Schlafonaut

We all need it, healthy sleep! But millions of people in Germany have sleep problems. Fabian Dittrich and Johannes (Joe) Sartor have dedicated themselves to precisely this problem. With their start-up "Schlafonaut", they offer help and tips to improve their customers' sleep. Together, the two founders provide personalised sleep coaching and show individual solutions. They share their knowledge in lectures, workshops and companies. Their own YouTube channel and podcasts, where they shed light on the topic of sleep, test the latest sleep gadgets and conduct exciting interviews with experts, round off their offering.

When Fabian came up with the idea for Schlafonauten in 2017, Fabian and Joe were both still students at the University of Siegen. Fabian was studying business law and Joe industrial engineering. Fabian initially pursued the founding idea, Johannes only came on board later when Fabian was looking for someone who was camera-ready and could convey his content via video. The chemistry between the two was so good that Johannes became more involved in the company. The company is "based" in Netphen, although you can't really call it that because Fabian now works from Cologne and Joe lives and works on Fehmarn. Their collaboration is characterised by the fact that everyone has a part and they only see each other online occasionally and coordinate together.

How did you come up with the idea of Schlafonaut and the associated idea of sleep counselling?

The idea came from me. I had some sleep problems myself at the beginning of 2017. At the time, I had founded two other companies alongside my studies and was working as a research assistant at university. My sleep suffered a little from all of this. It was only then that I became aware of the topic of sleep and started asking Dr Google about my problem. During my internet research on the topic of sleep problems, I realised that the topic of sleep has a lot of potential from a business perspective. A lot of people suffer from sleep problems, but there was no trustworthy contact person online and no sleep platform that also provided young people with holistic information. When the other two companies I was involved in setting up were finally shelved, I thought to myself, "Hey, why don't you become the contact person you would have liked to find on the internet yourself?"

That's how I ended up looking for a founding partner, collecting ideas on how to approach the whole topic and, of course, doing a lot of research to acquire knowledge on the subject of sleep.

What appealed to you about setting up your own company?

Our attraction was that you can organise your time completely independently and freely and implement your ideas. And if you set up a company during your studies, you can't "break" anything in that sense. If things do go wrong, you've increased your market value for your future career because you've taught yourself a lot and shown a lot of initiative.

When did you decide to start your own company?

In our case, there were mainly legal reasons for delaying the actual formation of the joint Gbr until January 2019. However, the realisation of our company goals started as soon as I had the idea in 2017.

What is the unique selling point of your company?

The unique selling point is our personal brand, so to speak. Because we, Fabian and Joe, are the people behind the Schlafonauten, nobody can copy us. It's not like products that can be copied one-to-one, but we are personal service providers. We also stand out because of our reach and our reputation. However, this has only become a unique selling point over time.

What was the biggest challenge you faced with Schlafonaut?

Above all, making the whole thing profitable and generating reach. But also to understand how YouTube and Google work and how to be found there.

What is of course challenging at all times (even today) is to understand the target group and what is well received by people. 30 million people with sleep problems does not mean 30 million potential customers. You have to learn how to package the content in such a way that people trust you on the one hand and want the solution on the other.

What we had to learn in an entrepreneurial context was not to sell ourselves short.

To what extent did the university's start-up office support you?

In the beginning, we had an office there and therefore a postal address and a place where we could meet. We also had a filming facility there for the YouTube videos. The monthly meetings and having a contact person who could give us feedback were also particularly helpful.

What is your advice for young founders?

Don't think about it for so long, just do it and try it out. I don't think it's ever been easier or cheaper to set up an online company than it is today. You learn an incredible amount, even if things go wrong.

I also advise you to talk to others about it and get lots of opinions on your idea. What do others think when they hear it? And don't be afraid to ask for help, you shouldn't be afraid to ask others for advice.

Would you set up a company again?

Not a third time. I have found my subject with this company. That is our passion. So as things stand today, no. But looking back, if I were to found Schlafonauten again, I would say yes. Even if it wasn't enough for full-time work, it's a very good extra income and the start-up has enabled us to have the jobs we have today. I work remotely in an online company in technical support and affiliate management, Joe as a coach on Fehmarn. This is how we both achieved what we wanted: to work independently in terms of time and location and to have an influence on our own income. So I'm very happy with how it worked out.

This portrait is based on an interview with Fabian Dittrich in May 2020 and was written by Janice Gust.

 

Click here for the start-up's homepage.