The team's success story began with an idea: Sören Böckmann and Dr. Tobit Esch pitched their idea on stage at the University of Bonn's 2022 ideas competition and promptly won the Digital Startup Prize from DIGITALHUB.DE. This offers the opportunity to be part of the Digitalhub's ALPHA Accelerator Program for one year and to further develop the idea into a marketable product. Narraflix will receive excellent support on its journey forward through the targeted workshop program and coworking and networking opportunities for digital start-ups. Media studies graduate Sören Böckmann, chemist Dr. Tobit Esch (both alumni of the University of Bonn) and Nacira Richi, a specialist in app development and UX/UI design, are determined to bring Narraflix to market successfully.
Support from scientific mentor and transfer center
They were able to secure Prof. Dr. Jürgen Gall from the Institute of Computer Science at the University of Bonn as their scientific mentor, who is contributing his expertise as a renowned scientist in the field of AI research. He says of the project: "The idea behind Narraflix convinced me immediately. Storytelling is very important for public relations, but very costly for SMEs to implement. The generative AI developed by Narraflix offers a tailor-made and cost-effective solution.“ They are also supported by the Transfer Center enaCom at the University of Bonn.
Start-up advisor Vesna Domuz reports: “Artificial intelligence has become indispensable in marketing because it offers significant advantages in terms of efficiency, personalization, and data analysis. At a time when personalized customer experiences and data-driven decisions are becoming increasingly important, their innovative solution offers exactly the tools that small and medium-sized companies need to operate more efficiently, in a more targeted manner, and with greater future-proofing. The scaling potential is enormous."
Customized marketing consulting through AI
The idea behind Narraflix is to provide an easy-to-use tool for digital storytelling. With minimal time and effort, users can create professional content that can be used immediately and shared anywhere. Sören Böckmann explains: “The product is primarily designed for people without editorial knowledge. Narraflix takes the user by the hand and, thanks to AI, delivers high-quality marketing input that the user would not have been able to create themselves in this quality without considerable resources and time.”
"Our AI is specially trained to generate industry-specific narratives based on an in-depth analysis of industry-related data. This enables the creation of tailor-made content for each individual SME," adds Dr. Tobit Esch, explaining the added value for the target group of SMEs. With the support of Start-up Transfer.NRW, the team plans to prepare its product for the hotel and hospitality industry and organic businesses. In the future, it will then be expanded to other industries.
Start-up Transfer.NRW funding program
The EU, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia are providing a total of €40 million for the Start-up Transfer.NRW program until 2027. Founders and start-up teams can receive up to €270,000 over a maximum period of 24 months for the further development of research results and know-how into products, services, and processes, as well as for preparing to start a business.
Information:
Applications for funding under “Start-up Transfer.NRW” can be submitted until January 31, 2025. Further information is available at https://www.in.nrw/start-up-transfer-nrw.
The start-up advisory service provided by the Transfer Center enaCom offers support with the application process: https://www.uni-bonn.de/de/forschung-lehre/transfercenter-enacom/kontakt
