The idea of a closed-loop Yoga mat came to the two founders of hejhej-mats during a museum visitClosed-loop because their mats were intended to be part of a closed recycling loop. To realize this idea, Anna Souvignier and Sophie Zepnik enlisted the help of the crowd. We asked them how their crowdfunding campaign went, where hejhej-mats currently stands, and whether they would like to see more women in the startup scene.
You successfully completed your crowdfunding campaign last year and even raised slightly more than your target of €20,000. What were your experiences during the campaign? What would you do differently? What surprised you, positively or negatively? And would you embark on the crowdfunding "adventure" again?
Crowdfunding is a great way to raise financial resources while spreading your idea. People hear about your product, and it's an incredibly good marketing opportunity. The time spent on a campaign like this is very intense. You definitely have to be well-prepared and then give it your all during the campaign. To be honest, we didn't imagine it would be so labor-intensive; you're in contact with interested parties and the media practically around the clock. People really understood our idea and were all enthusiastic about it. That was a really positive surprise and gave us an incredible amount of energy. We would definitely embark on the crowdfunding adventure again.
What advice would you give to founders who are just embarking on a crowdfunding campaign?
Talk to everyone about your campaign and use social media and PR to your advantage!
“All crowdfunding supporters received their hejhej-mat at the end of June.”
What happened next for you? What did you use the money for? And were you able to deliver your yoga mats as planned?
With the financial resources, we were able to further develop and test our product. After successfully completing the campaign in November 2017, we embarked on another intensive period of product development, and at the beginning of July we were finally able to launch and bring our mats to market. All crowdfunding supporters received their hejhej-mat at the end of June.
What will happen in the future with hejhej-matsWill the product range be expanded?
The product range will definitely be expanded, but that will take some time. We finally have our mat on the market and now we want to focus on it for the time being—marketing and selling it, but also constantly developing and improving the mat. We studied in Sweden, and the whole hejhej story began there, so we also want to address the Swedish market and spread the idea of our hejhej mats there.
“We believe that there are still too few women in the startup scene in Germany.”
On another topic: Did you two encounter any prejudices as founders, or did you feel like you had to “fight” a bit more as women in the startup scene?
Absolutely! We believe there are still too few women in the startup scene in Germany. We became particularly aware of this at startup competitions. The moderators, jury members, participants, and winners were mostly extremely male-dominated. At first, this shocked and saddened us, but in the long run, it motivated us. We want to show men that we can do it too, and perhaps inspire one or two women to start a business and pursue their own thing.
And last but not least: Have you been able to maintain your joy in yoga, even though your career now revolves around it?
Yoga is still incredibly wonderful and important to us. Of course, time constraints have become a bit tighter, and sometimes we simply don't have the time. Especially during product development and when testing our own mats, it's sometimes difficult to switch off thoughts about hejhej-mats and our product and just enjoy the yoga class. But we still love yoga, and it's an integral part of our everyday lives.
