Munich Startup: Daniela, two years ago we the last time At that time, you were in the middle of your crowdfunding campaign, in which you successfully raised 30,000 euros. What have been your most important milestones since then?
Daniela Weinhold: We call our successes "Prosecco moments" – there have been plenty of them over the past two years. For example, we now have eleven people on our team working on increasing space productivity. We've had our first successful matches and other exciting projects and initiatives related to efficient space utilization.
We are at home in Impact Hub MunichHere, we found Startrampe, an accelerator program that fits us incredibly well and closely accompanies and supports us in questions relating to growth.
Use with shared costs – and shared risk
Munich Startup: Your platform is now live. For those who don't know you yet, what added value do you offer?
Daniela Weinhold: We are a Mix of Airbnb and Tinder for commercial spaceShquared connects and matches those who want to share their space with those looking for space for their project. This involves existing commercial spaces such as restaurants, flower shops, workshops, nightclubs, and similar.
All of these spaces are only partially used and often remain vacant for periods of time. These vacant spaces need to be filled with suitable additional operators. This increases the productivity of the space, while the users share the costs and risks. This allows us to bring more diversity to our city, improve the quality of life for residents, realize innovative ideas, and create previously unimaginable opportunities. For example, simply running a breakfast café two days a week, running a bar on selected dates, or selling homemade goods in a bar in the mornings.
Especially in a city like Munich, where space is scarce and expensive, we have to be creative! We're creating new ways to circumvent the lack of space and simply double or triple the use of our existing space. It's actually quite easy.
At Shquared, we support the entire brokerage process with legal expertise and create a secure framework for establishing successful partnerships. These partnerships can be both short-term and long-term.
Shquared: “People want to get started”
Munich Startup: While the coronavirus crisis has impacted your business model, your concept offers tremendous opportunities for the future. How have you handled the crisis? What immediate potential do you see?
Daniela Weinhold: We noticed that many had ideas lurking in the back of their minds. And now they've found the time to dig them out and flesh them out. Plans for their own café are being finalized, because the supposedly secure job turned out to be less than crisis-proof after all.
But the placements were initially stalled, because in uncertain times, few people dare to take the step into something new. So we shifted our energies to technical development, pushed back a few steps in research, and digitized as much as possible.
Now we're noticing that people are no longer interested in waiting and want to get started. While the time horizon has changed, and it's moving more toward short-term, medium-term parallel uses rather than truly long-term commitments, we've adapted our model accordingly and are now also the right platform for pop-ups, for example.
The crisis clearly shows us that we are better positioned when we spread costs and risks across multiple shoulders. If one business model fails, perhaps the other can continue operating, and we can overcome crises together. Solidarity is always the appropriate tool in crises. We therefore see significant potential in working together more closely for the future. Stick together, use elbows, and create synergies!
“We don’t fit into any traditional financing processes”
Munich Startup: What is the most challenging topic for Shquared right now?
Daniela Weinhold: Financing is and remains the most challenging issue for us. As a purpose-driven company with a long-term focus and not looking for a quick exit, finding suitable financing options is doubly difficult. We operate very alternatively and simply don't fit into any traditional financing processes. So we navigate from one small financing round to the next, growing sustainably from our own revenues. This way, Shquared remains independent, and we have the freedom to develop wherever we want to go. But it's hard work, and every euro we spend is hard-earned.
In this regard, we hope for simpler financing instruments in the future, based more on trust and human insight than on cold calculations. But of course, we're not simply waiting for something like this to happen. Instead, we're actively working on such structures ourselves and, together with the Impact Hub and the Launchpad, are creating a mechanism for jointly sustained impact startups.
Munich Startup: You've decided to found a purpose-driven company. How does it differ from a regular startup?
Daniela Weinhold: In fact, Shquared is a limited liability company (GmbH) that has transferred 1% of its voting rights to the Purpose Foundation. This means that we have the Purpose Foundation as a controlling shareholder in the shareholders' meetings. Its sole responsibility is to ensure that our decisions are made in a purpose-maximizing manner, not profit-maximizing. To ensure this, we are permitted
- not privatize profits – that is, distribute them to shareholders – and
- not give voting rights to people who are not actively involved in the company.
The consequences of this are that we make a promise to our customers, investors, and employees that we will focus on using space more efficiently within our company. And not on making as much money as possible, which then ends up in the shareholders' pockets. Everyone involved can rely on this and trust us. Because we have committed ourselves to this forever in our partnership agreement with the Purpose Foundation. If you're interested in learning more about why we did this, you can read about it in our blog article.
Alternating use as a new urban development instrument
Munich Startup: Where do you want to be in one year, where in five?
Daniela Weinhold: Well, you can make lots of plans. But nobody knows how things will turn out. We're aiming to be operating beyond Munich's borders in a year and to have brokered great parallel uses. In five years, we'd like to do exactly the same thing and already be advising on new construction projects! This way, spaces would be conceived for parallel use from the very beginning.
We want to establish parallel and alternating uses as new urban development tools. And we want to support cities and municipalities in using urban space more efficiently. We must use space more intelligently as a resource, because we all need it to live, work, and live in. Shquared is committed to ensuring greater diversity in the city through efficient use of space, because we know that self-realization and self-determined living and working are only possible with the appropriate space. We will take care of that. We will see how quickly Shquared grows. But as long as we work on using space more efficiently, we are on the right track.
Munich Startup: In your opinion, what is the decisive factor for sustainable and successful corporate development?
Daniela Weinhold: Identification with the company's purpose. Every team member must be able to identify with the company's purpose so that good ideas can emerge, but also so that they can endure hardships. Personally, I believe that one's own motivation must be in line with the company's purpose and that one must detach oneself from monetary goals. In fact, I don't question for a second whether our business can sustain itself because I am completely convinced that what we are doing is right. Quality always has a market. That's why it's important to focus on quality. And quality doesn't just happen by chance; it's know-how, boundless interest, and, not to forget, a talent for improvisation. If you want something, there's always a way.
