Data is generated almost everywhere in the digital world. OmegaLambdaTec helps companies harness the value of their data—whether by assisting with data analysis or developing new business models.
OmegaLambdaTec offers other companies services related to the analysis of large amounts of data. Founder and Managing Director Rene Fassbender is based at gate Garching with his six-person team. The astrophysicist, who holds a doctorate in astrophysics, likes the location:
"Timing is the key factor for startup success, and given the current situation in the data science sector, the Munich region is also the ideal business location. The topic is really taking off here on a broad front and is also being strongly promoted and pushed by politicians."
But what makes data science such a hype topic and why do companies engage external service providers?
Sought-after data scientists
Big data is the big thing in the digital economy right now. Many companies are trying to profitably analyze the data they generate themselves. However, Fassbender doesn't necessarily consider this to be data science in the true sense of the word. He advocates a narrower definition:
"Data science only begins where MS Excel ends. There are hardly any experts who have actually conducted complex analyses with large amounts of data and who can also develop the analysis software for such tasks themselves."
The problem facing his company's customers: They lack the necessary expertise for in-depth data analysis. And suitable personnel are currently hard to find. There are currently no well-trained graduates of new data science programs on the market. Until that happens, says Fassbender, "research-experienced natural scientists from data-driven, hardcore disciplines" are the best choice – and OmegaLambdaTec can provide these experts. Fassbender expects a large data science services market to develop in the coming years.
“Organic and sustainable”
If this happens, the Garching-based startup will likely be able to successfully compete in the new market. Since February of this year — the company's second anniversary — the company has already reached the profit threshold and entered its growth phase. Fassbender was recently appointed Network “ebn” as “Entrepreneur of the month” Since the beginning of the year, OmegaLambdaTec has been participating in a smart energy program funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and has numerous projects in the pipeline, both in research and with industrial customers.
OmegaLambdaTec says it is increasingly being approached as a cooperation partner, particularly for data-driven research projects. The reason: Smart data processing and analysis significantly facilitate the path from a new data-providing technology to the final product for customers. However, Fassbender is concerned about the financial hurdles inherent in collaborations of this kind:
"However, our success as a research partner for novel smart data innovations is currently developing into a real new financial challenge, because research projects are always supposed to be cross-financed by about half, which is of course not yet possible on a larger scale for a startup like us."
Together with various Bavarian institutions, the company is currently looking for a viable solution for future joint projects.
When we asked him how the company's future growth will look, Fassbender remains down-to-earth: "organic and sustainable."
"I find it much more desirable to create permanent top jobs for ten, twenty, or fifty highly qualified scientists than to set up a rapidly growing internet platform for delivery services or similar, where the main work is ultimately done by an armada of thousands of minimum-wage workers."
“Banks and startups are not made for each other”
OmegaLambdaTec's road to this point has been rocky, as is typical for a startup. The company initially secured its initial financing through a KfW start-up loan. However, the founder quickly felt constrained by KfW's funding guidelines—which he calls "bureaucratic bureaucracy." Although his experience with his bank was positive, Fassbender concludes:
"In general, banks and startups aren't really made for each other, something that founders can regularly experience firsthand, sometimes with frustrating experiences. The former are as risk-averse as a deer in a forest, whereas startups want to create something new with full risk and, if successful, improve the world."
His wish for politicians: Bavarian startup centers should be equipped with a seed loan fund and be able to grant loans to startups from this pool, bypassing the banks' risk assessments. Fassbender also wants the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs to issue a risk-assumption guarantee for startups that win awards in relevant competitions. This should simplify access to growth capital for innovative startups.
And while we're on the subject of wish lists: We want to know which data set OmegaLambdaTec would like to analyze. Fassbender is thinking big here, too:
"A dream dataset for us to really let our analytics run wild would certainly be Payback's entire database. With such a powerful dataset, fantastic new smart data solutions could be developed. Highly exciting applications and solutions would also be possible far beyond the consumer data and marketing sectors, extending into fields such as precision health, politics, or smart cities."
