Munich Startup: Who are you and what does Trustloop do? Please introduce yourselves briefly!
Trustloop: We are a Social Startup based in Munich. Our mission is to support companies and NGOs in creating real impact. The goal is to generate long-term social, ecological, and economic value for all stakeholders.
Wanessa Rudmer, founder and chairwoman of Trustloop, is a social entrepreneur and marketing specialist from Brazil. For the past 15 years, she has dedicated herself to the fields of culture and media production. She has also been involved in the development of social and environmental projects.
Tom Mayer, 28, is co-founder of Trustloop and responsible for business development. Tom is currently writing his master's thesis on financing opportunities for early-stage social startups. Over the past few years, he has worked for various startups and companies in the innovation ecosystems of Los Angeles, Tel Aviv, and Munich.
Kevin Kähn, 27, is co-founder of Trustloop and heads sales and partnerships. He is also writing his master's thesis on Trustloop. He is investigating the extent to which companies' CSR communication challenges can be solved with a third-party digital platform. In recent years, he has worked for an OEM and various consulting firms in the automotive industry.
Wanessa and Tom met while working at a Munich startup. Tom and Kevin are fellow students pursuing their master's degrees in Applied Business Innovation at Munich University of Applied Sciences. The trio came together to found Trustloop in late 2019.
Trustloop aims to empower companies to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals
Munich Startup: What problem does your startup solve?
TrustloopAccording to the World Economic Forum, despite a sharp increase in initiatives dedicated to promoting sustainable development, a persistent financing gap of $2.5 billion annually is hindering the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
We believe in the power of sustainable partnerships—SDG 17—and innovative communication to attract investment for social and environmental initiatives. To this end, we have developed a three-step strategy that supports companies and external partners (NGOs, social startups, and green startups) in working together to improve our society and ecosystem.
- Connect: We support our customers in finding suitable and reliable partners to jointly develop and implement initiatives.
- Empower: We offer tailored consulting, training and research to support companies in developing their CSR strategy.
- Communicate: We help our clients communicate their results and impact. We leverage our digital platform, visual storytelling, and social media marketing to inform society in a targeted, transparent, and trustworthy manner.
Digital platform to make impact visible
Munich Startup: But that's been around for a long time!
Trustloop: Our approach is not only innovative, but above all necessary. We live in a world of growing social inequalities and impending ecological collapse. These developments are causing fear, uncertainty, and unrest around the world. Most businesses, communities, and ecosystems will be affected by current developments sooner or later. Something must be done to restore social and ecological balance. We believe in effective communication, which helps foster cross-sector partnerships and plays an important role in solving current local and global problems.
What's special about our approach is the involvement of society. At the same time, we raise awareness and inform about social and environmental issues. And we strengthen trust in people's ability to work together and do the right thing.
Munich Startup: What have been your three biggest challenges so far?
Trustloop: One of our biggest challenges was narrowing our focus, as the topic is very complex.
Another challenge is to create a framework for cooperation that takes into account the different intentions, requirements and obligations of each party.
And last but not least, our partners' long sales cycles. As a startup, we want to act quickly, while customer decision-making processes are usually quite complex and time-consuming.
Trend towards impact investing plays into Trustloop’s hands
Munich Startup: How are things going?
Trustloop: In general, we are pleased with how things have developed recently. Companies are striving to implement new regulations and meet the demands of their stakeholders. CEOs are placing high priority on CSR and sustainability.
Impact investing is also an important trend. In January 2020, Larry Fink announced that BlackRock would no longer invest in companies that pose a high risk to sustainability. Since then, we have observed an even more dramatic shift in investor behavior and expectations.
In addition, investors and stakeholders generally don't read sustainability reports. This means companies need to continue improving how they communicate their impact—and this is where we're ready to help.
Timing is a key success factor for startups. And we believe that now is the right time for us. We are confident that Trustloop will achieve even greater success in the future.
Munich Startup: How do you rate Munich as a startup location?
TrustloopMunich is the ideal environment for startups, as it combines highly qualified professionals, a strong society, excellent government infrastructure, and many investors. Furthermore, Munich is home to some of the world's largest companies, which are always looking for innovative companies and technologies to accelerate their own business.
Munich Startup: Faster Exit or perseverance?
Trustloop: Perseverance. Giving up is not an option!
