When it comes to innovative German start-up companies, there are currently three names in particular doing the rounds: Auctionata, an online auction platform that now operates internationally; the e-scooter start-up eMio; and Gusti Leder, a company from Rostock that sells high-quality leather goods.

Germany’s most successful startup? Over the years, industry insiders have repeatedly mentioned one name: Auctionata. It is an online auction platform where luxury items, antiques, and collector’s items are auctioned live and online. During the auction, the auction items are filmed in a studio situation, allowing bidders to get a comprehensive picture.

Rapid growth and increasing criticism

Just two years after its founding, the Berlin start-up company had over 300 employees and achieved annual sales of 31.5 million euros. Major investors such as the Holtzbrinck publishing group and the Otto Group contributed significantly to the company’s initial success. Other financiers, such as the venture capital firm Earlybird, were quickly found.

Since Auctionata went online in September 2012, the platform has been under fire. On the one hand, there are complaints that the online auction system developed by the operators themselves still has glaring deficiencies, and on the other, industry experts claim that fake paintings have repeatedly been auctioned on the platform. One accusation against the operators is particularly serious: in April 2016, KPMG went public with the claim that employees had been bidding at the auctions for years and had thereby artificially inflated the prices.

According to a report by the digital magazine t3n, Auctionata is planning to make significant job cuts in the coming months due to the deteriorating business situation. This will affect both the headquarters in Berlin and the branch in New York. Established auction houses such as Christie’s and Sotheby’s, which are increasingly becoming digitally active, have been causing the Berlin startup more and more problems for some time.

E-scooters for city dwellers: 6,000 Berliners already use the service

If you travel by car in Berlin, you often spend more time waiting than driving. Many Berliners, therefore, prefer to use public transport, and a large number of the capital’s residents also use bicycles. However, if you are too tired to cycle after a long day at work or a long night and don’t feel like taking the bus or train, you can now use a new service: eMio.

Locate the scooter, book it, put on your helmet, and off you go – that’s what around 6,000 Berliners who have registered with eMio are doing. The app, developed by the start-up company, shows where the next free scooter is on a map. An e-scooter can be reserved for 15 minutes free of charge. Billing begins when you open the helmet case using the app.

No gear shifting, no clutching, no noise and no smell: With its 200 scooters spread across Berlin’s inner city, eMio is attracting a lot of interest, especially among environmentally conscious Berliners. The price of 45 cents per kilometer or 19 cents per minute is also attractive to many users. But the competition is not sleeping either. Foreign startups such as Scoot Networks from the USA and Motit from Spain are toying with the idea of ​​expanding to Germany.

Facebook fans become product developers

An expensive department to develop new ideas? Gusti Leder, a startup that sells leather goods, believes that there are more efficient ways to find out which products are of particular interest to customers. To do this, the Rostock-based company turns directly to the social media community and asks in short Facebook videos: What do you like about our new bag? What can we do better?

This level of openness is well received by the Facebook and Pinterest communities. The number of likes and shares on Facebook and Pinterest shows the huge interest of social media users in helping to shape future products themselves. Company founder Christian Pietsch is certain: Due to the growing number of vegetarians and vegans, leather is now “a controversial issue and a question of conscience”. The idea of ​​communicating openly is well received by social network users.

The working conditions in the countries of origin of the leather goods are also important to Christian Pietsch, Even if there is no 100% security with the large number of suppliers: “I travel to the producing countries myself once or twice a year to get an idea of ​​the production conditions.” A veritable shitstorm, such as the one currently experienced by so many companies, has so far been avoided thanks to the open nature of communication.

Conclusion:

On the one hand, Auctionata, eMio, and Gusti Leder show that consumers are extremely interested in new ideas. Not everyone has the time to travel to another part of the world for auctions, which Auctionata takes advantage of, and many consumers are interested in leather goods that have been tanned without chemical additives.

The three startups are shaking up established business areas with innovative concepts. However, not every startup manages to communicate openly and transparently, and some, such as the online auction house Auctionata, are increasingly coming under criticism due to unfair business practices.