InnoSaddle

With their startup InnoSaddle, Frederik Krause, Laura Diehl, and Surya Alla create new possibilities for saddle adjustment using 3-D technologies.

Who is part of the founding team of InnoSaddle and how did the founding come about?

Laura
My name is Laura, and I met Frederick in a course at the University of Siegen. We both studied business administration. Entrepreneurship was also addressed in this course. With three former founders, we developed the idea for InnoSaddle. We met Surya when we were looking for someone specializing in technology. He has a master's degree in mechatronics and was convinced by our idea and is now also part of our founding.

What is special about InnoSaddle?

Surya
We are trying to solve the problem of horse saddle adjustment using technology and 3-D scanning. Even the competitors use 3-D technology for analysis. However, we want to completely solve the problem by offering a way to adjust the horse saddle to the horse's back. To do this, we analyze the fit and make the necessary adjustments. So that's the differentiation we can offer compared to the competitors.

Laura
Usually, a saddler has to be ordered. And then he measures the horse. There is specific knowledge that one must know about the saddle and the horse's back. After the measurement, the saddler has to work on the saddle for a long time. Often, however, it doesn't fit perfectly during the fitting. So he has to take it back and work on it again. This can be very time-consuming and costly.

How exactly does your invention of InnoSaddle work?

Surya
It's very similar to facial recognition on a smartphone. So there is a technology in the smartphone that uses facial recognition to unlock it. The camera scans the face and can then compare the images based on an already stored facial scan. If the scan matches the already stored scan, the phone is unlocked. We use the same technology when scanning the horse. We even do our horse back scans with iPhones.

Laura
Working with Apple is actually easier here than with Android. Because there are so many different companies working with Android. And Apple is just Apple. Besides, people in the horse market mostly use iPhones.

Why did you choose to start a business in the horse field?

Laura
The horse market is a niche market that many founders are unaware of. Therefore, there are also fewer competitors. In addition, the people who belong to this market are willing to spend a lot of money. If the quality is right, they don't care if a saddle costs €2000 or €5000.

What is it like to start a business with three people? What are the advantages of a founding team?

Laura
Solutions are easier to find when facing challenges as a team. It's very valuable when there's collective brainstorming. So there are always people to talk to and exchange ideas with when you're not sure.

Surya
Also, each of us has different expertise. We all have our own tasks and work on different problems. This naturally saves time and allows us to share responsibility. One hand helps the other.

Is there support from the university or other networks?

Laura
Last year, we had the NRW Founder Scholarship, which supported us financially for a year. The courses offered by the Entrepreneurship Center on financing or cooperation with companies also helped us a lot. Most importantly for us is having been provided an office by the University of Siegen. This space is very valuable to us because active collaboration can take place here. We are also already in contact with major horse saddle companies such as CWD, Stübben, or Erreplus. Additionally, we met with Philipp, the founder of Kavalio, two weeks ago. He really liked our startup idea, and he was able to provide us with a lot of helpful input.

What were your biggest challenges? And how did you deal with them?

Surya
There were some issues with my student visa to be able to be part of the startup contract. It was difficult to clarify the matter with the town hall and the immigration office. In general, there were many organizational requirements that posed a challenge for us.

Laura
But if you speak to each other in a respectful, nice, and friendly manner, you can solve these problems well.

Surya
There are also often technical challenges. However, they are also very interesting, and it can even be nice to find solutions to existing challenges.

What are your next goals? And what are your long-term goals?

Surya
First, we plan to release our product and test the prototypes in Germany. The future plans are to expand to Europe and then also to America and Canada. Especially in America, in Texas, there is a lot of Western riding, so there are also a lot of horses there. Currently, our technology is only used on iPhones. In addition to iOS, we also want to implement it on Android devices and other platforms.

Laura
Another goal is to deepen the contacts we have already made a little further. Because we need companies to work with us and who want to work with the technology. So that's another goal.

Are you happy with the decision to found InnoSaddle?

Laura
Even though founding is a challenge, it's worth it. It's worth it when you really get involved, put your heart into it, and do everything for it. Through the founding process with the three of us, we also built a strong connection. So we would do it again anytime. You also definitely learn a lot for life through it.

This portrait is based on an interview with Laura Diehl and Surya Alla and was written by Antonia Blumberg.

Here are the founders' contact details:
laura.diehl@innosaddle.com
frederik.krause@innosaddle.com