Hamburg On average, Germans spend more than three hours a day on their smartphones. Most of them have already come into contact with applications from the Applike Group. The start-up develops and markets games and takes care of technology-driven advertising.
This is a billion-euro business: According to industry experts, the global app market is estimated at over 100 billion euros. With sales in the low three-digit million range, Applike is one of the ten largest app platforms in the world. Hamburg has already reached half a billion of the 3.5 billion smartphones with game apps worldwide. The company founders Jonas Thiemann, 32, and Carlo Szelinsky, 37, have no lesser goal than to be on every smartphone in the long term.
Applike is the second largest German company spin-off after the internet retailer About You, which is a spin-off from the Otto Group. Applike was created in 2015 under the umbrella of the former publishing house Gruner+ Jahr (G+J). The young company now belongs directly to the parent company Bertelsmann. The Güterslohers hold 80 percent of the shares, the two founders each ten percent.
Almost a year ago, Applike received €100 million in funding from Bertelsmann. Thiemann and Szelinsky haven’t spent a cent of that yet. So far they have been able to finance their investments themselves, the business is highly profitable with a double-digit profit margin.
Part of the 100 million euros should flow into the next big project: The founders want to launch a fifth company, the Handelsblatt learned in advance. The Holding Applike Group currently includes the four companies JustDice, Adjoe, Sunday and Justtrack.
JustDice examines the behavior of Android users and recommends suitable apps for them. Adjoe helps app makers monetize mobile apps through advertising. Sunday focuses on developing and marketing games for smartphones. And the company Justtrack, founded in 2022, is intended to help app operators to control marketing processes automatically. Overall, Applike earns its money through marketing, license fees, or app installations.
Gamification: advertising via game app
With its fifth company, Applike wants to target manufacturers with direct customer business such as car manufacturers or consumer goods companies. The founders plan to develop and market apps for these games.
An example: Volkswagen could commission a car racing game from Applike. Users who are particularly successful can win a test drive, for example. While playing, users come into contact with the VW brand the entire time without the group having to place ads that are often perceived as annoying.
The global app market is estimated at over 100 billion euros.
(Photo: dpa)
Through its existing companies, Applike is able to develop such a game, test the prototype on a smaller target group, market the finished game globally and evaluate the behavior of the players. “In the fifth company, we can synergistically combine our previous strengths,” says Thiemann.
Many branded companies have already switched from classic TV advertising to the Internet in order to address users in a more targeted manner. “Brands can use a game app to get in touch with customers over a comparatively long period of time and thus achieve a better advertising effect,” adds Szelinsky.
Brand consultant Fabian Gärtner from the brand identity consultancy Spall.macht.Marke rates the idea as “forward-looking”. Game apps are a “welcome addition to the marketing mix,” says Gärtner. “Through gamification, users build a stronger emotional connection to the brand.”
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However, the limits of the business model would lie in the fact that people only have limited receptiveness. The perception of the individual brand decreases with every new application. “Success in gamification apps can be very fleeting. The user’s saturation cannot be programmed,” says Gärtner.
Unlike Amazon or Facebook: Applike creates jobs
The fifth company, which has not yet been named, is scheduled to start up this year. Applike is still looking for a managing director for this. In any case, the group is currently hiring more – while technology giants such as Facebook, Twitter and Amazon have recently cut hundreds of jobs. In the past twelve months, the number of Applike employees has increased from 130 to 220. “It would be wrong now to step on the brakes when it comes to recruiting because the market will grow in the long term,” says Szelinsky.
Unlike the big tech giants, the start-up wants to continue hiring employees.
(Photo: Applike)
The start-up did not reach the initially targeted mark of 250 employees – because there were not enough qualified applicants, according to Thiemann. “We are in a highly competitive market, so our requirements are very high.”
But the next goal is already in place: 300 employees are to work for Applike by the end of the year. 60 percent of the new hires are employees with technology and software skills, the rest are management, sales and personnel positions.
The office in Hamburg with four floors and a view of the Outer Alster is no longer big enough for so many staff. Applike has rented three more floors. The founders require their employees to come to the office on three fixed days. “We are convinced that regular social exchange is essential for the success of growth companies,” says Szelinsky.
Applike opens first office in America
Applike also wants to expand internationally. The first US office is scheduled to open in Boston in 2023. “Many of the largest gaming companies and the major advertisers are based in America,” explains Thiemann. Initially, a dozen employees will work there. The USA is the most important market for Applike, accounting for 30 to 60 percent of sales, depending on the company. In Germany, the start-up generates a tenth of the proceeds.
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According to Szelinsky, the cooperation with Bertelsmann is helpful during expansion, for example to get better access to customers or with labor law and financial issues. “We have a completely different channel of conversation when we appear together with Bertelsmann.”
Applike belongs to the Bertelsmann Investments division, with which the family company wants to open up future business areas. Head of division Carsten Coesfeld says: “We help founders to realize their vision and take their company to the next level.” Applike is a “great example”.
Applike was created at G+J, the former head of the publishing house Julia Jäkel pushed the project forward. Before the merger of G+J with RTL, which has now led to hundreds of layoffs in the Hamburg publishing business, Bertelsmann had removed high-growth brands such as Applike from G+J’s portfolio.
“We had a very positive time at G+J and received support there in the first phase of the company,” says Thiemann. The new assignment at the parent company is helpful because it allows you to push international expansion even better. Despite the plans, the founders want to stick with the Hamburg location. Szelinsky says: “We are proud to have founded a global tech company in Germany.”
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