A place of longing with an exotic bonus - from Chemnitz to New York with the employee app

Dr Martin Böhringer

The open-plan office is still sparsely furnished. Dr Martin Böhringer is engrossed in an online meeting and has not yet unpacked all the boxes for his new company headquarters in Zwickauer Strasse. In addition to a furniture shop and a fashion studio, an old industrial building is now also the workplace of the software company Staffbase. The landlord has placed a large plate of chocolate on the solid wooden table for "the newcomers", the consulting rooms have glass walls and it still smells of fresh paint. Dr Martin Böhringer is one of the three founders of Staffbase and tells us about the intranet via mobile phone.

What does this move mean for you?
Dr Martin Böhringer: I see it as the beginning of growth. Our old office in Ulmenstrasse had become too small. And the layout didn't suit our way of working either. We have a very open concept here, where people can work well together. We needed this move to be able to work professionally.

Signs of growth - you're even going to the USA with a branch office. How did that come about?
Yes, we are opening a branch in New York in July. One of the three founders is moving with his family and another employee will follow him in the autumn. We are one of 18 companies that have been selected for the German Accelerator funding programme and are receiving financial support for this path. We will build up marketing and sales for America there. Marketing and sales for Europe as well as development will be here in Chemnitz.

How did you come up with the idea of offering an intranet as an app?
If you look at intranets, they usually only reach a small proportion of employees, namely those who sit at their desks at the company PC every day. In fact, this is only a third of the working population on average. Even less in the USA. That's why there are wall newspapers and employee newspapers - but they also have disadvantages. They are slow, costly and one-sided. There are already individual companies on the market that have had an employee app programmed. We realised that it didn't make sense for every company to programme something themselves; we wanted to develop a standard solution.

What do you offer companies?
The company is present on the smartphone with its own company logo. And regardless of whether it's Siemens, T-Systems or a travel agency - in principle, everyone receives our standard app and can customise it as they need it. The name and logo are customisable. Everything can be customised via an online editing system. There are ten functions that can be imported, including company news, downloading documents and forms, calendars, surveys or the menu. The company can also have additional functions programmed to extend the standard product.

Why is a standard solution better than an app programmed for the company?
Many competitors do their own programming. We already have the product ready and can offer the customer something immediately. It is also more robust because it has already been tested many times. Of course, this also makes us more cost-effective. "Software as a service" is the buzzword.

Software as a service" is a licence model in which companies do not develop their software themselves, but instead use services from IT companies. An editing system or online service usually serves as the interface. Companies pay a licence fee and thus save on purchases. "We have implemented this very consistently," says Dr Martin Böhringer, who is convinced that they have a unique selling point worldwide with their product.

Was it difficult to start your own business?
The other two founders had previously worked together in a start-up. We simply docked onto this experience with Staffbase. We already knew how financing works and we had already built up a network. The moment we knew we wanted to do this, we got started.

And how did you get started?
We presented the idea to our network and raised capital. That was the most difficult phase. But we were able to show that there was a sensible concept behind it. In the second phase, of course, we still had to sell the product. But that also went well, as we had already been in contact with many companies beforehand. And with Siemens and T-Systems, we also had our first major customers.

How did you approach such large companies?
They approached us! The majority of sales are done online. If a company enters "employee app" in a search engine, they find us in first place. This inbound marketing is all about being visible. We often don't even need to awaken the desire to buy; instead, when companies are looking for software solutions, we need to appear in their field of vision.

Is the Chemnitz location relevant here? Do your customers know the city?
Many of our customers are not in the big cities themselves because we have a lot to do with production companies. As a venture capital-financed start-up, however, we are of course the absolute exotic ones. Anyone who isn't in Berlin gets a weird look. That takes some explaining, but it's not an obstacle for us.

So what was the reason for actually staying here?
Dr Martin Böhringer: We simply come from here. We have a good team here, we also find new talent. Each of us has our own reason for staying here. We have been working together for five years and because it works well together, that is also our motivation for being here. In contrast to a Berlin start-up, our team is very stable and there is little fluctuation.

Does Chemnitz sometimes make it difficult for you?
The transport links are not good at all. We work online a lot, so fortunately we don't do a lot of travelling. We first had to commission the expansion of the fibre optic network because there wasn't one here yet. But in principle, we see this as a positive thing. There is plenty of room to develop here. There are many creative people, a scene that deals with digital topics and small, exciting companies. We want to become a place of longing for those who want to create something in Chemnitz. On a par with San Francisco and New York.

With the comparisons: Do you have to encourage the people of Chemnitz?
The crucial question is what is happening in the city. For example, it's great how the Intenta company has developed and is now building on Zwickauer Strasse. Something is happening. We don't feel alone here. Of course, there could be more. But you also have to give things time. I see us as the first generation of successful start-ups. And it's cool when we publish press releases and it says: Chemnitz / New York.