© Claudia Trache

www.flinkest.com offers board game enthusiasts a place to meet

Claudia Trache

Since April this year, www.flinkest.com has been online and already has more than 200 users who are meeting up in Dresden to play board games, card games and group games. Kai Krannich and Martin Gäumann developed the website according to the motto “schedule online, meet offline”. Anyone who wants to meet up for a game night can either find meet-ups in Dresden that have already been organized by other people, or can find new players for their own meet-up. And all of this for free.

Both website founders completed their master’s degree in Industrial Engineering at TU Dresden between 2013 and 2015. During their studies, they regularly met with friends to play board games. After graduation, they had less time and lost close contacts and, with that, the regular game nights. “We found this a real shame and that’s why we developed an online platform where people in Dresden who were interested in board games could organize game nights,” explains Kai Krannich.

But it wasn’t quite that easy. During their master’s studies, they had an idea for a different project, which involved making better use of unused privately or commercially-owned spaces, such as offices, basements or parking spaces, by connecting them with third parties. “We decided to enlist the services of a subsidized start-up consultancy. However, many ideas had to be discarded during the first meeting and the project to find spare resources was shelved as a result,” recalls Martin Gäumann. They gained important experience and learned that a project idea has to be refined into a business model first, while also critically testing ideas early, especially regarding the market and customer groups, before the actual implementation of the project should be attempted. Through a small market analysis, they learned that their idea wasn’t quite as unique as they thought and that the competition was relatively strong. Then they remembered their game nights from their time at university and the problem of bringing together enough players at short notice. “The financial requirements and the risk needed to be kept as low as possible,” Martin Gäumann continues.

The two already had the basic skills necessary for the development of a website and so there was no need for additional personnel. Kai Krannich primarily took on the programming while Martin Gäumann was more at home in sales and legal areas. For both, the project was a hobby that did not yet turn a profit. While Martin Gäumann is working as a Research Associate in auditing and taxation at the Chair of Business Administration at TU Dresden, Kai Krannich first went into private industry but decided to leave professional life after half a year in favor of their joint project. The decision was made easier as he was enjoying parental leave with his son at the time.

Although the basic functions of the web app are up and running, the platform is being improved constantly. Tips and feedback, both from users and partners such as game shops, bars and associations, are welcomed by the founders and used to further optimize the platform. It is their goal to help more people discover the joy of games that aren’t played online but rather where people can sit across from one another, look each other in the eye and talk. That’s why they also make use of action days, such as the project “Places of Togetherness” at the end of August, which arose as part of the city’s application to be European Capital of Culture for 2025, to whet people’s appetite for games and raise awareness of their platform. They also regularly participate in networking events and were represented at the games convention in Dresden.

For the Day of Games (September 8, 2018, 2-6 p.m.), they will be at the Bishop Café in the Hechtviertel. “This way we will can come into contact with more and more people. We hardly need any money for that. We invest almost nothing but time,” says  Martin Gäumann. He is looking forward to seeing how the project develops. They have already learned a lot. They were able to apply much of what they learned during their studies. But the consultation for entrepreneurs also gave them valuable expertise. From positioning themselves on the market, through evaluations via surveys and product tests, to creating a marketing and sales concept, everything was there. As website owners, they are currently particularly concerned with legal questions, including the new data protection laws.

Their example shows that even as a student, you can start working on promising projects that require little financial investment or risk.

For more information, please visit: www.flinkest.com

This article was published in the Dresdner Universitätsjournal 13/2018 on September 4, 2018. You can download the whole newspaper as a PDF file for free here. Please contact doreen.liesch@tu-dresden.de to order the Universitätsjournal as a printed newpaper or as a PDF file. For more information, please visit: universitaetsjournal.de.