Omdena

Cologne, Mexico, Japan and - at the time of our interview - in Portugal. Michael Burkhardt, co-founder of Omdena, a team-building platform for AI solutions, can work from anywhere in the world. The company Omdena was founded remotely from the outset; there are no offices, says the co-founder.

Michael Burkhardt met his co-founder Rudradeb Mitra a good three years ago on a trip to Japan, when he was still studying for his Master's degree in Management of Innovation at Erasmus University in Rotterdam following his Bachelor's degree in Siegen. ‘We hit it off straight away and decided to found the company together,’ explains Michael Burkhardt.

This took place in May 2019. Omdena is officially based in the USA. The company received an investment there through an incubator in Mexico. The platform currently has around 3,600 developers and data scientists from 100 countries working as freelancers on various projects in more than 50 countries.

How did you come up with the idea for ‘Omdena’?

There are many platforms and business models that are based on competitive thinking. So-called AI hackathons or competitions would be an example of this, where small teams work against or alongside each other to find a solution to a problem. We think this sets the wrong incentives. Most problems in the world, especially the larger ones that transcend national borders, need to be solved by working together. As a result, through a project in India that Rudradeb led, a community of 50 people built an AI solution to place solar panels on roofs. The feedback on the project was so good that we decided to create a platform that enables this kind of collaboration.

How exactly does ‘Omdena’ work?

Let's say a company has an acute problem to solve, for example forest fires in the neighbourhood. This company can then use this problem and any existing data on the platform to initiate a project. The data scientists - that's what we call our experts - apply for the project and we select the people who will work on the project and solve the problem together. In some cases, very large teams of around 50 data scientists from an average of 20 different countries come together. There are both paid and unpaid projects. As part of our community, the collaborators can build their careers in various ways.

What was the biggest challenge in setting up the company?

I would say the most difficult thing for me was to adopt the ‘just try it out’ mentality. Through my education, I was very used to making precise plans first. However, when starting a business, you also have to experiment, get feedback and then perhaps reorient yourself in a direction that is more promising. I had to overcome a lot of fears, learn not to take criticism ‘personally’ and open my mind. In the end, everything is half as bad and when you are less in your own way, you not only move faster, but it's also a lot more fun.

What drives you? What is your motto?

My motivation was freedom. Everything was too forced and too rigid for me in my previous jobs. I also always wanted to do something that generated added value for society. So my motto could be: Have freedom and give freedom. With the founding of Omdena, these two aspects have merged. Omdena brings together people from different backgrounds, education and religions. But no matter how different we may seem at first, at the core you always discover that we are all the same and that inspires and motivates me.

What did you take away from your studies at the University of Siegen?

Above all, I gained a good work ethic from my business studies at the University of Siegen. I learnt how to structure myself, prepare and complete things. Every day I have to think about what is the most important thing I have to do. It's not about getting the most urgent things done, but what will move my company forward now. That's how I've learnt to prioritise tasks.

What do you do in your company? What are you responsible for at Omdena?

In the beginning, I was responsible for community and marketing, and now I do marketing and business development. That means I take care of customer acquisition, the website, the blog, online events and so on.

What role do your stays abroad and your studies abroad in the Netherlands play for you and the start-up?

Through my semester abroad in New York and my Master's degree in Rotterdam, a certain lifestyle of exploring the world has first and foremost sunk into me. Omdena is basically an expression of this desire for freedom. To open up to new situations and see what life has to show you.

This portrait is based on an interview with Michael Burkhardt in June 2021 and was written by Janice Gust.

 

Click here for the start-up's homepage.