André Christ, LeanIX: “Like Google Maps for IT in a company”
By: Michael Mirwald
Tags: Enterprise Architecture, Startup, Podcast, Product Development, Digital Transformation

André Christ has built a company that could be best described as an underdog. Even though LeanIX isn’t very present in the news, the company is one of the youngest German success stories. In June, they closed a Series D funding and their client list is a potpourri of international top brands like Adidas, Atlassian, or Kühne + Nagel. In our podcast REWRITE TECH, we talk to André Christ about enterprise architecture, product development, and why Bonn is the perfect place for a start-up that is looking for talent.

André Christ, LeanIX: Mapping out the IT Infrastructure

The technological infrastructure of big companies is complex, and responsibility lies in many different departments and teams. At a certain point of scale, a company runs hundreds of services and software products. And that’s where LeanIX comes in.

“LeanIX is like Google Maps for IT in a company. It actually helps organizations to map out what software they have, for what processes that software is used, which organization is using it and which business capabilities, that means which functionality, is in that software,”

explains André cleverly.

The advantages are obvious: Less time spent on reporting, faster onboarding for new colleagues, and cost savings due to the elimination of redundancies. Since they started in 2012, LeanIX has won several clients like Adidas, Atlassian, or Bosch. Recently they closed a Series D funding round led by Goldmann Sachs — in the midst of a global pandemic.

From bootstrapping to venture capital

LeanIX has already been backed with venture capital since 2015 when Capnamic Ventures and Iris Capital invested. In 2017 DTCP, the investment group of Deutsche Telekom invested. However, the first three years after the founding, André and his co-founder bootstrapped the company.

Only when they got their first investment in 2015, they switched to “growth mode” as André calls it. But with more money and employees coming in, the right mindset stays important for André:

“We try to be as lean and quick in decisions making as possible.”

André Christ, CEO & Co-Founder LeanIX

Even though LeanIX is a classic technology scale-up, their product doesn’t rely on tech alone.

“Not everything can be automated”

as André states in the conversation. That’s why the software obtains data from various sources.

“LeanIX is a hybrid of people putting their knowledge in and leveraging APIs and other systems to get data.”

Besides André and his team provide additional content like information about software lifecycles to be the one-stop-shop for everything related to enterprise architecture.

Hidden champion based in Bonn

Despite its huge success, LeanIX is perhaps not as well-known as other German start-ups. One reason could be the location. Instead of Berlin or Munich, LeanIX’s headquarters are located in Bonn.

Office of LeanIX

And, as André reveals in our discussion, he struggled with Bonn during the first years:

“I was having this debate with myself: Was it the right idea to found a business in a region that is not really known for building a fast-growing company?”

Now, with a success record at their back, André has come to a conclusion:

“I’m over this question now. I am fully convinced that Bonn is a great place for us.”

They have managed to build a brand around LeanIX and are now able to attract talents from the whole region, even competing with big players like Telekom or DHL, which are also headquartered in Bonn.