1aim — Behind the scenes

Founded: 2014
Tech stack: Java, JavaScript, C++, Rust, Swift, Kotlin
Employees(#): 32 (20 techies)
Headquarters: Berlin

How did 1aim’s journey begin? What problem are you solving?

Both 1aim founders, Torben Friehe and Yann Leretaille have been friends since high school. They always loved science and technology. They collaborated on a number of projects during their high school days. The most interesting was an international student competition, in which students build CO2-powered dragsters. The project grew out of Torben’s love of racing. After graduating, they enrolled at university. But studying was never their thing. Instead, they continued working on different projects together. Yann loved cryptography, and somehow came up with an idea for a technology allowing online IDs to be created while authenticating them with offline devices. They combined Yann’s concept with a technology letting you use any phone to transmit data. They saw how many problems were caused by their university’s access control system. So they thought, “Hey, let’s build an access control system.” And that’s what they did. It started as a simple idea — to open any door with any phone. But during their initial pilot tests, they saw that access is the centerpiece of so many other systems in a building. Deutsche Telekom, with whom they held their first pilot test, asked Yann and Torben if they could also record who went into which meeting room when. They said, yes. Then they asked if they could track how people moved in their space. They said they wanted to record that data for years, but couldn’t find a solution. Yann and Torben realized the technology in buildings today is mostly 20th-century leftovers, and that wouldn’t cut it in this day and age. Companies want to record their data — especially building-related data that is valuable and can’t be otherwise recorded. Access is the ideal way to record this information. Collecting data with an access management system gives you quality data connected to your ID that you can’t get anywhere else. This is when Yann and Torben came up with the idea for the platform. So, long story short, Yann and Torben dropped out of university in 2012 to work on the project full-time. They opened 1aim in 2013. They lived and worked in a friend’s office furniture warehouse for two years, sleeping under their desks and basically living hand to mouth. But we grew, and in 2015 started securing major investments. In 2016, we attracted investment from the Hörmann Group, the world’s fourth-largest door manufacturer. It has several billion in revenue and 1,600 employees globally, offering on-site door installation and support in Europe. The partnership is nonexclusive and puts us in the enviable position of having a leading player selling and installing our products through its distribution channels.

What do you do and makes your service exciting?

1aim provides a full-stack AI building platform that serves as a building’s central nervous system. We help companies to intelligently manage, use and secure their commercial space. The platform includes secure access and ID management, data collection and analysis software, and tools for a radically different workplace user experience. All hardware and software components are developed in-house.

What kind of talent are you looking for?

We hire for talent and not just skill. We don’t care what school you went to or if you have a degree! We are looking for engineers who are passionate about changing the future of access and building management.

Can you describe the work environment at 1aim?

At 1aim, you will see the introduction of a high-tech product that changes the market for access and building management systems. We have an extremely talented and multicultural team from all over the world. You will be apart of a creative work environment with the drive to initiate real change within the access control market. You will have space for your own ideas and the possibility to implement your own concepts.

What growth opportunities do you offer to your employees?

1aim sponsors tech events such as Rustfest, allowing all internal rust developers and also some external rust developers to attend and have their expenses covered. At 1aim, we always encourage our engineers to attend workshops and events that they can learn from. Tuition reimbursement for work related courses. Opportunities for promotion and internal career advancement.

What’s the tech scene like in Germany? Are you happy to have started 1aim there?

The tech scene is growing aggressively in Germany, more specifically in Berlin. A new tech start-up is founded every 20 minutes in Berlin and the industry is set to produce 100,000 new jobs by 2020. If you’re looking to get a tech job, Berlin is definitely for you. It’s no secret that Berlin is cheaper than many of its European counterparts. Office overheads and the price of living are cheaper, which gives those entrepreneurs with less money the chance to create. It also means that newbies to Berlin have a much higher standard of living compared to those living in other European capital cities! There is a real sense of community between Berlin ech start-ups. With regular meet-ups and events, it’s not hard to get your name out and find people you click with. While this work and play mixing scene isn’t for everyone, it definitely takes the edge off relocating, which can be scary enough to put people off even making the move in the first place. Go into a start-up office in Berlin and you’ll hear a slew of different accents immediately. People relocate to the city from all over the world and working in a start-up means navigating new cultures and traditions and learning loads of great stuff about countries other than your own.

Prove that you’re The One. What would attract candidates to work for you?

We think engineers should focus on what they do best, which is engineering new products in small, highly interdisciplinary teams. This is why we got rid of as much of the common management as possible, we have no daily standup meetings. If you see yourself as an engineer who can apply his knowledge in practice, are fascinated by programming and love great challenges we’d like to work with you on creating products that shape the “connected future”.

What’s the future of tech careers?

More than 90% of US companies are using some form of cloud computing according to CompTIA’s most recent trends in cloud computing study. IT leaders predict that movement will accelerate in the future, which will generate a host of cloud-centric jobs, including cloud security. Skilled programers as well as those comfortable with API development and DevOps environments will also be in high demand, as cloud technology depends heavily on those disciplines.