A researcher cannot build a successful startup? This AI startup founder shows us how it is done.

Elevator Pitch

Yeah, I do turbine things optimization algorithm from the point of the real world. So we put the real world factors, the real world struggles that we have into the mathematical models and solve problems with an assistance system together with the planner, and not side by side, like a black box approach and other solutions..

Hoe Does A Researcher Turn Into An Entrepreneur?

Yeah, I think that’s, in fact, pretty straightforward. Because as a researcher, you have to be very curious about, for example, mathematical problems or the natural background of it. And as an entrepreneur, it’s kind of the same, but you make the transition to the real world.

So you kind of think not only what is a good idea, and how can I solve something, but how does it react in the real world? And how does it make a difference and an influence in the real world scenarios. And that’s kind of the idea of what you talk about in general. And so the, the transition from research to entrepreneur was pretty straightforward in our case.

How Did You Digitize Traditional Businesses?

In our case, I think it’s always important to take them into into your solution to show them what it really delivers what it really brings. So what we normally do is in the first meeting, we take data from the customer itself, and not showing them a two terabyte as a plain platform or as an algorithm, but showing them how their problem is solved by up to two bytes.

So in the first meeting, we already have solutions from input files from their domain. And I think that helps a lot even for conservative companies or big corp-orates, to be like curious about your solution, because they see like, you solve their problem in the first place. Nothing. That’s the main goal of accessing even big, big corp-orates.

How Can A Startup Be Socially Impactful?

For us, we are working in the ambulance healthcare service, because it motivates a lot. So we do tour planning for Ameland healthcare services in the first place. It’s a big motivator, but it’s also economical, very interesting. So I don’t think that it’s like a contradiction to say like, I have a fruitful business, and I’ve been socially impactful.

So for us, it’s the combination makes it very motivating. And so it’s a good thing. Because if you’re motivated worker, then you have a better product, and then you will also earn more money in the future for sure.

What Is The Key To Good Team Work ?

 I think that’s very simple, let’s say with the words of the beautiful Aretha Franklin. So respect, I think it’s all about respect, having a company that works. Every worker in your team, everyone in the in the supply chain, everyone that helps you create your vision is as important as the other ones.

So I think if you have respect for everyone, the one that pays the bills in the end, the one that creates your front, and the one that does the creative stuff, the one that creates algorithms, they’re all equally important. And if you do have that in mind, I think it’s very, very easy to have a very, very nice team. And that’s what we do. And so yeah, and one word for me it is respect.

How To Deal With Regulations ?

So in the first place, have a look. What are regulatory issues, for example, in the ambulance healthcare services, because it’s nice to create a solution. But if you cannot apply it, there is no real well value about the solution. That’s maybe the biggest difference between science and entrepreneurship now.

So for us, it was in the first place checking what can we optimize? How can we use algorithms, which led in the end, to the fact that we have a support system where the human is the decider and where we always take the decisions, the ideas, the knowledge of the humans into account, and then First, check the regulatory issues and make it work. It’s normally possible. Now the buzzword thing is a good good point. Yeah.

What Makes Your Company An AI Startup?

Many companies talk about using AI and Sony, we, for us, it is an enabler. And that is something we use as kind of a secret sauce, in addition to classical algorithms to mathematics to Yeah, solution finders kind of, so we use AI to learn how to influence our algorithms to to give hints to the algorithms themselves.

So for example, if you have an object, turn it into the direction that the algorithm finds the solution, the easiest, and that’s how we use AI, that’s something that I can, can do very well and that artificial intelligence can learn or machine learning algorithms can learn. But for the for the actual solution. In the end, we still use mathematical algorithms just like 30, 40 years ago, for example.

What Does It Take For A Startup To Create A Great Technology Product?

I think the first thing is it has to work. And that’s the thing I talked about with with our clients, so I want to show them that it works in the first place. The other thing that is I think super important is be passionate about what you do, you’re new.

If you are not passionate about your own product, how could the client ever be so what if you don’t really love your product? You think like that’s what many people really need. I think you shouldn’t be Start. And starting with this, I think it’s a super nice, super nice way of working if you work for yourself and with your team.

What Inspired You To Become An Entrepreneur?

So I was kind of in the middle of both fields. So I was also always curious about entrepreneurship, but not that much that I may have become a founder if not one thing had happened. And that’s simply full of dinner, my co founder, so he access me with the idea and with the problem of ambulance, healthcare services and tour planning. And I had kind of the solution at the front of Institute for algorithms in those days.

And so we came together. So I think without Philip, I may have not become an entrepreneur. And without me, Philip may have not worked in the tour planning thing. And together, we have both aspects that are super important, like technology, and business model and the market idea. So understand the market before you create the technology. And if it comes together, I think you can be something very, very wonderful.

What Is Your Advice For Aspiring Founders?

Do it. Just Just try it. So if you have an idea, I think there are not many, many times in the life that you really have the the feeling that you have an idea that can really change something, for example, change something in the elderly healthcare crisis right now in Germany. If you have such an idea, if you’re passionate about the product, and if you you’re willing to suffer a bit for it, just go for it. Try it and if you fail, I think you cannot fail if you try to become an entrepreneur, your company can fail but you can’t.

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AdiutaByte team, from left to right: Annika Schiffer, Vanessa Wolff, Dustin Feld, Andreas Malewski, Eric Schricker, photo: Johanna Schuh/H-BRS.