The founders Eric Schneider, Lukas Thiée and Johannes van Deest are developing a digital tool that helps people to organise their free time actively and meaningfully and to make new contacts. They are supported by Startup Port. They have now been recognised for their innovative idea at the Lünale as Leuphana Start-up Idea of the Year.
What do hiking, games evenings and bouldering have in common? That’s right – they become an experience when you experience them together. The three founders of takepart, Eric Schneider, Lukas Thiée and Johannes van Deest, have recognised this and created a solution with their app that effectively addresses the feeling of loneliness that many people experience. With their concept for promoting real, connecting experiences, they convinced the Lünale jury and won the title of ‘Leuphana Start-up Idea of the Year’. And rightly so: takepart offers a solution for anyone looking for more than just the next social media scroll.
From the idea to the award
The trend is unmistakable: while social media platforms push virtual networking, real human contact often falls by the wayside. The studies speak volumes – loneliness is growing, even though we are more connected than ever before. This is where takepart comes into play. The app offers users the opportunity to easily meet new people and organise real-life experiences together, from planned events to spontaneous activities. ‘Whether hiking, bouldering, book club or game night – takepart promotes the creation of real connections based on shared interests,’ say the founders in their project outline. They were supported in the development of their concept by Startup Port, a network that promotes knowledge-based start-ups and supports innovation in the Hamburg metropolitan region.
App for spontaneous adventurers and community seekers
takepart is aimed at anyone who is looking for company and new impulses in everyday life. Whether you’re a newcomer to a new city or a traveller looking for connections, the app makes it easy to experience spontaneous adventures or find points of contact in existing communities. A unique advantage of the app is that it opens up opportunities for people who want to do things together but perhaps find it difficult to find the right contacts. Carsten Wille, start-up consultant at Startup Port, is supporting the project and firmly believes in the added value of the app for social cohesion.
Strengthening social connections and promoting mental health
But takepart wants to be more than just an event exchange – the aim is to reduce loneliness in the long term. The founders see the social value in the fact that real experiences and interpersonal contacts not only strengthen mental health, but also create a network of friends and acquaintances that roots people locally. Ideally, this not only leads to more leisure fun, but also reshapes the regional leisure and community culture in the long term. The jury was unanimous: takepart has its finger on the pulse of the times with its app.
More than an app – a movement
takepart is not just another social media tool, but rather a call to use digital networks to really bring people together. The app shows that digital solutions can be the key to real encounters. It will be interesting to see how the journey of Eric Schneider, Lukas Thiée and Johannes van Deest continues – and whether takepart will soon inspire people all over Germany to break new ground together and rethink leisure time. Startup Port is supporting the company in an advisory capacity.
Background information
Every year, the Lünale awards the most important business prizes in the Lüneburg region, including the ‘Leuphana Start-up Idea of the Year’ prize. This competition, organised by the Chair of Start-up Management at Leuphana, is aimed at students, graduates and employees of the university. Endowed with 3,000 euros, the prize is sponsored by the Rainer Adank Foundation and the NBank.
