Munich Startup: What does your startup do? What problem do you solve?
Christina Mauer, Einwert: Anyone who has ever been involved in the purchase or sale of a property knows that a property valuation is essential, but can also be very complicated and time-consuming. Especially in the professional real estate market, appraisals, which must be prepared by certified appraisers, are absolutely essential for annual financial statements and transactions. Due to the manual processing, these can significantly delay the transaction or annual closing process and also require a great deal of coordination effort for the client. Further use of the valuable content and data from the appraisal has so far been difficult due to the analog transmission format – usually PDF.
As the first hybrid appraiser, we streamline the entire real estate valuation process by combining state-of-the-art technology and the human expertise of our appraisers under one roof, delivering the highest quality appraisals in the shortest possible time and offering a seamless digital experience. Manual labor is completely eliminated throughout the entire valuation process and replaced by digital tools and interfaces. This digital approach also enables us to incorporate data-driven insights such as ESG ratings.
Legally valid valuation reports for the professional real estate market
Munich Startup: But that's been around for a long time!
Christina Mauer: There are already many successful startups that have addressed the topic of digitizing real estate valuation. However, this is an 'informal' valuation that estimates a property's value without the review of a certified appraiser and without a legally valid appraisal based on complex algorithms (AVM - Automated Valuation Model). This is a real benefit, especially for the private market. While such appraisals are also very exciting for the professional real estate market, they cannot replace legally valid appraisals. Since both of us founders have worked in the professional real estate market for many years, we have set ourselves the goal of revolutionizing formal real estate valuation.
Munich Startup: What is your founding story?
Christina Mauer: During our doctoral studies on real estate valuation, we two founders identified a massive digital and innovation deficit in the valuation industry. After years of working for renowned companies in the real estate industry and experiencing the problem firsthand, we set ourselves the task of sustainably changing the valuation process and, by founding Einwert, creating an unparalleled digital quality experience for clients and appraisers.
'War for Talents' as a major challenge
Munich Startup: What have been your biggest challenges so far?
Christina Mauer: The 'war for talent' is certainly a major challenge for most companies – especially in the tech industry – especially in the early stages. The first team members are extremely important for further development and shape both the corporate culture and the image the company projects to the outside world. Therefore, it was clear to us from the start that we wanted to build a team of A-listers, and we succeeded. It took a lot of patience, but the wait was worth it! We now have a large team, spread across Germany, and we're growing month after month.
Munich Startup: Where would you like to be in one year, where in five years?
Christina Mauer: After our successful market entry last year and already helping many customers achieve a new value experience, this year is all about expanding our business – both in terms of area and product range. In five years, we will be represented throughout Europe or even worldwide, and our platform will be the hub for all questions and applications related to real estate valuation.
Munich Startup: How have you experienced Munich as a startup location so far?
Christina Mauer: In our view, Munich meets all the requirements to be an attractive startup location. With its high quality of life and top universities, the city attracts a lot of talent, which is a blessing, especially when it comes to team building, but also naturally drives up costs. Fortunately, we received a lot of support from the very beginning from startup networks, incubators, and other organizations specializing in supporting startups. We received initial support from the incubator. Xpreneurs in the Munich Urban Colab, we are now located in Werk1 in the Werksviertel and are grateful for the great support we receive in both networks.
Value: Financing over 2 million euros
Munich Startup: Quick exit or long breath?
Christina Mauer: As a venture-funded startup, our goal is, of course, a successful exit. After we had a successful Pre-seed financing of 2 million euros completed, it is still far too early to think about an exit, but it is certainly a big and important goal that we are pursuing.
