Grandpa’s eightieth is approaching. No gift idea yet. I also completely forgot about the baptism gift for the neighbor’s child. And when is the housewarming party for Daniel’s new apartment? Oh yes, and I actually wanted to send Anna a few flowers to the hospital. But now the dog has to go out… And then…
If you don’t know this, you don’t need heyfam. Everyone else will love heyfam. The app not only reminds us of birthdays, weddings, milestones and everything else that slips through our fingers. And with that heyfam gift finder You can even choose the right present, order it and have it sent straight away.
Ariane Lindemann in conversation with heyfam founder Milana Marks about the app that reminds us of everything and Germany’s first gift marketplace.
Forgetting birthdays and other appointments because of all the stress. You solve this everyday chaos that we all know. Tell me!
Before founding the startup, I had a very stressful day at work in communications strategy consulting for election campaigns. It often happened to me and my colleagues that we only had projects on our minds – especially during hot election campaign phases. It sometimes happened that one or two birthdays slipped through. It even happened to me a few times that I was so engrossed in work that I forgot to call my grandma again, which I actually do regularly. I was looking for a digital solution that would support me in my Family & Friends organization. But unfortunately there was nothing. This is how the idea came about to develop an app ourselves.
What can the app do?
It is digital and free support in everyday life for all topics relating to family and friends. With many organizational functions, such as reminders of conversations, birthdays, milestones, etc. And you also have the option of sending the appropriate attention with just one click. We have set up Germany’s first gift marketplace with a data-based algorithm.
What should I do if I don’t want to forget my girlfriend’s birthday and need a gift?
Then you simply enter your friend’s age on heyfam, her hobbies or interests and the price you want to pay. The algorithm then searches through numerous product worlds – from Amazon or Thalia to Jochen Schweitzer experience vouchers, Blume2000 and many others – and suggests gifts that match your girlfriend’s profile. Or, for example, you get a reminder that St. Nicholas Day or World Flower Day is in two weeks, in case you want to send someone a St. Nicholas stocking or flowers. We work with many large companies.
Is the app linked to my calendar?
Yes. All you have to do is share your calendar. We will then remind you in good time about birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, school enrolments, births and events. Depending on which dates are relevant to you.
Data protection issue. If I enter third-party data such as name and birthday – how is this data protected?
Data security is our greatest asset and we also communicate our data protection promise transparently to our users. All data that users share with us is used exclusively for their optimal user experience. We never pass on data to third parties outside of this purpose.
You have been able to attract many well-known companies to be represented on your marketplace. How did you manage that?
I had to pitch a lot because I had to close the deals when the product wasn’t even on the market yet. This is not so common because the partners naturally want to see the finished product. But it worked very well because the partners are convinced of the product. I was able to win over 50 cooperation partners, including the largest gift companies.
You have been online with the app since mid-August. How is the feedback?
We had a very long pre-download list for the app and can now see that many are already active and creating profiles and call reminders – which is of course great! We have now also started using Google AdWords and Google Search Ads on the web and have commissioned a large performance agency to take care of the marketing. We are confident that everything will develop well.
What about niche providers?
For the proof of concept, we’re going after the big guys because they’re very well versed in this affiliate model. In the long term, I am convinced that small, niche concept stores or manufacturers also have great products that you don’t come across so quickly when searching on the Internet. That’s why we’re tackling this little by little.
In the long term you want to involve local retailers…
We would like to suggest local providers to support retail. For example, if you are looking for a gift for a friend who lives in Hamburg, we will also suggest local products, such as a museum ticket for a great exhibition or for an event that is taking place locally.
In addition, we want to establish a system that allows you to find out where a specific product is stocked when searching for local gifts so that you don’t have to go to several stores.
The big proof of concept will be the Christmas season, right?
Yes, we are working towards that now. When Advent calendars start in November, everything has to be in place. Until then, there will be a background noise and then we will run our big campaigns.
How big is your team?
I am a solo founder. But I brought in external experts for all the areas that I can’t do on my own. I have an agency that programmed the app and website in exchange for company participation. They are, so to speak, my in-house tech company because they also have a stake in the company and therefore naturally represent the same interests as me. On the other hand, I have the performance agency. We now have the first investor on board, so I am now starting to fill a full-time position at the end of the year.
You’ve done campaign communications before. A stark change.
I worked in various areas of communications consulting and then in political communications. We have supported mayoral and state election campaigns for various centrist parties.
What were you able to take with you from this time for your startup?
Processes, approaches, structures. Because project management is definitely what helped me a lot. Whether I’m making a website for a mayor or for myself, or whether I’m running the campaign for myself or a party, it’s not that far apart anymore.
Where else did you get input for your startup?
As a solo founder, I was always looking for a network and exchange with other startups. That’s how I came across the CyberForum and the CyberLab Accelerator. An incredibly good decision. This has brought me forward a lot – on very different levels. For example in marketing, in product design, in terms of understanding my target group and also the topic of data and data protection. They have great workshops that I still attend even though I’m out of the accelerator. I learned a lot about the topic of investors and financing and literally absorbed all of this knowledge. And I am still in contact with the CyberLab, the employees and also with the startups with which I was in the batch. I can only warmly recommend that every startup take part in the accelerator.