Fabrikatör Secures €50,000 Founder Bonus: That Was the Game-Changer

A market-revolutionizing web app against empty warehouses: Fabrikatör helps e-commerce brands with automated planning. Despite this innovation, the start in Germany was rocky. Our business plan was the game-changer for Fabrikatör: it overcame language and bureaucratic hurdles and led directly to the €50,000 Founder Bonus.

About Fabrikatör

Founders Bahadir Efeoglu and Demirhan Aydin have developed fabrikatör, a market-revolutionizing web application that controls automated inventory planning. Using artificial intelligence, data such as marketing costs and user trends are evaluated and automatically implemented when ordering. To prevent empty warehouses and supply difficulties, the software prompts the producer to reorder in good time.

Hi Bahadir! When and how did you come up with the founding idea for Fabrikatör?

As a co-founder of several IT companies, I developed an early interest in this field. Working for LIQID GmbH and Marley Spoon AG in various positions, as well as my long-term work in Turkey, contributed decisively to this. Along with this came enthusiasm for e-commerce, which has become increasingly important in the context of digitalization. In 2020, my co-founder Demirhan and I decided to bring our own product to market. For us, the logical decision was to combine the technical field with e-commerce. The development and work on fabrikatör thus began for me, and I have had great joy in the constant progress and changes.

How important were the “right contacts” and a large network of contacts for you at the start?

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

The Challenge

Fabrikatör’s groundbreaking AI technology impressed immediately. However, the founders faced two massive hurdles that delayed the start: first, German bureaucracy, and second, the language barrier, which made smooth communication with authorities and funding bodies almost impossible. Without a solid business plan that overcomes these problems, the €50,000 Founder Bonus risked failure.

nxt milestone supported me professionally and trustfully, not only bridging the language barrier but also relieving bureaucratic headaches. The support was a real help, which allowed us to obtain public funding smoothly.

What are you proud of in retrospect and what were your biggest successes?

I see the development of the company and my personal career path as a continuous process and constant optimization. During the founding process, we had several pivots that led us to be more effective and successful today. I also didn’t shy away from a significant (strategic) change of course, which is always risky, but especially possible during the founding phase.

Our Solution

The solution lay in nxt milestone’s deep strategic expertise. We not only created a business plan with a complete financial section but also perfectly packaged Fabrikatör’s groundbreaking AI technology in the logic of German funding bodies. Thanks to our knowledge of the funding landscape, we were able to avoid all bureaucratic pitfalls from the start. We took over all communication and accompanied the founders with confidence, making language and bureaucratic hurdles completely irrelevant. The result was the smooth receipt of the €50,000 Founder Bonus.

How did nxt milestone help you?

nxt milestone enabled me to build my startup more smoothly in Germany and apply for funding. For me, the German language is a major challenge, which makes it difficult for me to communicate with various authorities and therefore achieve results efficiently. However, nxt milestone supported me professionally and trustfully, not only bridging the language barrier but also relieving bureaucratic headaches. Together with nxt milestone, we applied for and smoothly received public funding.

The Impact

The success was measurable and sustainable: Fabrikatör received the Founder Bonus without bureaucratic delays and gained additional credibility in the German market through the strategic plan. The founders were able to focus entirely on their core competency, improving the AI application, and successfully establishing their e-commerce product in the market.

What is a fuck-up for 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 from it. You can learn and grow especially from these things.

What tips would you give other startup founders?

First and foremost, it’s about building something that doesn’t have to be perfect. Founding a startup is a constant learning process where you sometimes have to experiment. You must constantly adapt to the market and be open to new things and change.