The exceptional phenomenon

When Michelle Skodowski was given the opportunity 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 her into 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 that I would have a lot of technical subjects and would 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, which I had nothing to do with when I was at school," says Skodowski.

At Würzburg University, she also met the three co-founders of her start-up Botfriends, who were all studying business informatics: Kevin Dees, Daniel Rösch and Tobias Gansler. During their internship, Rösch and Dees developed chatbots and laid the foundations for the start-up. Rösch approached Skodowski 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 here, too, she didn't want to regret not having taken the plunge.

Today, Botfriends develops voice and chatbots for companies that answer customers' questions around the clock. The coronavirus pandemic has done the Würzburg start-up no harm: "It became clear how good it is as a company to have the right support such as bots on hand to take the pressure off," says Skodowski. The bots do not 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 start of Botfriends, Skodowski was primarily responsible for marketing, setting up 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 now only manages it strategically. "I wanted to be closer to the customer and the product," she says. And became the COO of Botfriends, managing the operational business: "My heart is actually burning for our Solutions team. I look after our customer projects, our account managers and developers - in other words, everything that is customer-facing."

Female founders at tech start-ups are still in the minority. According to the latest Female Founders Report from Startbase, the proportion is just six percent in the IT and communications sector in particular. Skodowski is also aware of this: "When you're in the scene, you quickly think it's all great. I know a lot of women-led tech start-ups. But the figures tell a different story, which makes the current attention all the more important." Above all, she advises female founders not to hide: "Being self-confident, seeking the stage and not believing that your idea is worth nothing is crucial."

Skodowski believes that it is primarily concerns about financial security that hold women back: "Starting a business is risky and less predictable. That is certainly unattractive." And adds: "Perhaps the topic of investment also puts many people off: there is the question of where to get support or not being able to assess how difficult it really is to obtain financing and what disadvantages you have as a woman." Botfriends is still self-financed, so Skodowski has not yet come into contact with the topic of investment.

There are studies on the investor evaluation of female- and male-led start-ups, and Skodowski also points out the subconscious prejudices in the financing rounds. And sees a need to catch up: "What would it be like if investors said: We'll only invest in women-led start-ups for a year?" But she doesn't quite believe in this idea herself: "In the end, it's all about the numbers." Investors don't want to be held back by principles. However: "If you look at studies, you can see that women-led start-ups ultimately generate more revenue." Start-up support for women would be a start to breaking down barriers and encouraging more potential female founders.