During Startup Live Athens, we were lucky enough to spend some time with Jessica Erickson, the woman behind the Communications of 6Wunderkinder, one of the most promising EU startups, based in Berlin.
6Wunderkinder, a Berlin-based start-up founded in August 2010, creates multi-platform productivity solu- tions for individuals, groups and businesses. Wunderlist is free and available for Mac, Windows, iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android and the Web. The company’s next product, Wunderkit, is targeting a late 2011 launch and aims to become the industry-standard productivity platform.
We had a really interesting conversation about the European startup scene and how tech-founders in Berlin are so interconnected. Jessica explained us the vision of 6Wunderkinder and then gave further information about Wunderkit, their upcoming application. According to Jessica, Apple's Reminders is not a direct competitor but it's better to let her explain better her team's opinion.
Oh yes, that too: 6Wunderkinder raised $4.2 million from Atomico. As Jessica explained, their team is not going to move to California but they will continue being an amazing, European startup! Congrats 6Wunderkinder! :) [If you are interested on that, just go directly to: 26:55]
The Official Press release:
BERLIN – 16. November 2011 – 6Wunderkinder, a rising leader in the productivity sector, today announced that it has secured a $4.2m investment from Atomico, the London-based venture capital firm led by Skype co-founder Niklas Zennström. The Series A financing round is secured alongside additional investment from High-Tech Gründerfonds.
6Wunderkinder currently offers a widely popular cross-platform and cloud-based task management tool called Wunderlist – an application that allows users to make detailed, easy to navigate ‘to do’ lists, which can be shared with friends, family and colleagues. Its highly anticipated and soon-to-be launched product Wunderkit is a state-of-the-art platform that provides a central place for individuals to focus on their perso- nal and professional work, with an emphasis on collaboration. To receive an invitation to the beta, users can sign up at www.wunderkit.com.
Since it was founded 15 months ago, 6Wunderkinder has become one of the most closely watched compa- nies in the European tech arena. The popularity of Wunderlist has also brought 6Wunderkinder worldwide attention, earning Apple’s “App Of The Week” in 104 countries and is currently one of the most downloa- ded productivity apps in the world. Wunderlist has been downloaded more than 3.5 million times, has 1.5 million registered users and is available in 30 languages.
The funding round will be used primarily to accelerate product development for Wunderkit and add key employees to the company‘s marketing and sales teams. This will allow 6Wunderkinder to meet the gro- wing demand of its products around the world, help in advancing its technology and strengthening user experience and support. 6Wunderkinder has already had measurable success with its Wunderlist app but looks to raise the bar with Wunderkit, which will bring together several online tools already familiar to consumers and developers alike. The concept is to bring personal and professional work together and allow individuals to collaborate freely with their friends, family and colleagues.
Christian Reber, CEO of 6Wunderkinder, commented: “I am thrilled to have world-class investors like Ato- mico partnering up with us. Atomico shares the belief that outstanding companies are created by great in- dividuals with innovative ideas. With this round of funding, we will be able to scale our products, radically disrupt the productivity marketplace and reach millions of new customers all over the world“.
Niklas Zennström, Founding Partner at Atomico, said: “We are delighted to make this investment. The com- pany has brilliant management, has already got great traction in the market, and has a huge opportunity in front of it. We were particularly impressed by the international outlook of the team, and the potential for growth in markets across the world. This is precisely the kind of investment that we love to make at Ato- mico.”