Leankoala & koality.io

Why did you found your start-up, what problem are you addressing and how do you solve it?

"You pursue your core business, we take care of your web business". Our vision is that there will never again be a moment when you realize that sales or reputation have been lost because your website is not working properly. Our Leankoala software takes over the 24/7 monitoring of websites and ensures that everything from uptime to the shopping cart always works technically. This means that operators can focus on what they like to do best: making customers or users happy, generating sales and developing products. If something is not running as it should, we sound the alarm. We have been pursuing this mission with Leankoala and our latest product koality.io for three years.

How did you come up with the idea of founding your start-up?

Quite classically, the idea arose from our own practical needs. Nils and I have been working in the fields of marketing/performance and web development for a long time. Everyone, from individual entrepreneurs to corporations, has the challenge that far too often mistakes are made that result in business-critical moments such as loss of sales. This is often only discovered when the damage is already done. Examples of this are the website/landing page is down, is not classified as secure, links are broken and more ... the list is almost endless, because there are 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 with us is that we don't charge per user, but on the number of domains. It is important to us to ensure that as many employees in the company as possible use the solutions and benefit from them.

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

Nils and I are not only co-founders, we are also married and have children. As I come from a family business myself, I was very aware of what we were getting into. It was therefore 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, it was not easy at the beginning in professional communication and a professional environment not to take things personally. People act differently professionally and we first had to learn to deal with that. Now, of course, we have long since become a well-coordinated team.

What was the most valuable piece of advice that someone gave you during your start-up 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 that stays with us. It can be applied in so many ways, from product to team to communication as a whole. It comes from Maya Angelou (American civil rights activist).

What are your milestones?

When we started bootstrapped, the first milestone was to turn the idea into a stable and scalable product. We started with the first paying customer. The next milestone was the innovation funding from the City of Hamburg InnoRampUp for 150k, which made the product even more technically automated. Seed round with our first investors in 2019. 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?

Founding a startup is a rollercoaster ride. With lots of ups and downs and you have to celebrate and persevere. The learning curve is immense. It is important to always keep an eye on what is happening around you, but you must never lose sight of your own company, your team and your product.

What would you recommend to other founders?

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

Where do you see your startup in 3 years?

We want to have achieved a lot in three years. Leankoala and koality. io should become the first port of call when it comes to monitoring websites. The development of new markets in the form of target groups and growth beyond the DACH region is a top priority. In concrete terms, we can already reveal 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 start-up? Of course! You also have to let go mentally from time to time and do other things, which brings new impetus and inspiration. We're also parents and it's important to us to be role models for our children and to be there for them.

However, a lot of our private life also fits in with our startup. We are passionate about what we do professionally and this often coincides with activities in our free time (networking events, friends from the community, companions, coding on the sofa, writing blog articles during a conference stream).

Do you have a role model and if so, who is it? There is no specific person. We are inspired by people who not only do what they do with passion, but also 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 in your team and why?

There is no such thing as a mastermind. As a tech and web development product, Nils is of course the leader of Leankoala. However, we couldn't exist if it weren't for our diverse team of co-workers, who complement the product and company with their different strengths.