challenges of our society, from my political engagement as a teenager to building the Climate Practice at McKinsey to my PhD on how politics can make a real difference. With all that experience, I thought to myself: if I'm not working to make policy more effective now, I can't complain that no one else is. So I founded Ark.

I suspect that the jury saw my enthusiasm for solving challenges in our society, combined with consistent action, as a role model for future founders.

Has the award changed your view of your role as a founder?

No, honestly not. It was clear to me beforehand that we were building a successful company and that the role as a founder is a task in which my talents play into my hands: I love developing solutions for my customers' problems with them, convincing investors, candidates and local authorities of our merits and I have a good eye for what is really essential in order not to get lost in work.

What makes me very happy about this award is that this is also seen from the outside. It is a special honor to be able to join the ranks of fascinating women such as Julie Lepique, Judith Dada, Pia Wülfing and Ann-Kristin Achleitner with this award.

Do you now feel a different kind of responsibility or visibility within the start-up scene?

It's hard to say right after the award ceremony. I would be very happy to take on more responsibility and visibility in the startup scene. I'm already doing that for our sector, i.e. startups that sell to the public sector, as a spokesperson for the GovTech Alliance. I work there at the interface between startups and politics, and I would very much like to do the same for the entire startup scene. There are two issues that are particularly close to my heart: that more funding is available in Europe, and that more women start up and more is invested in them.

Ark is pursuing an ambitious mission in the area of climate protection and municipal transformation. To what extent does an award like this help to make this mission more visible and heard?

It helps a lot! Trust plays a key role in the public sector. The award enhances our reputation with customers.

You recently completed a successful pre-seed round, which we were able to report on at Startbase. Has the award come at the perfect time for Ark and what opportunities might it create for the company?

Yes, definitely. We are currently at an exciting turning point for our company: Local authorities are being assigned more and more tasks that used to be the responsibility of the federal states, for example. At the same time, they don't have more staff and there are already over 600,000 vacancies. On the other hand, administrations are working with software from the 1990s, have to perform tasks manually that have long been automated in the business world and have an AI adoption rate of 2%.

At Ark, we are at the point where we are evolving from an AI co-pilot for the climate protection departments of cities to an AI co-pilot for the entire administration. I am raising a seed round for this at the end of the year. So the timing of the award couldn't be better. Anyone who is interested is welcome to contact me at hello@ark-climate.de.

The start-up world often celebrates successes, but rarely talks about the hurdles behind them. What lesson from your start-up journey so far would you pass on to other aspiring founders today?

Spontaneously, my tip would be to build the company you really want to build. The start-up journey is hard enough. Pick people you think are great, a topic you are passionate about and set up the company in such a way that you enjoy your work. There is a lot of discussion in the scene about what the right or best way is. In my experience, there are many different ways, all of which can be successful. Do what you enjoy and then do it well.

Finally, let's look ahead: after pre-seed funding and the Newcomer of the Year award, the journey seems to be just getting started. When we meet again for an interview in 12 months' time, what can we expect from you and Ark Software this year?

Wow, what a great question! I'm really looking forward to the coming year! In summer 2027, the first town halls in Germany will run entirely on Ark. That's mega cool. Our team will also be bigger and we've opened our second office in Berlin. I'm very excited to see what I can experience and learn on the journey there!

Dear Ruth, thank you very much for the interview and the exciting insights into your start-up journey. Once again, we would like to congratulate you on the award and wish you and the entire Ark Software team continued success in realizing your vision.