And suddenly it hits you: Diagnosis of nursing care. When this message reached one of the founders of ennie, thoughts began to spin. We always want the best for our families. But that's not always easy. And many people are confronted with this. After some research and bad first experiences with agencies, you face a seemingly impossible challenge. A nursing home doesn’t seem like the right option for many, but home care cannot be done alone. Where can you find empathetic, reliable and affordable 24-hour caregivers on the German market? Very difficult. That’s when the founders of ennie had an idea: a transparent, fair platform for finding the right caregivers.
The start-up ennie was born, in Cologne in July, 2021.
Lack of transparency and high costs
The placement of independent caregivers (primarily from Eastern Europe to Germany) is traditionally carried out by specialized agencies. As there are no real standards on the market, there is an enormous lack of transparency with regard to processes and costs. This leads to negative consequences for the caregivers, whose remuneration often suffers greatly as a result. Manual processes and an enormous administrative burden often lead to protracted placement. A problem when you consider that the need for a care case diagnosis is acute.
The solution: a digital platform
Together with Excubate , we set up an interdisciplinary team that developed and launched an executable MVP within six months. We provided in the process Product owner, scrum master, front and back-end developers and UI/UX designers, Excubate provided alongside experienced venture consultants and marketingspecialists, the entire management team and the managing director. The biggest challenge was that there were no existing business processes to build on, as the start-up was newly founded. "Our goal was to map all the business processes defined by Excubate and implement them in technical features. Thanks to rapid implementation and continuous adjustments, we were able to put an initial MVP live in a very short time, which could be tested by real users," says Oliver Mayer, Senior Consultant Digital Strategy & Transformation at objective partner. Thanks to the lean startup approach , the necessary functionalities were developed in a user-centric and agile manner. Six months later, the fully functional marketplace for the placement of caregivers was born.
And this is how it works
Based on a marketplace logic, people in need of care, or their relatives, and caregivers can find each other in no time at all. Both sides create a profile with information about the care situation, the needs and the services required / offered. A search algorithm provides appropriate results and both parties can get in touch via the integrated messaging function. Once the general conditions have been clarified, a care contract is concluded in the contract negotiation feature on the basis of a legally verified draft contract. Finally, the integrated payment system ensures that the caregivers are paid correctly and on time.
A new standard for 24-hour care
The digitalization of all processes and the simple and transparent placement enable lower placement costs, better earning opportunities and a more attractive offer. A new standard for home care has thus been created. "Several 1,000 users from Germany, Poland and Romania have already registered in the first few months. We were able to realize our vision, acquire users and record our first sales within a very short time", says Torsten Wohlrab, Managing Director of Care24 GmbH and partner at Excubate.
About excubate:
Excubate is a management consultancy and company builder that together with clients digital transformation and innovation new business models designed. Starting with with innovations in the core organizationbuilding new business models and the founding of start-ups accompany we our partners with the digital change. Since 2015 supported Excubate across all industries sme sector and corporations with the realization innovation and digital transformation.
