The exceptional phenomenon

When Michelle Skodowski got the chance to co-found a start-up in 2017, she didn't hesitate for a second. Today, as a woman, she is not only co-founder, but also COO of Botfriends. Still a rarity in the scene.

It wasn't always clear that Michelle Skodowski's path would lead to the IT sector. When she was 18 years old, she wanted to study International Business. But then she heard about the e-commerce course: "I knew I'd have a lot of technical subjects and I'd have to program." But for her, it was better to try than to regret. It was to pay off: "I loved my studies, even the technical subjects I had nothing to do with when I was in school," Skodowski says.

At Würzburg University, she also met the three co-founders of her start-up Botfriends, who all studied business informatics: Kevin Dees, Daniel Rösch and Tobias Gansler. During their internship, Rösch and Dees developed chatbots and thus laid the foundation for the start-up. Skodowski was approached by Rösch with the idea and she didn't hesitate for a second. "It was all still vague, but I had nothing to lose," she says. And again, she didn't want to regret not taking the plunge afterward.

Today, Botfriends develops voice and chatbots for businesses that answer customers' questions around the clock. The Corona pandemic didn't hurt the Würzburg-based startup: "It became clear how good it is as a company to have the right help like bots on hand to lighten the load," Skodowski says. The bots don't require professionals; company employees can install them themselves without much prior knowledge. Their first customer was Porsche, but today they also include TUI, Telekom and Innogy.

At the beginning of Botfriends, Skodowski was mainly responsible for marketing, building the website and organizing the social media presence. "But I quickly said that I didn't really want to do that and didn't see myself there." So she relinquished the area, and today she only manages it strategically. "I wanted to be closer to the customer and the product," she says. And became the COO of Botfriends, so she manages the operational business: "My heart actually burns for our solutions team. I oversee our customer projects, our account managers and developers - so everything that's customer-facing."

Female founders at tech startups are still in the minority. In the IT and communications industry specifically, the percentage is just six percent, according to Startbase's latest Female Founders Report. Skodowski also knows this: "When you're in the scene, you quickly think everything is great. I know a lot of female-led tech startups. But the numbers say otherwise and that makes the current attention all the more important." Above all, she advises female founders not to hide: "Being confident, seeking the stage and not believing that your idea isn't worth anything, that's crucial."

Skodowski believes that, above all, the concern for financial security keeps women away: "Starting up is risky and less plannable. It's certainly unattractive." And adds, "Maybe the investment issue also deters many: there's the question of where to get support or not being able to assess how difficult it really is to get financing and what disadvantages you have as a woman." Botfriends is still self-funded, so Skodowski has not yet come into contact with the topic of investments.

There are studies on investor evaluation of women- and men-led startups, Skodowski also points out the subconscious biases in funding rounds. And sees a need to catch up: "How would it be if investors said: We'll only invest in women-led startups for a year?" But she doesn't quite believe in that idea herself: "In the end, it's all about the numbers." That's where investors don't want to be held back by principles. However, "If you look at studies, you see that women-led startups end up bringing in more revenue." A startup grant for women would be a start to breaking down barriers and encouraging more potential female founders.