Pitcheck: Two million euros for HR startup Menlo79

“Unfortunately, we still have to wait for a late train staff”-that trains do not come on time is sometimes due to the rail staff. The HR-Tech startup has developed a personnel platform called Wilson, which is specially tailored to the rail and logistics industry. Short -term draft staff should be coordinated faster. There were millions from investors.

The special thing about the financing history? Previously, Menlo79 had been financed for years solely through boat trapping and funding. Then the team decided to switch to venture capital. Menlo79 collected just 2.1 million euros in a Pre-Series-A round. The round was led by Scalehouse Capital and D2 Fund, with participations by Ventis Capital and Frankenberg's ventures. With the fresh capital, the startup is planning to expand the software as well as the professionalization and expansion of marketing and sales.

The founder scene asked founders and CEO Fabian Stöffler: When is the right time for this step- and what advantages and disadvantages offer boat trapping and venture capital?

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From boat trapping to VC: “We were ready to scale faster”

Startups with meaningful names are not uncommon. Most of the time the name is self -explanatory. But at Menlo79 it is more complicated. “'Menlo' is an allusion to Menlo Park, the California city in Silicon Valley, which is considered the 'capital of the risk capital',” says Stöffler. For example, Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook Group moved to Menlo in 2011. And the “79”? “The number 79 stands for 1679, the year by describing the binary code and lying the foundation stone for digitization,” explains Stöffler. The name of the Wilson platform also has a meaning: “The very first train driver in Germany was called William Wilson. He was Brit and was imported to Germany with the first railway, ”explains Löffler.

Stöffler himself has a deep connection to the industry. As a former Deutsche Bahn employee, he founded Menlo79 in 2019. At the beginning, he says, he and his co-founder deliberately decided to raise the company with boat trapping. Especially since the rail industry's market is extremely conservative and niche.

2024 then the decision to switch to VC. For Stöffler, the moment was crucial: “We financed ourselves for five years. But last year it became clear that our product is well received, the need is there and we are ready to scale faster. ”

Questions that should be asked before the VC decision

According to Stöffler, founders who are considering taking the path from boot trapping to venture capital should ask themselves according to Stöffler:

1. “How conservative or niche are market and customers? Is the market for your product there and big enough to scale quickly? ”
2. “Are you ready to give up decision -making for more capital?”
3. “When do customers decide for or against your product and how much influence do you have on this decision?”
4. “How much time do you need to get your product so that it is used? Or is the product already mature? “

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Boat trapping: advantages, but not for everyone

Stöffler himself comes from the railway industry. He worked as a consultant, manager and digitization at Deutsche Bahn for over ten years. Leaving his job and becoming founder was not easy for him: “After 13 years at Deutsche Bahn, it was overcoming. But I wanted to create something of my own. “

Boat trapping initially offered him great freedom: “As a founder, you have full control. Decisions remain at the owner level and you have a greater scope for action. ”Experiments and projects, such as the YouTube format“ Railtalks ”, were also possible.

But boot trapping also has limits. “If you need a lot of capital for the start, it is difficult, without external investors,” said Stöffler. And he emphasizes: “Boat trapping is not a sugar. You often have to wait until you have opened up new sources of money and it also takes a little luck and timing. ”

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