OUR SUCCESS STORY WITH FABRIKATÖR

Hi Bahadir! When and how did you develop the idea for starting Fabrikatör?

As a co-founder of several IT companies, I developed an interest in this area early on. Working for LIQID GmbH and Marley Spoon AG in various positions as well as my many years of work in Turkey have made a decisive contribution to this. This is accompanied by enthusiasm for e-commerce, which has become increasingly important in the context of digitalization. In 2020, my co-founder Demirhan and I decided to launch our own product. The logical decision for us was to combine the technical area with e-commerce. The development and work on fabrikatör began for me and I really enjoyed the constant progress and changes.

How important were the “right contacts” or a large network of contacts for you to get started?

Very important! For me, contacts play a very important role because we can constantly learn from each other and develop further. During the pandemic, many work processes were shifted digitally. Above all, networking, which otherwise often took place in person, took place almost exclusively digitally or online. I was also able to learn a lot of new things and make contacts.

Looking back, what are you proud of, what were your greatest achievements?

I see the development of the company and personal career as a constant process and constant optimization. We had several pivots when we were founded, which led to us being more effective and successful today. I also didn't shy away from a significant (strategic) change of course, which is always somewhat risky, but is still possible, especially in the start-up phase. We were also able to get APX to invest in us, which enabled us to build the company.

What tips would you give other start-up founders?

First and foremost, it's about building something that doesn't have to be perfect. Founding a start-up is a constant learning process in which you sometimes have to experiment. You have to constantly adapt to the market and be open to new things and changes.

How did nxt milestone help/support you?

nxt milestone enabled me to build my start-up in Germany more smoothly and apply for funding. For me, the German language is a big challenge, which makes it difficult for me to communicate with various offices or banks and therefore achieve results efficiently. However, nxt milestone supported me professionally and in a trusting manner and not only bridged the language barrier, but also took away bureaucratic headaches. The support from nxt milestone was a real help and has the interactions with authorities and funding such as the start-up bonus. Together with nxt milestone, we applied for public funding and received it smoothly.

What is a fuck-up to you?

For me there is no fuck-up in that sense. When something negative happens or a problem arises, I see the positive things and the opportunities that arise. You can learn and grow from these things in particular.