Image Credit: Ann-Christin Wimber
From Researchers to Entrepreneurs … a sonoware Story!
Stephan Senkbeil, one of our founders retold the crazy story of how a small team of researchers moved from science to business and gained their first client on the other side of the world.
Roughly 8.5 years ago, our founders Stephan Senkbeil, Christian Lüke, Jochen Withopf, and Merikan Koyun departed from the research group Digital Systems and System Theory, led by Prof. Dr. Gerhard Schmidt, to transfer their research knowledge into value-creating business.
Powered through the EXIST funding program and Kiel University’s ZfE, the initial idea was to provide state-of-the-art in-car communication technology, a technology which was experiencing strong interest from major car companies holding close contact with the university. Just one month after the launch of sonoware, the first client, a US-based car manufacturer, requested our services for their cars. A couple of months later, a Californian company from an entirely different industry, namely healthcare, facing similar issues to our previous challenges, approached us. This early, unexpected success shifted sonoware from a car software supplier to a more generalist software company.
Naturally, the team faced ups and downs. There were moments when it was unsure if there would be enough money for the upcoming weeks. Questions arose about whether the product had a future at all. Whether it was the diesel scandal or the COVID-19 pandemic, while some events dampened business significantly, the exploration of new applications and markets opened up unexpected opportunities for growth.
Today, sonoware almost doubled its headcount since its initial launch and is still heavily involved in cutting-edge innovation research. The company is serving clients all over the globe and is conducting business in over five different industries. Many business relationships are long-lasting success stories of joint value creation, and we are very proud to stand where we are today.
One thing has never changed over the years: fun and teamwork have always been a crucial part of our business.
