Timly has become much more than just an information channel for tracking down inventory, claims co-founder Philipp Baumann. In our interview, he talks about current market trends and challenges in the start-up scene.
What exactly does your start-up do?
Philipp Baumann:Timly is a B2B SaaS solution for the digital solution of inventory management. In Timly, we centralize all relevant information on a company’s operating resources and make it available exactly where it is needed: Whether in the office, on the factory floor, on the construction site or in the hospital corridor. Today, Timly is used by companies in every industry and covers a wide range of different use cases. This is precisely what makes the software so successful: A modular structure, despite extensive functionalities.
What problem does your product solve? What demand does it meet?
P.B:Timly is the holistic, digital solution for companies’ everyday question: “Where is this and that inventory actually located?” The software uses QR codes to link the physical inventory objects (assets) with the digital twin. In this way, the required information on each inventoried object can be called up exactly where the object is located with a simple scan of the QR code label via a laptop or mobile device.
Today, more than 4 years after its foundation, Timly has become much more than just an information channel for tracking inventory. In our software, we now centralize all answers about a company’s inventory, regardless of the type of object or the industry and size of the company. Not only can locations be recorded in Timly, but also manuals, maintenance dates and inspection logs. Timly makes all relevant information available at the touch of a button and automates processes relating to inventory. With our integrated ticketing system, users can create work on, and close tickets relating to defects, regular maintenance, software updates, and more.
What is your target group?
P.B:Timly started out as a solution for digital tool management in the construction industry. However, it quickly became clear that it is not just construction companies that have a wide range of inventory, but actually every company in every industry. We also received more and more inquiries from schools and trading companies who wanted to manage their IT equipment digitally.
Today, our customers inventory a wide variety of objects in Timly’s inventory management software: from computer mice and diving equipment to complex production facilities. The great advantage of Timly is that there are no restrictions regarding the objects, so that our potential customers include any company or institution with increasing inventory management requirements.
To what extent is the product in line with current market trends?
P.B:In general, there has been a trend towards cloud solutions for some years now. Many companies can no longer afford or no longer want in-house servers or IT specialists and are therefore looking for flexible online solutions for their software needs. This is where we come in, because Timly is also a cloud solution that is provided under strict, GDPR-compliant measures.
In addition, more and more processes in companies are to be digitized in order to ensure the greatest possible degree of automation (especially to get away from manual, error-prone processes). Nowadays, there are a number of B2B software solutions designed to automate a wide range of activities: Accounting tools, sales management, marketing automations… Timly is another missing piece of the puzzle for optimizing operational efficiency: automating inventory processes.
When and how did you come up with your start-up idea?
P.B:Through an exchange with a building contractor friend, I became aware of the problems that existed in his company at the time: Nobody ever knew 100% where all the tools, equipment and machines were, what condition they were in and who had them last. On one occasion, we spent almost a week looking for an excavator, which was eventually found on a construction site. In addition, there was no real overview of which employees actually had which certifications, i.e. which employees were allowed to use which equipment. The popular method of managing inventory with Excel lists quickly proved to be inefficient, as such lists quickly became out of date or had to be laboriously handed over when an employee left.
Together, we then considered what a digital solution to these problems might look like and I set about developing a prototype of the Timly software. Initially, I concentrated on the aforementioned topic of employee certifications. This resulted in the digital personnel file, which is still very popular today and forms a unique link between inventory and employees. With our training management software, you can see what skills each employee has and when which training courses are due. By smartly managing employee skills in conjunction with the inventory, we created compliance within the company, because the clarity and built-in automation ensure that legal requirements are always met.
What kind of knowledge did you have in this area when you founded your startup? And how did you test your product?
P.B:Before founding and developing Timly’s asset tracking software, I was already working in IT, albeit in the consulting sector. However, I was also able to gain experience with software development during some projects. However, my previous career was in business administration. This allowed me to build up the necessary knowledge in both areas, which was very helpful when founding Timly and developing our solution. Together with my co-founder Fitim Mehmeti, who had also gained extensive knowledge in the business environment (focus on sales), the founding team was born. Now, 4 years later, we have over 20 employees in many different European countries.
Through the first product demos with customers from our network, we were able to put our idea and the first prototypes to the test again and again and continuously develop them further based on customer feedback. Today, the Timly software offers a wide range of functions that could only be developed thanks to the constant exchange with our customers.
Looking back, what would you have done differently in the start-up phase?
P.B:At the beginning, customer meetings and product demos were rather slow, but that is normal in the early phase of a start-up. It’s difficult when there are only two of you at the beginning and you actually have to build up all areas of a company. It was only in the process of “doing” that we were able to hone our skills and convince more and more customers. In retrospect, I would possibly focus on more effective marketing and sales activities right from the start, which – as I said – we only discovered as the months went by. The recruitment of additional key people, such as the lead engineer or the marketing specialist, then took us to the next level. Of course, you can always retrospectively evaluate whether an earlier hire would have brought even faster success. However, this must be considered differently from startup to startup.
What tips can you give other founders?
P.B:An early focus on sales makes sense: Talk to customers! Let them tell you why customers would NOT buy the product today… then make improvements. Customer feedback really is the key to success.
What is the biggest immediate challenge for your company and where do you see yourself in five years’ time?
P.B:We are currently internationalizing our product and our company focus very strongly. There are a number of things to consider in all areas of the company. This means that we are currently facing completely new challenges. Our vision is to have our inventory management solution become the market leader in the field of “digital asset management”. No matter how long that will take, Timly is here to stay.
What would you do professionally if you didn’t have a start-up?
P.B:Probably in a boring office job annoyed that I never took the plunge into my own start-up! (laughs)