A chatbot instead of endless phone calls: Suna Tamboga is building an AI app in the start-up scene camp that is intended to make the search for craftsmen easier.
The craftsman demands 250 euros on the phone – just for the journey across Berlin. The job in Prenzlauer Berg is too far away for him. And again you have to keep looking and lose valuable time. For Suna Tamboga, this is proof: the search for craftsmen often fails because the customer and provider do not fit together.
Suna calls more than 20 companies to find out what is going wrong when looking for a tradesman. And how she can solve the problems. Because Suna is building an app: “Doctolib for craftsmen,” she tells us.
Your thesis: “Customers call around, write emails and get no response.” At the same time, “companies receive a lot of emails and calls that don’t suit them at all. Most people simply don’t know whether they need an electrician, a plumber or another tradesman.” A chatbot that asks for all information directly and brings customers together with the right tradesmen is Suna’s idea.
Read too
She has been developing the project in our startup summer camp “Start-up scene is looking for super founders” for a week. For ten weeks, eight fellows will build their own consumer apps using artificial intelligence. Tech and business professionals help you as personal coaches.
“Startup scene is looking for super founders” is a ten-week startup fellowship from Gründerszene. Eight selected fellows develop consumer startups in Berlin using artificial intelligence – from the idea to the first product. During the program, the fellows work together in the Axel Springer high-rise and are accompanied by experienced entrepreneurs, investors and experts. Partners like OpenAI, Vercel, Dash0 and DHL support them with technology, know-how and mentoring. Gründerszene documents the entire journey with articles, videos and social media content – and shows up close how the next generation of startups is being created today.
Crash course in founding
Suna was inspired by her parents to use the app. The father runs a craftsman’s company and has repeatedly reported chaos in agreements between customers and service providers. The mother is a doctor. When she founded her practice years ago, the organizational effort was “enormous”: coordinating appointments, dealing with bureaucracy and organizing employees. Then she introduced the Doctolib software. Patients use the program to book appointments with suitable doctors. “She was constantly raving about it at home because suddenly a lot of things were online,” says Suna.
When the student heard about the Gründerszene startup camp during an internship in Berlin, she applied and was selected from around 200 applicants alongside seven other participants. Suna is now developing her app at Gründerszene using AI models such as Codex from OpenAI, one of the program’s official partners.
Five days until the first prototype
Suna initially wanted to build a first prototype as quickly as possible. This should help introduce the app to others and validate the need. Five days later she had created the first prototype: It diagnoses the problems, asks questions and gives tips on repairs. Later he should suggest suitable craftsmen in the area. Once users select them and schedule appointments, the chatbot forwards the data. The prototype doesn’t quite work yet. But: “I can already show how I imagine the solution. That helps enormously when it comes to talking to people about it and getting feedback.”
Read too
Suna says the biggest challenge later will be convincing the artisans to change their processes and move to a new platform. The path is difficult. “But I believe it can be done. That’s exactly what’s so appealing to me. This challenge motivates me.”
Suna’s top learning after a week
Suna’s most important learning: “Give short pitches. We constantly had to explain our idea in a few seconds. This automatically makes you better.” In addition, “for the first time, I really understood a lot of technical terms. At the beginning, I had no idea what terms like “deploy,” “local,” or “push” meant. I just thought: What are they talking about?” she says. “I realized that I will probably never reach the technical level of many developers. But I don’t have to. I want to understand enough to be able to build good products and work meaningfully with technical teams.”
The first conclusion: “I’m the youngest and initially had the feeling that I had significantly less experience than many others. Some had already founded a company or had a technical background. That impressed me at first.” And: “If someone else is successful, that doesn’t make me worse and vice versa. I find everyone incredibly motivating. Everyone brings an exciting idea.”
Goal for the second week: “I would like to talk more intensively to craft businesses and delve deeper into the target group. I even feel like just standing on the street and talking to craftsmen. I’ve already seen so many on the way to work.”