Company: namowo - sustainable mobility in residential construction

Founder: Jonathan Braunschneider, Johann Grobe, Sophia Rother

Date of foundation: Foundation to take place in 2024

Industry and company: Mobility consulting and real estate industry

What drives you? What is your motto?

"Just get started - it could turn out well".

Climate change is not waiting for the perfect solution. That's why we put our passion and energy into these projects. We want to help shape climate protection and the mobility transition and make cities more liveable.

What is your start-up about and what is special about it?

Science, the real estate industry and mobility

We link the real estate industry with sustainable mobility on the basis of scientific findings.

We use freely available data, analyze it in a highly automated way and present the results in an attractive form. Developers receive a mobility concept to optimize their parking spaces. For more affordable living space in cities and more mobility for everyone.

What are your first successes?

Last year, we were nominated for the Hessen Ideas Competition and made it to the final. We were also successful in the selection process for the Hessen Ideas Scholarship and have been scholarship holders since January of this year.

We were particularly pleased with the first positive customer contacts that we received without any active marketing.

What is your professional background?

In our M.Eng. "Environmental Management and Urban Planning in Metropolitan Areas" at the RheinMain University of Applied Sciences, we were taught an interdisciplinary, practical approach. It quickly became clear to us that we wanted to tackle the problems of urban planning and dare to transfer our studies into practice.

What prompted you to set up your own company?

The idea of founding a company came up again and again during our Master's degree. At the same time, we talked to friends and colleagues about the topic of founding a company.

In the end, the call for applications for the start-up grant from the city of Wiesbaden gave us the final incentive to actually go ahead with the founding of namowo and draw up an initial idea paper.

Who advised you, who are your helpers and mentors?

On the one hand, the StartUpLab at RheinMain University of Applied Sciences offers us workshops and a workspace in the Heimathafen. On the other hand, the Heimathafen is a good networking hotspot for all founders.

We are also supported by the university's Mobility Management department. We also have scholarship holders from Hessen Ideen, who support us both financially and strategically.

How did you experience the first few days as a founder?

After deciding to found a company, the initial discussions were characterized by strong support and encouragement. Everyone knew someone who could provide support in this or that aspect and we were put in touch with the relevant people directly. The quick support from the StartUpLab opened many doors for us.

What was your biggest challenge and how did you overcome it?

The biggest challenges are still ahead of us at the moment.

We have to start up, make contacts in the real estate industry and build up a network of partners. Together with them, we then need to refine our business model and implement new business ideas.

How do you draw attention to your company? What is your best marketing idea?

We actively approach local authorities and property developers to present our company, and trade fairs and conferences are particularly good opportunities for us to talk to customers. We also benefit from the excellent network of the mobility management specialist group at RheinMain University of Applied Sciences.

How did you finance your start-up?

Our main focus is on covering personnel costs and financing software. To bridge the first few months, we successfully applied for a grant from Hessen Ideen.

What dream would you still like to realize?

At some point, we would like to be able to look back and say that we have done our bit for climate protection, especially the mobility transition.

Please complete the following sentence: If I had more time, I would ...

... set up several more companies in the field of climate protection and adaptation.

What is your special tip: What would you recommend to founders?

Have a dream, an idea, something you are passionate about. It's not the perfect business plan that's important. What matters is the energy and motivation that you and your team bring to the table.