The co-founders of the startup syte, David Nellessen and Matthias Zühlke, grew up together in Münster-Kinderhaus. But initially, their paths diverged. This article explores how their long-standing friendship and shared vision ultimately led to entrepreneurial success.
The current co-founders of syte, David Nellessen and Matthias Zühlke, grew up next door to each other in Münster-Kinderhaus. But initially, their paths diverged, as David couldn't wait to leave Münster, which he considered too provincial. After school, he moved to Freiburg, where he studied mathematics and, at the same time, took his first steps into self-employment. Together with a co-founder, he set up a small web agency. At first, the work was a side job, but after graduating, he tried to expand the company full-time. Those were wild times when web development was still quite complicated. Nevertheless, the time left David with two formative lessons: First, it's not a good idea to build a company exclusively with techies. And second, you should always start a business with a team that works well together.
Starting a business is like being married, only without separation of property and with the added fact that you spend even more time together. That means it's really important to get along well.
David Nellessen, founder of Syte
While studying in Freiburg, David discovered the emerging startup scene there. The entrepreneurial spirit finally took hold when he became a roommate in a startup flat share in Barcelona in 2012, organized by experienced founder Andreas Dittes.The shared apartment brought together six young founders, three of whom already had impressive entrepreneurial successes under their belts—including one founder who had achieved an exit and another who had built up the Groupon business in China for Oliver Samwer. David was one of the more inexperienced founders in the group, but he benefited enormously from this environment. The intense conversations, joint discussions, and exchanges about success and failure sparked his entrepreneurial ambition. Fun fact: In Barcelona, he reconnected with his childhood friend Matthias, who was at the time pursuing a career as an architect back home, during a startup weekend.
Highs, lows, and a successful exit to Daimler
After returning from Barcelona, he knew that his next project would be a real start-up with a scalable business model. He spent four months traveling around Europe to meet potential co-founders and try working with them. This ultimately led to the founding of Familonet with Hauke Windmüller and Michael Asshauer in Hamburg. The app aimed to better connect families through location-based services. At a time when GPS technology was first being integrated into smartphones across the board and platforms such as Apple and Google did not yet offer location-sharing solutions, Familonet met with great interest. Nevertheless, the early days were challenging, both financially and organizationally. With an initial investment of €50,000, the founders set up their first office in the suburb of Krupunder at the terminus of Hamburg's S2 suburban railway line to save costs. Everyday life was characterized by maximum frugality.
The ‘Gut und Günstig Feuertopf’ was the cheapest way to feed ourselves and became our daily lunch. During a difficult period, I lived in the office for two months on a makeshift air mattress and used the gym to shower, where I could still afford the membership.
David Nellessen, founder of Syte
Despite these hardships, the app grew to three million registered users. However, monetization proved difficult as willingness to pay for mobile apps was limited. In 2016, the company found itself in an existential crisis when a planned exit deal fell through at short notice. Insolvency was only a few weeks away. Thanks to a bold rescue plan and intensive work phases, the company was able to turn things around. In addition to stronger monetization of the app, the team built up a B2B division that offered the developed location technology and consulting services to business customers. A year later, the moovel Group, a subsidiary of car manufacturer Daimler, took over the company. The automotive group's goal was to integrate the location and mobility technology as well as the team's expertise into the development of its mobility apps. The original family app was later sold to an American provider and is still active in several countries today.
Back to Münster: The path to founding syte
After traveling around the world, David returned to Münster in 2019. The decision to settle back in his hometown was made independently of any specific career plans, but the move proved to be significant. During his travels, he had already reconnected with his friend Matthias from Kinderhaus in Sri Lanka. Back in Münster, the two intensified their exchange. Matthias, now managing director at the architectural firm Maas & Partner, brought with him an idea that arose from the challenges of his industry: automating potential analyses for construction projects using data and artificial intelligence. To test their collaboration, David and Matthias worked intensively on the idea for several weeks. As David had already done at Familonet, they carried out joint test work. In doing so, they placed great importance on ensuring that their skills and working styles harmonized.
Similar to a probationary period in an employment relationship, after several weeks you should ask yourself honestly whether you want to continue on this path together and ultimately go ahead with founding the limited liability company, because from that moment on, there is no turning back.
David Nellessen, founder of Syte
This test phase was also successful and led to the founding of syte, which has since become a flagship startup in Münster. In 2021, syte went through the Digital Hub Accelerator program, and the then still relatively small team worked for several months in the coworking space of Digital Hub münsterLAND before moving into their own office on Bremer Straße. The highlight of the startup's development to date was the completion of a €5 million financing round in 2024 – the highest financing round for a Münster-based startup in years. David particularly appreciates the lively startup community and close networking within the scene at the Münster location. At the same time, he sees challenges, especially in attracting skilled workers with many years of startup and scaling experience, as well as Münster's visibility in a national comparison.
This makes it all the more important that David is actively involved in the start-up community alongside his work at syte, regularly sharing his experience with aspiring founders in the Digital Hub network. Together with his co-founder Matthias, he is currently demonstrating that a long-standing friendship and a clear vision can lead to entrepreneurial success. With fresh ideas and a growing team, the two childhood friends from Kinderhaus are ready to write the next chapter in their entrepreneurial journey. This time, not on the outskirts of Krupunder, but in the heart of Münster. We are excited to see what comes next.