From Side Project to Startup: Success Stories from Abstrakt
Three founders share how a weekend idea became a real company – and what role the coworking space played in their journey.
Abstrakt Team 
Every successful startup started somewhere. Often not with a grand plan, but with a small idea developed after work. We asked three Abstrakt members how their side project became a real company.
Clearview Analytics: From Excel Sheet to Series A
David Park, Founder & CEO
“I was a management consultant and constantly building the same Excel analyses. At some point I thought: This has to be automatable.”
David rented a flex desk at Abstrakt to work on his tool in the evenings and on weekends. After six months, he had a prototype.
“The turning point came when I presented the tool at Demo Day. Another Abstrakt member happened to be an investor and introduced me to his partner. Three months later, we had €500,000 pre-seed.”
Today, Clearview has 23 employees and has closed a Series A of €4 million. The company has moved out of Abstrakt – but David still comes to our events.
“Abstrakt was more than a desk. It was the place where an idea became a real company.”
Plantbase: The App Born in the Maker Space
Lisa Hoffmann, Co-Founder & CTO
Lisa had a problem: Her houseplants kept dying. As a software developer, the solution was clear – an app that reminds you when to water.
“I spent weekend after weekend in the Abstrakt Maker Space. Not just coding, but also building the first hardware prototype – a soil moisture sensor.”
The Maker Space became her second home. Here Lisa also met her future co-founder, a UX designer who sat two tables away.
“We complained about the bad WiFi and started talking. Two weeks later, we founded together.”
Plantbase now has 50,000 active users and was recently partnered with a major garden center.
NomadHR: Frustration Became a Product
Mehmet Yilmaz, Founder
Mehmet led the HR team of a remote-first startup. The challenge: Employees in 15 countries, each with different labor laws, taxes, and social security.
“There was no software that handled this well. So I started building something myself.”
At Abstrakt, Mehmet found not just a workspace, but also his first customers. Other startups in the space had exactly the same problem.
“My first ten paying customers were all people I knew personally from Abstrakt. I never would have managed that from home.”
NomadHR now manages payroll for over 2,000 remote employees worldwide.
What These Stories Have in Common
Three very different startups, but a few patterns repeat:
1. The Beginning Was Small
No one started with a business plan. Everyone solved their own problem and then realized: Others have it too.
2. The Environment Was Crucial
All three emphasize that they probably would have given up working from home. The structure of a fixed place, the conversations with like-minded people – that made the difference.
3. Random Encounters Led to Breakthroughs
The investor David met. The co-founder Lisa got to know. The first customers Mehmet talked to in the elevator. None of it was planned.
The Path from Side Project to Startup
If you’re currently tinkering with an idea and wondering if it could become more, here are some thoughts:
- Get out of isolation: Find a place where you can connect with other founders
- Show your work: Demo days, feedback rounds, just showing someone your project – it moves you forward
- Be open to chance: The most important encounters can’t be planned
And if you’re looking for a place where all this can happen – you know where to find us.
Do you have a side project story too? We’d love to hear it. Write us at hello@abstrakt.space