Munich Startup: What does Silberfluss do? What problem do you solve?
Lukas Ballweg, Silberfluss: We are building an automation platform that allows law firms to handle more mandates. Many law firms have the challenge of not finding enough paralegals to grow or to handle existing mandates.
Our solution supports these law firms in the handling of mandates. An example of this is the handling of an accident in a traffic law firm. From recording and classifying the facts of the case to drafting various letters and pleadings to insurance companies and the police to coordinating with experts and other parties involved, Silberfluss takes over many tasks that otherwise take up a lot of time for the law firm staff.
After a few enquiries from the public sector, we realised that our solution also fits well here and solves a problem. In the medium term, we would also like to support public administration and the judiciary in processing procedures faster and more citizen-centred. The first pilot projects are already being planned.
Pilot projects for public administration and the judiciary
Munich Startup: But that’s nothing out of the box!
Lukas Ballweg: Unfortunately it is. What distinguishes us from other process automations in the law firm sector is that we support law firms in the complete handling of mandates and that across different areas of law. Existing solutions that fit into the law firm ecosystem usually only help with a specific niche task.
What makes us different in the public sector is that we map both the front office (the point of contact with applicants) and the back office (the internal administrative processes) in one solution and everything can be configured via a no-code interface. This offers the decisive advantage that digital end-to-end processes can be implemented faster and easier without media discontinuities and not just one specific process step is digitised.
Munich Startup: What’s your founding story?
Lukas Ballweg: We are a team of four founders and know each other mostly through the Stiftung der Deutschen Wirtschaft (sdw). We developed the first steps towards Silberfluss through an sdw start-up initiative. I myself studied computer science with a minor in law and have therefore already done a few projects in the legal tech sector. This is how the idea for Silberfluss came about. We have been working on Silberfluss for over two years now. We have been working on Silberfluss full-time for about a year, since most of us finished our studies.
The question of commitment and risk
Munich Startup: What have been your biggest challenges so far?
Lukas Ballweg: In the initial phase, it took us a while to agree as a team what our long-term goals, expectations and motivation were and how much commitment and risk we were willing to take. This was not an easy process, as the ideas were extremely far apart. But in the meantime it has made us a perfectly functioning team.
The last few years have been, above all, an immense learning process, where we keep reaching our limits. The feedback in the initial phase in particular has taught us to dive deeper into and understand our clients’ needs and challenges every day – and thus to deliver real added value.
Silberfluss: “We are satisfied”
Munich Startup: How is business going?
Lukas Ballweg: We are satisfied. Since we won our first pilot clients a year ago, we have been able to grow continuously. We are currently working with a low double-digit number of law firms. Our clients achieve a time saving of up to 90 per cent in the handling of mandates in the area of mass proceedings through Silberfluss. Through cooperations, we expect to add several hundred law firms this year.
Munich Startup: How have you experienced Munich as a startup location so far?
Lukas Ballweg: When we applied for the Exist start-up grant, we had the choice of applying via Heidelberg University or Munich University of Applied Sciences. In the end, we decided on Munich. That was a conscious decision. Munich has a strong startup and investor network, and we had already received intensive support from Munich University of Applied Sciences. When it comes to supporting startups, Munich is already making a big impact. In addition, the mountains are closer to Munich, which was an additional reason for me personally to choose our location.
Munich Startup: Public transport or bicycle?
Lukas Ballweg: Definitely a bicycle, but only if there is a free space for it in the underground.