Three to watch: SaaS-startups based in Aarhus
The term SaaS covers a wide range of different services. Even if you don’t know the term SaaS by heart, we guarantee, you’re using SaaS solutions basically every day (at least if you’re one of the millions of Dropbox- or Microsoft Office users). SaaS stands for ‘software as a service’ and applies to companies whose product is web-based services. There are several advantages to SaaS because you do not only pay for one finished product, but for a package solution – which is constantly updated. It is flexible and widely available, which is what these three startups spotted potential in.
Barma
The service industry is a busy and often seasonal field where it’s natural with a large staff turnover. Therefore, education and training should be easily accessible at all levels. This is where Barma saw a potential. The SaaS-startup has built an online learning portal, that eases training of staff in bars, restaurants, hotels, and alike. Via a subscription deal, customers can access educational videos for their specific needs.
Going forward, Barma is looking beyond the Danish borders and has already started developing their business in Norway with Sweden is next on their list. The team can look back at a successful ’21, where they despite the industry’s challenges due to Covid-19, managed to land large collaborations with some of the largest associations within the field in Denmark. In the coming year, Barma is scouting for the right match in their coming seed-round.
The team
Lasse Nørremark Kristensen and Simon Gad Andresen founded Barma In 2017. Through experience in the industry, they both saw the need for a platform, that could support the onboarding and training of an ongoingly changing group of employees.
Kanpla
Kanpla is an app that makes everyday lunch planning easy. They work with canteens in schools and workplaces, and offer a solution, where their customers can order and plan out their lunch days ahead, through the Kanpla app. They provides a solution for long canteen queues and busy family life.
Kanpla now has over 300 sales places and a total of 50.000+ users. Recently, they raised DKK 3.3 million in their pre-seed round from an investor group including Vækstfonden and several angel investors. Not only that, amongst other awards, they were named Most Likely to Become a Unicorn by Accelerace 2021.
The team
Kanpla is an example of young entrepreneurial spirits. The startup is founded by Peter Bæch, Jonas Gøttler, and Robert Wolf, who developed the idea for Kanpla in their high school years back in 2019.
Ento Labs
Ento Labs is another SaaS-company that was thriving in ‘21. Elected the startup of the year 2021 by INCUBA, Ento Labs provides solutions for lowering CO2-emissions by analyzing the power consumption in public and commercial buildings. With Artificial Intelligence, Ento Labs team scan the buildings and identify effective savings. Afterwards, they will continue to monitor for future savings for a monthly fee.
Ento Labs recently joined a two-year-project alongside IQ Energy Nordic, focusing on optimizing ventilation energy. And they also partnered up with the electrical installation company, Elcon, in order to become even more proactive in making the world a greener place.
The team
Ento Labs was founded in 2019 and consists of entrepreneurs, scientists, and experts. The founding team is made up of Henrik Brink, Bo Tranberg, Malte Frederiksen and Kasper Bjørn Nielsen.
Read more about Ento Labs here.
