Planning city trips can sometimes be quite overwhelming. To keep the anticipation alive, the CyberLab team has developed a guide with artificial intelligence. In an interview, we spoke to two of the Glotting founders, Nico and Jan Laux, and asked them the well-known ten Gründerview questions.
Your startup in a tweet?
We offer an advisor working with artificial intelligence, which creates a daily plan for city trips tailored to the user with just a few clicks. The focus is on local businesses/institutions and thus enables an authentic visit to the city far away from the mainstream. In addition, we offer the opportunity to network with local people and do things together.
How did your business idea come about; what was the initial spark?
The idea came during a work and travel stay abroad and the associated travel. The more you travel, the more research you have to do to explore all the relevant sights/places in a city. This takes a lot of time, often ends in stress and spoils the anticipation of the actual time on site. In the age of digitization, planning based on your own preferences can just as easily be done by artificial intelligence.
How big is your team, who is part of it and how did you find each other?
We are four founders and all come from the municipality of Pfinztal in the district of Karlsruhe. We’ve been friends for a number of years, and we’ve been doing business together since we started working on Glotting, which has been the case for about a year now.
Who benefits from your idea and why?
The original idea was that travelers in particular would benefit from our idea and thus be able to simplify their planning many times over and have the opportunity to network with local people. On closer inspection, however, glotting is also interesting for residents, students or short-time workers in the respective cities to explore them anew, receive incentives for the daily routine or meet new people.
What does your everyday work look like – is there even such a thing as “everyday life”?
There is no regulated everyday life in this sense. We are currently represented in the Cyberlab Accelerator and the sessions on Mondays and Tuesdays should be the constants in the weekly planning. Away from the accelerator, our stage is currently about the further development of our software and the establishment of a large-scale network. To this end, we are engaged in many discussions and are currently literally cleaning many doors.
Why did you choose an accelerator like CyberLab?
In professional life you often hear that nothing beats a well-developed personal network. Transferred to the founding of Glotting, the Cyberlab offers the best basis for building such a high-quality network. With over 1,200 companies, we feel we are in the right place here to lay the foundation for a successful start-up and the expansion of our range. The associated mentoring helps to avoid one or the other mistake.
Which startup excited or inspired you the most?
Difficult question. Mankido and Snkraddicted are two startups from our circle of acquaintances and both have successfully established themselves on the market. There was certainly excitement as you learn first hand that with the right work ethic and the right idea, anything is possible.
What’s the next big step?
Since we are currently still in the final phase of developing our guide, the next big step in terms of our offer will be the associated go-live. From a company point of view, there are a few other points that we are constantly pushing forward and that may be a little smaller for us personally in comparison, but are still groundbreaking milestones.
Which stumbling blocks did you have to climb over when founding the company?
Luckily we have been spared major stumbling blocks so far. So far, we have been able to clear smaller stumbling blocks very well together as a team.
Do you have any advice/tips for other founders?
Not every person you present your idea to will be convinced of it or give you the courage to pursue it further. It is important that you believe in your vision and convey this from day to day.
About glotting:
Glotting offers an advisor working with artificial intelligence, which creates a daily plan for city trips tailored to the user with just a few clicks.