“We found studying pretty impersonal and boring, and we spent a lot of time on TikTok and Instagram.”<\/p>\n
German entrepreneur Benedict Kurz was just 17 when he founded Knowunity in 2019 with three friends the same age. The company wanted to change how students acquired knowledge by adopting a peer-to-peer approach: students\u00a0who were really good at a particular subject would explain the material to others.<\/p>\n
These “knowers” would have their own influencer profiles and followers on the platform. Quizzes, index cards\u00a0and mock exams were designed to make learning more exciting.<\/p>\n
Knowunity also developed a “study companion” based on several different AI language models. It has access to millions of “knowers,” enabling it to compile individual study plans and exercises.<\/p>\n
“Our app is tailored to the students\u00a0themselves, not teachers or schools,” says Kurz.<\/p>\n
Personal recommendation is an essential\u00a0element of the business model. According to company data, from year five on, one in three schoolchildren in Germany already use Knowunity for studying,\u00a0and so do many university students. It has\u00a0more than 20 million users in 17 countries.<\/p>\n
More than 20 million people in 17 countries currently use the study app KnowunityImage: Knowunity<\/p>\n
Now, the Berlin-based\u00a0startup<\/a> plans to expand, primarily to the US and Asia. Knowunity has raised more than \u20ac45 million ($52.3 million)\u00a0in funding to do this.<\/p>\n In the last few years, the COVID-19 pandemic<\/a> and ChatGPT<\/a> have turned the education<\/a> sector upside down. Investors have spotted the opportunities this has created, and their investment has enabled the Berlin learning platform to grow at a startling rate.<\/p>\n Millions of potential startups<\/p>\n Many young people find the education system’s inflexible “one size fits all” principle<\/a> frustrating, but very few take this as the inspiration to start a company. What prompts someone not just to identify a problem, but to contribute to the solution actively?<\/p>\n The IfM in Bonn, an institute that analyses the situation of small and medium-sized enterprises in Germany, and the Research Network Entrepreneurship\u00a0conducted a survey<\/a>\u00a0that\u00a0found that 40% of all 14- to 25-year-olds have some interest in starting a company.\u00a0Only 11% actually do so. The number is twice as high in the Netherlands and the United States.<\/p>\n Germany\u2019s young tech entrepreneurs<\/p>\n To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video<\/a><\/p>\n The researchers believe that, within this age group, there is potential for an additional 1.6 million startups. What holds these young people back is financial insecurity, lack of networks, lack of knowledge of business practices\u00a0and limited access to capital.<\/p>\n An experiment conducted with around\u00a0300 young adults interested in starting a company showed that basic startup security provision is the thing most likely to encourage them to take the plunge. Social security benefits and a secure income in the first year could make all the difference. Among the young adults, 24-year-olds would find this more of a motivation than 18-year-olds,\u00a0women more so than men.<\/p>\n Access to venture capital is more decisive for men. Immigrants, who tend to be less well-connected, want mentoring and help establishing networks. Support programs and further training geared to young would-be entrepreneurs come quite a long way down the list. The researchers are calling for young people with a variety of different needs to be actively involved in developing measures that would support them.<\/p>\n Building a huge enterprise out of nothing<\/p>\n Kurz knew very early on that he was going to be a businessman. At the age of 13, he was already buying and selling Chinese e-bikes online. He devoured podcasts about entrepreneurship\u00a0and stories about people like Mark Zuckerberg\u00a0who had built huge enterprises out of nothing. There were also role models at home: His parents,\u00a0and his grandfather before them,\u00a0run a small family business<\/a>.<\/p>\n “Entrepreneurship was never a topic at school,” says Kurz. “My fellow students found my preferred career a bit of a joke.”<\/p>\n His best friend was the only one who shared his enthusiasm. Today, he, too, has his own company.<\/p>\n Kurz found his partners in Knowunity at an event for people interested in starting a company. All four now work at the startup in different roles.<\/p>\n Germany: More support for migrant entrepreneurs?<\/p>\n To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video<\/a><\/p>\nOnly around 11% of young people in Germany go ahead and start a company. In the Netherlands, it’s twice as manyImage: H.-P. Oetelshofen\/blickwinkel\/picture alliance <\/p>\n