Munich Startup: What has your career path been like so far?
Vanessa Theel, co-founder of Summ AI: I completed my bachelor’s degree in mathematics in Heidelberg and then studied business informatics at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) with my two co-founders. During my studies, I did various internships at consulting firms and financial services companies, particularly in the areas of modeling and programming. We founded Summ AI straight after my Master’s degree.
Munich Startup: What motivated you to found the company?
Vanessa Theel: After my technical studies, the three of us – Flora, Nico and I – really wanted to use our knowledge from AI research and practical projects to solve a socially relevant problem. My co-founder Flora was already familiar with the topic of plain language from her family: due to a cognitive disability, her aunt needs information in plain language in order to cope with everyday life. She also already knew that there were hardly any texts available in plain language, as the manual effort required to create them was simply too high. So we came up with the idea of developing a tool that translates texts into plain language at the touch of a button, along the lines of “Google Translate” – but not into a foreign language, but according to the official rules for this accessible language style.
Freedom of choice and creative freedom
Munich Startup: What do you wish you had known before you founded your first company?
Vanessa Theel: I would have liked to know that being self-employed really means being “independent all the time”. A lot of freedom of choice and creative freedom – but also a lot of work! I would also have liked to have known exactly how bookkeeping works before starting up. What I hadn’t expected, however, was how much fun it would be to be my own boss and take things into my own hands.
Munich Startup: How has your company been financed so far?
Vanessa Theel: The three of us bootstrapped the company for the first year and a half, i.e. we built it up from our own financial resources, funding and initial sales. The support from incubators such as EXIST or the UnternehmerTUM programs and especially Werk1 was very helpful, as they supported our mission and vision. Since October 2023, we have had external investors on board, including institutional investors such as Venture Stars as our lead investor and various business angels.
Munich Startup: When and where do you get the best ideas?
Vanessa Theel: I’m most creative with an iced coffee and a book in the sun on the balcony or during brainstorming sessions with my co-founders Flora and Nicholas.
Munich Startup: What are your three favorite work tools?
Vanessa Theel: My favorite work tools include Hubspot, MS Office and, of course, our own tool.
Market knowledge and confidence in yourself
Munich Startup: Your top tip for pitching?
Vanessa Theel: My top tip for pitching is to practise your pitch a lot and intensively – in my opinion, there is no way around this. At the same time, everyone should be confident that they know their own company and their own market best and should also radiate this confidence in their pitch.
Munich Startup: Does it seem like a good time to start a company? Why?
Vanessa Theel: Yes! I think it’s a good time to be a founder, especially in the govtech sector. This area is becoming more and more important in the industry and B2G models are increasingly becoming attractive VC cases, also because of the economic climate, which is making enterprise sales, for example, more and more difficult.
Vanessa Theel: Next foundation in crypto?
Munich Startup: Which technology or industry would you focus on for your next startup?
Vanessa Theel: Even if Flora and Nicholas might not immediately subscribe to this, I find the crypto and Web3 sector very exciting. Before founding Summ AI I did a traineeship at the European Central Bank (ECB) in the crypto area and found it extremely fascinating.
Munich Startup: What do you think could be improved in Munich as a startup location?
Vanessa Theel: I think Munich is a great location for startups. There are many talented people here, institutions such as UnternehmerTUM or WERK1 support young female founders and there are numerous experienced female founders in the city. However, Munich has one drawback: the extremely high rents, which are a burden for founders, as the money could be better invested in the company.
Munich Startup: Which founder would you like to meet in person? And what would you ask him or her?
Vanessa Theel: There are many inspiring founders that I meet again and again at events. One founder I would love to meet in person is Zarah Bruhn from Social-Bee. I would like to ask her how she counters critics who are skeptical about inclusion and what was the decisive lever that enabled Social-Bee to grow.
