In the framework of our miniseries “From university to entrepreneurship – why three students found a technological enterprise”, our executive directors gave us insight in the solvimus founding history from their perspective. Nevertheless, it is also intriguing how things continued later on. How a startup matured to a modern innovator among medium-sized companies. We thus direct a few questions to our technical director, Remo Reichel.
Why create a company amidst one’s studies instead of beginning as an employee elsewhere and gather experience?
Why not? While studying, the three of us commenced to implement projects in development and thus gathered both experience and clients. There was no need for a discussion on whether or not to pursue this path at the end of our studies. Prospects were good. We simply continued on this path.
Why did we already develop alongside our studies? On the path to becoming engineers and computer scientists, we were thrilled by electronics and software. The question arose whether we could make a living out of it. We just gave it a try.
Which steps were required to create the company right from within the studies?
Start running! Stop thinking, just do it. This is also conveyed by the quote from Goethe at the wall of our cafeteria: “Success has two characters: DO” (though in German it is three characters). We had already installed a computer, an integrated development environment and tools for circuit board design, so we were up and running for the first projects. The registration as a business was still required, and that was it.
However, somewhat more was required to register as a limited company (GmbH): articles of association, equity – all this we had arranged for as students – an appointment with a notary and the registration in the commercial register as well as the modification of the status of the business. Red tape in Germany is an experience on its own.
How were the initial experiences?
Sobering and challenging. It looks simple in theory, but in real life it turns out to be much more complex.
We did have exposure to projects in development, comprising both software and hardware. Nevertheless, many unforeseen problems emerged that we were not confronted with in our handicraft work at home. One needs to be open-minded towards accepting errors, much more than at school or at university. Because problems are misjudged when starting out. Even the tiniest aspects steal your time. At the beginning, our estimated investments were considerably too conservative, because nothing in our development progressed as smoothly as envisaged. There were always tripwires around.
How was it to hire the first employee?
Exciting and inducing uncertainty. Do we need employees to support us? Are we in a position to finance additional persons in the long term? What do we need?
This was really a challenging experience. We had to admit that university did not prepare us for that. Chances are that this was more intriguing for us than for our first employee.
How were the initial feedbacks from clients?
The first clients were benevolent towards us, knowing we are a young enterprise on our first steps. This became a sort of mentoring for us, and we were entrusted with minor projects characterized by a short time frame. We are very grateful for that. This has enabled us to develop further and to grow organically.
When did you reach the point where you could be certain that you have a market standing?
This question is hard to answer. With hindsight, we can state that this was in 2015. From this point on, we continuously had positive earnings. But also prior to that, we had opportunity to convince ourselves that our business model is well perceived. For instance, in 2008 we could establish ties to an automotive supplier who is equipped by us to this day with customer-specific measurement instrumentation.
What makes solvimus a reliable partner in the conception and implementation of automated consumption reading?
Reliability in the technological context is as important to us as reliability in personal relations.
Being engineers, we are of course focused on technical aspects. This is the task of the engineer.
Personal relations instead originate from our inside, from our heart. As diverse as we are, we as founders always agreed on that. We want to act in a sustainable, obliging and cooperative manner. This is achievable only with reliability. We are convinced that we adhere to our promises and do not let our customers alone.
We are also regarded as a reliable employer by our employees. Our steady growth is essential for that.
How did company values evolve?
We live up to several company values. Reliability is but one of them. But already the core of our company name reveals what is important to us. We solve. This is what we are aiming at. Offering solutions, assist and enable possibilities. Here, the circle closes to the second question. The quote in our cafeteria nicely conveys the values of our company.
How these evolved? There is nothing added to it from a pure marketing perspective. It was our intention to offer solutions. The company values are implied because we are intrinsically joining forces in reliability, sustainability, commitment, and partnership.
We also want to entice our customers and partners to these values.
