Few things are more important for start-ups and product developers than customer feedback. With the prototype party, the start-up and innovation centre has been bringing founders and inventors together with potential investors, scientists, companies and interested members of the public for five years. Miriam Wiediger, Head of the GIZ, and Joleik Schaffrath, founder of the start-up SmartMix, explain in an interview why the format is so successful.
Ms Wiediger, the GIZ is organising its fifth prototype party this year - is it a successful concept?
Over the years, the prototype party has established itself as a fixed date in the Oldenburg start-up scene. The guests include business representatives, students, scientists, but also citizens - in other words, anyone who wants to try out new products. Some come again and again. Interest from institutional partners is also growing steadily, with many offering to host the event or suggesting exhibitors themselves. Our aim is to always organise the party at a different location. In previous years, for example, we have been at the Oldenburg Technology and Start-up Centre or at the auditing company Treuhand Weser-Ems. This year, the Oldenburgische Landesbank is making its premises available.
Why do you think the event is so popular?
Where else do you have the opportunity to try out the latest products from science and business at your leisure? For business representatives, the event is a great opportunity to look around for investment opportunities without obligation. Some are also looking for projects that they can support with their expertise or their own products and services.
How does the prototype party work?
Firstly, the developers present their prototypes in short presentations. The guests then go in small groups to stands they have selected themselves and test what they can. At the end of the evening, a vote is held to decide which prototypers can look forward to winning prize money. The concept was developed by three Hanoverians. Since 2015, the team has also been organising the event in other cities with the support of regional partners. The University of Oldenburg was one of the first external locations. The original aim of the event, to connect creative minds with each other, has been tightened up somewhat: our primary aim is to bring founders together with business representatives, investors and business angels. To make the exchange as entertaining and productive as possible for everyone involved, participation is limited: Product developers can apply for one of ten places, and one hundred tickets are available for feedback providers.
Who gets a place as an exhibitor?
The most important thing is that the product is actually testable. The prototype should ideally be tangible; software products are only suitable for the event to a limited extent. The stage of development, on the other hand, is irrelevant - everything is permitted, from the first functional draft to the almost market-ready product. What is more important is that the developers bring a specific question with them, for example about the design or certain functionalities. We also take into account whether applicants have a connection to the university or GIZ. However, anyone with an innovative idea also has a chance of being invited as an external inventor. We have also had trainees from companies who have developed their own product idea as part of their training.
Which prototypers do you particularly remember?
Two years ago, an eight-year-old girl and her companion presented sand moulds in the shape of buildings. You could use them to build entire sand cities. That went down really well with the guests, and the two of them ended up winning one of the prizes. Studimus is a startup that was at the first party in 2015 and is now internationally successful. The team has developed an ashtray that sucks up smoke and cigarette butts with air, keeping the typical smoking areas in front of hotels, shopping centres and bars clean. The ashtray also communicates advertising messages via loudspeakers and displays. The Studimus team has now attended every prototype party - as the secret eleventh prototype outside the entrance to the event.
Mr Schaffrath, you were an exhibitor at the prototype party in 2018 with your SmartMix product. What question did you ask there?
SmartMix uses technology to make traditional, manual cocktail mixing easy and error-free. Even inexperienced bar staff should be able to use the device to make cocktails of a consistently high quality. We wanted to know whether the idea would be popular with people and whether laypeople would actually succeed in mixing delicious drinks with our prototype.
What did your prototype look like?
The Smartmix consists of two components: A scale and a touch display are integrated into the main appliance. The user can select recipes via the display and is then guided through them step by step. The admissions are placed on a kind of tray that uses RFID technology to recognise the required ingredient and lights up as soon as it is needed. At the party, our prototype was still in its infancy, a purely functional prototype. It was 3D-printed and not waterproof - which is of course not ideal for working with liquids (laughs). The software also still had a few bugs. On the evening before the party, we tried it out for the first time to see if it could be demonstrated at all.
What feedback did you get at the prototype party?
We realised that we are on the right track with our product. We also realised that the SmartMix is not only interesting for the catering industry, but also - in a different quality and price range - for private use. It was also surprising that some of the testers handled the product very differently than we thought - for example, some ignored three or four instructions in a row. This showed us that we need to make the operation even more intuitive. We wouldn't have realised this ourselves, but over time you become blind in product development. We were also able to make one or two useful contacts, for example with companies from the manufacturing sector. And last but not least, the exchange of experiences between the teams is of course an important aspect of the prototype party.
Ms Wiediger, which start-ups will be at the prototype party this year?
In the run-up to the event, the prototypers and their developments remain a secret. But we can give you two or three insights: In a human emergency, we dial 112 for the emergency services. For animal emergencies, one of the prototypers is currently developing digital first aid. Trainees from a regional energy supplier are presenting two prototypes from the field of mobility. And a scientist from the DLR Institute of Networked Energy Systems is making e-cargo bikes fit for the energy transition.
Is it still possible to register for this year's prototype party?
Unfortunately, the places for prototypers are already taken. However, interested start-ups and developers can register now for 2020. It's important to note that you must have registered your property rights by next year's event - otherwise, in the worst-case scenario, you will forfeit your right to patent protection. There are still tickets available for this year's party for feedback providers - but you should be quick, as the event usually sells out around two weeks before the date.
In addition to the GIZ, the GIZ gGmbH, the Innovative University Jade-Oldenburg! and the Oldenburg Chamber of Industry and Commerce are involved in the organisation; financial support this year is provided by the Gertrud and Hellmut Barthel Foundation, the Oldenburgische Landesbank AG, the patent law firm Jabbusch Siekmann & Wasiljeff, and the European Regional Development Fund.
Interview: Nele Claus
