Acne and other skin problems are common, but so far treatment and improvement of the skin’s appearance is often only possible through a doctor’s visit. Skinmate, a CyberLab team, has set itself the goal of making skin care easy to use with an app. In an interview, we spoke to Skinmate founder Leo Heinrich and asked him the well-known ten Gründerview questions.
Your startup in a tweet?
The journey to better skin doesn’t have to be confusing: Skinmate is your digital companion for skin care, nutrition and lifestyle Always there! We offer more than just selective advice – we adapt to your skin problems and needs and support you with all the features you need for better skin.
How did your business idea come about; what was the initial spark?
I suffered from acne myself for almost 10 years and felt very lost and alone at times. It was a long, rocky road until I finally got my skin under control. Basically, we are now working on the product that I would have longed for at the time.
How big is your team, who is part of it and how did you find each other?
We are currently four. My co-founder Lucas takes care of the technical part and I work on product and marketing. Marina takes care of the design and Leonard takes on many administrative tasks as Founder’s Associate. Marina, Lucas and I know each other from our studies and are good friends. We met Leonard through our network and hit it off immediately.
Who benefits from your idea and why?
On the one hand, of course, everyone with skin problems, such as acne, rosacea, neurodermatitis and so on. With our digital solution, we close the supply gap in the everyday life of many of those affected, which doctors, beauticians and influencers cannot or can only cover to a limited extent. But Skinmate is also useful for people who want to improve their overall skin health and prevent the occurrence of skin problems.
What does your everyday work look like – is there such a thing as “everyday life”?
For a long time there was no everyday life and Skinmate was just a side project, now Lucas and I are working full time on our vision. Currently still completely remote, but towards the end of the year we want to agree on a common location and then finally work together on site.
Why did you choose an accelerator like CyberLab?
As a founder, you never stop learning and the CyberLab offers a great opportunity to question your own ideas and, if necessary, to reorient yourself or improve them. And of course you learn a lot from the workshops and benefit from the large network.
Which startup excited or inspired you the most?
For me personally, that’s headspace. I love the brand universe they’ve built, it’s just extremely personable and compelling. And from my point of view, they have contributed a lot to the fact that the topic of mindfulness is so omnipresent today. You have to be able to do that with an app and it inspires us a lot at Skinmate.
What’s the next big step?
We are currently still in a closed beta phase with our prototype. The founding of the company and the associated publication of our app is therefore the next big step for us.
Which stumbling blocks did you have to climb over when founding the company?
Many processes turn out to be more complicated or longer than expected. And when you get advice on this, there are many different views and opinions that you have to filter and prioritize to the best of your knowledge and belief. This is sometimes really difficult and you have to learn to live with a certain degree of uncertainty.
Do you have any advice/tips for other founders?
From the beginning, try to test your assumptions and ideas well. You tend to be very focused on the big vision and wanting to build the perfect product. But that’s of no use if the market doesn’t want it in the end. Therefore: Talk a lot with your target group and carry out many small, simple tests.
About Skinnmate:
At Skinmate, we are developing the next generation of acne treatment. Powered by our machine learning algorithms, the Skinmate app helps users find the best products for their unique skin profile, optimize their lifestyle and diet, and track their progress. In this way, our digital companion simplifies and shortens the path to clearer skin for the over 700 million people worldwide who currently suffer from acne.