Munich Startup: Who are you and what does Workerbase do? Please introduce yourselves briefly!
Norman Hartmann: We are Workerbase, a startup from Munich that industrial production processes made more efficientWith Workerbase, productivity in factories can be increased without replacing humans with robots.
Thorsten Kruger: We founders met at Siemens. Norman and I spent years in the central research department there, researching how technology supports people at work. Hamid joined us on a project involving smartwatches in production, and it immediately became clear to us that he had to be our CTO at the planned company.
Hamid Reza Monadjem: And that's exactly what happened. We've since expanded our product even further. We no longer use just smartwatches; we support every conceivable device. Our solution optimally integrates people into industrial production processes. This starts with smartwatches, continues with smartphones and tablets, and doesn't stop at data glasses. Our software is highly flexible, allowing production employees to choose the best possible device for each application.
Workerbase connects production employees via devices
Munich Startup: What problem does your startup solve?
Norman Hartmann: The Workerbase software connects employees using digital devices. With our solution, information becomes available more quickly, allowing immediate response to deviations from planned operations. This eliminates waiting and idle times in the production process, for example, and shortens the time required to manufacture a product.
Hamid Reza Monadjem: We're currently working intensively on AI algorithms to automatically adapt processes based on real-time data. This will enable companies to efficiently produce even small batch sizes and respond quickly to changing customer requirements.
Munich Startup: But that's been around for a long time!
Thorsten Krüger: Software for planning production processes has existed for decades. The core ideas of the Toyota Production System have long been implemented in many companies as part of 'lean production'. We extend these established concepts with digital, real-time workflows on mobile devices. Common systems such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) typically allow a planning horizon of weeks or days.
In contrast, we rely on real-time coordination, allowing us to organize production processes more flexibly. For example, with Workerbase, a machine operator receives a notification directly on their smartwatch in the event of a system error. They can then react immediately and resolve the problem promptly. The company benefits enormously, as shorter machine downtimes allow more products to be produced in the same amount of time.
Product-market fit as a challenge
Munich Startup: What have been your three biggest challenges so far?
Norman Hartmann: I would say achieving product-market fit in a slow-moving sector like German industry was certainly one of our biggest challenges. Unfortunately, the decision-making cycles here are quite long, and as a result, feedback on which to iterate is slow. Once we finally achieved that, we could clearly see the development: we're now doing deals well into the six-figure range! And our investors are happy about that, too.
Thorsten Krüger: We're a growing startup with many open positions currently. But there are many exciting startups in Munich, as well as established technology companies. Therefore, finding good employees is a real challenge, despite the excellent local universities.
Hamid Reza Monadjem: From a technological perspective, the stability and availability requirements of manufacturing companies for our software are challenging. However, we have now solved this problem very well and are proud that our product runs reliably for our customers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Sales doubled despite lockdown
Munich Startup: How are things going?
Norman Hartmann: Business is going well, and we were able to double our revenue again last year – despite the lockdown in the first half of 2020, which hit industry particularly hard. As a result, companies are now increasingly turning to digitalization and have recognized the need to improve. Our solution is in productive use at companies of various sizes, including large DAX-listed companies like Siemens and Porsche.
Thorsten Krüger: There are global market leaders like GKN Powder Metallurgy that are transforming their entire production with Workerbase. We are currently in the process of rolling it out globally and are now in daily use at four plants. This includes machine alarms, quality measurements, logistics activities, and setup processes. Employees at GKN now use Workerbase for 80 percent of all production activities.
Workerbase can transform the entire production
Munich Startup: How do you rate Munich as a startup location?
Thorsten Krüger: Munich is a great environment for startups! A large portion of our customers come from southern Germany, and Munich is an advantageous location for them.
Norman Hartmann: And the exchange among Munich startups is also working. Although almost all networking events have been put on hold since the coronavirus pandemic, we regularly exchange ideas with other founders from the Munich startup scene by phone.
Munich Startup: Get up early or stay up all night?
Hamid Reza Monadjem: I've spent many a night programming. But I'm generally more of an early riser.
Thorsten Krüger: For me, that question no longer arises. I'm a father, and my two daughters both go to school. And hopefully, it'll be a while before they both stay up all night.
Norman Hartmann: So I always tell myself to get up early, does that count?
