VisioPlan offers user-friendly design planning solutions for private developers: With the help of VR technologies, the startup from Hamburg University of Technology (TU Hamburg) overcomes a lack of imagination and creates a realistic sense of space. VisioPlan recently successfully applied for an EXIST grant with the support of the Startup Port and Startup Port @ TUHH. We spoke to co-founder Kevin Fechner.
Kevin, could you start by describing your business idea?
Anyone who has ever built, converted or furnished a property will be familiar with the problem: you only become fully aware of the effect of the floor plan during the usage phase. Planning errors then have to be accepted or corrected at great expense. We prevent this problem by enabling people to take a virtual tour of their property before construction begins and identify such problems. We attach great importance to ease of use while at the same time integrating it into the conventional planning process. All builders need is a floor plan in original scale, and we take care of the rest.
How did you come up with this idea?
As part of our studies, we created 3D models of properties on a PC and then viewed them with VR glasses. This laid the foundation for many discussions about further possibilities and ultimately for our product idea.
In accompanying activities, for example as a working student in a planning office, we realized that architects often have to make a considerable effort to fulfill the client’s ideas. Many personal discussions are necessary in order to understand their wishes and needs and translate them into designs. Despite all efforts, however, it is often the case that clients have difficulty imagining the property based on the floor plan. In response to this challenge, we decided in 2022 to develop software that allows clients to view their designs in a virtual reality and adapt them to their needs. After expert interviews and intensive research, we came to the conclusion that VR is the best technology to offer builders a realistic representation of their planned property and overcome the lack of imagination.
How did you get to know your co-founders?
Mathias Worm, Albert Lößner and I got to know each other during our bachelor studies at the Bauhaus University Weimar and were already thinking about start-up ideas together back then. When things became more concrete, Maximilian Schmidt, an old friend of mine, joined us and filled the gap in web development perfectly.
How are your areas of expertise distributed?
Albert and I are responsible for the business area. We have a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in Construction, Real Estate and Infrastructure Management from Bauhaus University Weimar. While I gained practical experience as a construction supervisor and consultant, Albert digitized various application scenarios in the construction industry for companies and acquired basic programming skills in the process. Together we worked as research assistants in research projects (BIREM & USIN5G) at the University of Applied Sciences 21 in Buxtehude and specialized in Building Information Modeling (BIM).
My focus was on the strategic implementation of BIM in small and medium-sized enterprises and internal project management. Albert was responsible for research into the creation and structuring of 3D models for intelligent civil protection and for guidelines for the implementation of BIM in SMEs.
Maximilian and Mathias are responsible for the technical development of the product. Maximilian originally studied graphic design at the private HTK University of Applied Sciences in Hamburg. After completing his studies, he was able to play a key role in shaping the exciting but also challenging task of digital transformation from print to digital products at the Hamburg publishing house “Gruner + Jahr” in the early 2010s.
Maximilian has been working as a freelance software developer for over 15 years, during which time he has supported many companies from a wide range of industries in the development of apps, websites and applications. From small companies to medium-sized businesses and large DAX companies.
Mathias, on the other hand, completed a bachelor’s degree at the Bauhaus University Weimar and a master’s degree in civil engineering at the University of Braunschweig after training as an IT specialist. He deepened his knowledge from his training and studies as a research assistant at the Institute for Digital and Autonomous Construction at the TUHH, where he worked on the 3D modeling of buildings and their integration into robot-assisted construction processes.
How did the name of your company come about?
The name VisioPlan is intended to make it clear that we enable our customers to record their ideas about their property as early as the planning phase in order to avoid subsequent changes or planning errors and conserve resources.
How did you find out about the Startup Port or Startup Port @ TUHH? How was the start-up support able to help you develop your start-up?
Once our start-up idea was formulated, we searched online for ways to implement it and came across the Startup Port. This was back in the days of Covid, when the offices were significantly emptier than in previous years, as a start-up consultant told us. This suited us very well, as we were looking for an office to continue working on our idea and ultimately apply for the EXIST start-up grant.
On the one hand, the office was the starting point for better cooperation between us, but on the other hand it was also the first confirmation that someone believed in us and our idea. In the weeks and months that followed, we were supported in the EXIST application phase by start-up consultant Konstantin Kollar, who was always on hand with helpful tips and coached us in many discussions.
We have now been accepted for the EXIST start-up grant and are part of the Startup Port @ TUHH incubation program, which enables us to take part in workshops on various start-up-related topics. In addition, the constant exchange with other startups that are in a similar founding phase is always helpful.
When will you receive the EXIST start-up grant? When are you founding?
The EXIST start-up grant starts on 01.10.2023 and runs for 12 months: We will probably found a GmbH two months before the end of the grant.
What are your goals for the end of the year? What other financing etc. are you aiming for?
We are using the time of the start-up grant to publish a market-ready product. Our primary goal is to develop an alpha version of our product by the end of the year and test it with the first users. At the end of the EXIST start-up grant, our first product should be available for purchase so that we can generate initial sales and continue to grow from this point onwards. We are also looking for a strategic business angel for this. From our point of view, it is also conceivable to apply for the InnoRampUp funding program in order to master the challenge of market entry. The application phase for ventures and other funding is planned for the period from April to September 2024.
Further links:
Kevin Fechner (VisioPlan) on LinkedIn
