Leankoala & koality.io

Why did you start your startup, what problem are you addressing and how are you solving it?

"You pursue your core business, we take care of your web business". Our vision is that there will never be a moment when you realize that sales or reputation have been lost because your website is not working properly. Our software Leankoala takes over the 24/7 monitoring of websites and ensures that from uptime to the shopping cart technically everything is always running. This way you can take care of what you love most: making customers and users happy, generating revenue, developing products. If something is not running as it should, we sound the alarm. This is the mission we have been pursuing with Leankoala and our newest product koality.io

for three years.

How did you come up with the idea to create your startup?

Quite classically, the idea has arisen from our own needs in practice. Nils and I have been working in the areas of marketing/performance and web development for a long time. Everyone, from single entrepreneurs to corporations, has the challenge that far too often mistakes occur that bring business-critical moments like loss of revenue. This is often not discovered until the damage is already there. Examples of this are the website/landing page is down, is deemed not secure, links are broken and more ... the list is almost endless, as there are very many visible, but also invisible elements that can cause this.

What is special about your business model, what do you do differently?

The business model of our Software as a Service solutions koality.io and Leankoala are monthly subscription models. What's different about us is that we don't charge per user, but based on the number of domains. It is important to us to ensure that as many employees in the company as possible use the solutions or benefit from them.

What were the biggest challenges you had to overcome in the beginning?

Nils and I are not only co-founders, but also married with children. Coming from a family business myself, I was very aware of what we were getting into. Therefore, it was important for us to start a company with the right idea, in which everyone can contribute and develop their strengths. This is definitely the case with Leankoala. Nevertheless, in the beginning it was not easy in the professional communication and environment not to take things personally. You act differently in your job and we had to learn to deal with that. Now, of course, we've long been a well-rehearsed team.

What was the most valuable advice someone gave you during your startup phase?

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." Not advice but a valuable quote to have with us. It can be applied in so many directions from product to team to overall communication. It comes from Maya Angelou (American civil rights activist).

What are your milestones?

Started bootstrapped, the first milestone was to turn the idea into a stable and scalable product. Founded with the first paying customer. Next milestone the innovation funding of the city of Hamburg InnoRampUp over 150k, which automated the product technically even stronger. In 2019, the seed round with our first investors. Current milestone: mastering Corona and the pivot in the form of our latest product koality.io Outlook: Bringing partners on board, scaling marketing & sales and conquering new markets.

What have you learned so far?

Starting a startup is a roller coaster ride. With lots of ups and downs and they need to be celebrated or persevered through. The learning curve is immense. The important thing is that while you must always keep your eyes open to what is happening around you, you must never lose sight of your own company, your team and your product.

What would you recommend to other founders?

Be open minded, get opinions and evaluate them for yourself. Make decisions, even if they are hard - sitting out is rarely an option. Build up a reliable network. Give something back and get involved as a mentor, speaker or similar. Don't take yourself too seriously.

Where do you see your startup in 3 years?

In three years, we want to have accomplished a lot. Leankoala and koality. io should become the first port of call when it comes to monitoring websites. In the forefront is the development of new markets in the form of target groups and growth beyond the DACH region. In concrete terms, we can already say that we are already moving strongly in the direction of e-commerce with exciting partners at our side.

Do you still have a social life despite founding a startup?

Of course! You also have to let go and do other things from time to time, that brings new impulses and inspiration. In addition, we are parents and it is important to us to be a role model for our children and to be there for them.

However, a lot of what we do in our private lives also fits with our startup. We're passionate about what we do professionally, and that tends to coincide with activities in our spare time (networking events, friends from the community, companions, coding on the couch, writing blog articles,

during a conference stream).

Do you have a role model and if so, who is it?

It's not a specific person. We are inspired by people who are not only passionate about what they do, but work hard for success and keep at it.

Who would you like to have dinner with and why?

Michelle and Barack Obama, both are exciting personalities and leaders. At the same time, it would certainly be a fun evening.

Who is the mastermind on your team and why?

There is no such thing as the one mastermind. As a tech or web development product, Nils is of course in charge of Leankoala. Still, we couldn't exist if it weren't for our diverse coalescing team that completes product and company through their various strengths.