Our new interview series with Founder Institute, a local platform of the world’s largest pre-seed startup accelerator that roperates across 185+ cities with a $20B estimated portfolio value, continues! In February 2020, the first Frankfurt cohort has officially ended, and the result was eight graduates. With the deep- dive interviews you get to know the founders, the projects and their challenges. Applications for the next cohort are now open here until 16.8. This time we present guided-doing.

Who are you, what are you doing and how did you get to what you do today?

I am Karsten Helbig, the founder & CEO of guided-doing. I was founding and running other businesses before, and run the event agency Gauditours since 1998.

Developing the new company came out of the purpose to help other businesses and people in general solving the same kind of problem I encounter by myself: “Understanding”.
So that’s what I am doing today.

How would you describe your business idea in a maximum of 3 sentences?

People can’t explain easily, and make mistakes, if they do not have the correct explanation of what they like to achieve. In business or in freetime. With our software we are helping people to create tutorials easily, with no effort, without tech-knowledge and everywhere, on any device. These manuals are as easy to follow as watching youtube, but are no videos.

What was your biggest mistake?

Thinking, that everyone needs the solution, and it will be easy to get clients. Just to put the app to the app-store “and everyone will download it” did not came true.

Where do you see yourself and your company in five years?

In five years we will have developed in a mature, growing company with clients in every business-area.
We created the best way to show people, how to do what they want to do or should do to be successful – and are the number one tool when it comes to explain products, procedures and places.

What connects you to the FrankfurtRheinMain region? And what is happening in our startup ecosystem?

Not being a “Frankfurter” and being “imported from Dortmund by my parents” in the age of 15, I love this area ever since. Right in the middle of Germany we are connected to the world, and yet close to life and nature.
I would say that everything we need and much more we have here in the Rhein-Main-Region, as well as it comes to starting and growing a business: small and huge companies to learn from and to sell to, people who know what to do, brave and helpful minds who like to support and a perfect infrastructure.

Our startup-ecosystem is alive and kicking (with the words spoken of the song of the “simple minds”). Okay, we are challenged by some crazy months, but we will come out stronger – as of every crisis.

Finally, an extra question: Describe briefly how the Corona period was so far for guided-doing.

For me and us it was not to bad – we could develop our product, created sales strategies and got our first major client. And many many other people who are interested in our software.

People are more open to digital products which will help them connect and run their daily business – which we are. In every crisis lies a chance – and we make the best out of it.