Munich Startup: Who are you and what do you do? Please introduce yourselves!
Vitokrates: There are three of us in the core team, Caroline, who studied business administration and medicine and developed new business models in healthcare for quite some time, Matthias, our computer science and machine learning expert, and Tassilo, our game designer and motivational expert. We’ve been working for nearly two years on all of our projects with a steadily growing core team of physicians, psychologists and experts in nutrition and kinesiology who work closely on further development of our app.
Munich Startup: What problem does your startup solve?
Vitokrates: Health problems and chronic illnesses, cardiovascular and circulatory issues, digestive and metabolic disorders can be primarily attributed to an unhealthy lifestyle made up of poor nutrition, a lack of exercise, stress and the misuse of stimulants .
The problem is no secret and is something most patients are generally aware of! Yet many individuals fail to adjust their behavior or to change it over the long term.
Vitomy is a customized app that recommends customized behavioral changes for individuals – after all, there isn’t one right way of doing it, the main thing is for you to get started, to change one of the “problem areas” in your lifestyle. Our Vitomy app encourages and motivates our users with reward systems, avatars and other gamification elements that are used to suit their personal needs.
Vitokrates: “Our startup life is always a rollercoaster ride”
Munich Startup: But that’s nothing out of the box!
Vitokrates: Changing years of habitual and familiar behavior, especially in the beginning – before you notice any results – is difficult and boring. It’s something all of the founders are familiar with in dealing with their own personal baggage… recommendations or trackers (offline in the past: journals) have already been around for many years – but their success is limited. We help our users through difficult stages with our reward systems, challenges and playful motivational aids and help them have fun making small steps towards major health goals.
Munich Startup: Was there a point when you nearly failed?
Vitokrates: Our startup life is always a rollercoaster ride. Within a week at Vitomy and on a personal level, we go through every possible frame of mind, from a successful certification to a canceled cooperation or even a great article about Vitomy. We love it all and believe in our vision that lifestyle is the key cornerstone of health and that every change in behavior is possible with the right motivation. We will keep on going as long as the positive aspects prevail for us and the daily excitement is fun and drives us.
A short route to business angels, associations and organizations
Munich Startup: Where do you see your business in one year, and where in five years?
Vitokrates: We hope that the goal to lead a healthy life will be more and more widespread and that our Vitomy coaching app will help many people reach their goals by making it fun and providing motivation. In one year, we want to be used on the preventative side by a great number of people to support them in making behavioral changes and also as a treatment companion that doctors prescribe to their patients with digestive disorders, such as irritable bowl syndrome. Within the next five years, we see many more fields of use for our motivational digital coach for almost all “common diseases”, and the opportunity to improve the health situation for the general population by accompanying these patients in making better lifestyle choices.
Munich Startup: What do you think about Munich as a startup location?
Vitokrates: Munich is a great location for startups, particularly in the field of digital healthcare.
In addition to Berlin, many of our peer startups are located here, which means we can easily talk with them during personal meetings or at one of the many events here. Munich is also home to many business angels, associations and organizations, making the route short and direct.
Munich Startup: Bike or e-scooter?
Vitokrates: Riding scooters is lots of fun, especially at night, but we’re definitely bike people. Riding a bike in Munich is extremely convenient and a lifestyle step that is recommended by Vitomy that motivates and is happily followed by the majority of the founders.