Munich Startup: What does NetZero do? What problem do you solve?
Johannes Dörr: We are an educational institution and platform for sustainability with a focus on decarbonization and energy efficiency. Our mission is to support the European Union’s ambitious goal under the Green Deal by 2030: to train one million additional qualified people to achieve the EU’s decarbonization targets.
Munich Startup: But that’s nothing out of the box!
Johannes Dörr: That would be great, because the more active we are in this field, the faster we can master the energy transition. What sets us apart is that we not only provide further training at our NetZero Academy, but also support our graduates in their day-to-day work. We do this with the NetZero Community. At the same time, our training has a very strong practical focus. This means that our graduates can hit the ground running after completing their training and make a decisive contribution to reducing emissions.
NetZero: Measurably reduce CO2 by training specialist staff
Munich Startup: What’s your founding story?
Johannes Dörr: We, Dominik Albicker and I, are good friends and have been motivated for many years by the vision of making a decisive contribution to the energy transition. We both previously founded companies in the energy sector. In doing so, we recognized the key role that skilled workers play in implementing the European Green Deal. The decision to found the NetZero Academy was made during a ski tour at Spitzingsee. And we have been growing ever since.
Munich Startup: What have been your biggest challenges so far?
Johannes Dörr: The biggest challenge of the NetZero Academy is that we have to make our courses very practical and personal while at the same time developing a scalable training program. This is the only way we can ensure that our graduates can immediately implement the energy transition and that their contribution makes a measurable overall contribution to reducing CO2 emissions. This requires outstanding lecturers, committed employees and customers who help us to develop further.
Munich Startup: How is business going?
Johannes Dörr: We measure our success in terms of CO2 saved. As we are still young, we will only really be able to measure our success in the coming years. However, we are very confident. To date, we have already qualified over 200 specialists for climate jobs.
Strong impact-driven network in Munich
Munich Startup: How have you experienced Munich as a startup location so far?
Johannes Dörr: Munich is a particularly important location for us. We are proud to be part of Munich’s impact-driven startup network and have an excellent working relationship with TUM. We also appreciate the proximity to the mountains and the Isar river, which offer us recreational opportunities alongside our work.
Munich Startup: Outsource or do it yourself?
Johannes Dörr: We prefer to take the first step ourselves. Although we value external support, we initially develop our learning concepts, content and platforms, as well as all other aspects that we need as a leading academy in the field of energy efficiency, internally. This allows us to tailor our offering to the needs of our customers.