Mateo
Back in 2021, I founded Mateo with a simple yet ambitious idea: to make life easier for property managers in Germany. Property management is a complex world—balancing tenants, landlords, and service providers often feels like spinning plates in a storm. My team of four and I wanted to change that. The dream? Put property management on autopilot, especially when it came to communication with all those stakeholders.

We started small, collaborating with our first investor, a VC based in Mannheim, and testing our ideas in what we called a “living lab.” It was all about getting into the trenches, understanding the real pain points, and finding product-market fit. And we did it—we created a proptech platform that resonated. But then, something clicked.
We realized that our solution wasn’t just for property managers. The underlying technology, particularly the communication platform, had way broader potential. Why stop at property management when we could help all small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in Germany improve how they connect with their clients? That’s when Mateo pivoted to what it is today: an all-in-one messaging suite for SMBs, designed to streamline customer communication through messengers like WhatsApp.

So, What Is Mateo?
Mateo is your messaging sidekick. It’s built for SMBs who want to keep their client relationships personal while saving time. With Mateo, businesses can manage all their customer conversations in one place, automate replies, and even integrate WhatsApp, email, and more. It’s easy to set up, GDPR-compliant, and powerful enough to scale with any business. If you’ve ever wished you could clone yourself to keep up with customer messages, Mateo is pretty much that clone.
My Journey as a Founder
Building Mateo from the ground up has been one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences of my life. We grew from one client to over 100, raised investments from both business angels and a VC, and navigated the wild world of SaaS startups. Along the way, I learned what it takes to go from zero to product-market fit—and let me tell you, it’s not just about having a great product.
The real magic is in the go-to-market strategy. We tested, failed, learned, and then doubled down on what worked. Marketing was a huge focus—making sure people not only knew about Mateo but also understood how it could transform their businesses.
Customer success was another big one. We didn’t just want clients; we wanted raving fans. That meant building an interstellar customer success team and crafting a user experience that made every interaction with Mateo feel seamless.
And then there’s the product itself. We were one of the first to put the WhatsApp Business API to work in the German market. It wasn’t just about being cutting-edge; it was about making it ridiculously easy for SMBs to leverage this powerful tool in their day-to-day operations.

Lessons Learned
Looking back, founding Mateo has taught me more than I ever thought possible. It’s shown me the importance of listening to your customers, being open to change, and always looking for the simplest solution to the biggest problems. It’s also shown me that building a company is as much about the people—your team, your clients, your partners—as it is about the product.
Mateo started as a proptech and evolved into a messaging powerhouse for SMBs. I couldn’t be prouder of what we’ve built and the impact it’s has on businesses across Germany.