Nachhaltigkeitshelden GmbH

PUBLIC

Name	Nachhaltigkeitshelden GmbH
Tagline	Digital platform and map connecting local sustainable product and service providers with consumers.
Headquarters	Munich, Germany
Founded	2021
Stage	Pre-Seed
Business Model	B2C
Industry	Cleantech / Climatetech
Technology	Software (Non-AI)
Geography	Western Europe
Growth Profile	SMB / Main Street
Founding Team	Co-Founders (3+)
Funding Label	Pre-Seed

Links

PUBLIC

• Website: https://nachhaltigkeitshelden.de
• LinkedIn: https://de.linkedin.com/company/nachhaltigkeitshelden
• Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.nachhaltigkeitshelden.app&hl=en

Executive Summary

PUBLIC

Nachhaltigkeitshelden GmbH is building a digital map and platform to connect consumers with local, sustainable businesses, a bet on the growth of conscious consumption in Germany's fragmented retail landscape [LinkedIn]. Founded in 2021, the company has developed a consumer-facing Android app and positions itself as an IT and digital marketing partner for the small businesses it lists, aiming to monetize through services rather than consumer subscriptions [Google Play Store][LinkedIn].

The founding team includes Fabienne Horlaville and Thomas Klir, both of whom studied computer science in Darmstadt, and Kevin Tscholitsch, a managing director listed in corporate registries [Wandelpunkt-Podcast][North Data][TechQuartier]. Their backgrounds suggest technical capability, though the venture's commercial traction and formal go-to-market strategy are not yet visible in public channels.

Capitalization is not publicly disclosed; the company appears to be in a pre-seed, likely bootstrapped phase with no venture rounds recorded on major platforms. The business model, centered on providing digital services to SMBs, suggests a path to revenue but also a growth profile more aligned with a Main Street business than a venture-scaled platform at this stage.

Over the next 12-18 months, the key signals to watch are the formal launch of its B2B service offerings, the signing of initial reference business customers, and any shift towards a more scalable, software-driven monetization model that could unlock larger market segments.

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Core product and founding team partially corroborated by multiple sources; funding, business model, and traction lack independent verification.

Taxonomy Snapshot

Axis	Classification
Stage	Pre-Seed
Business Model	B2C
Industry / Vertical	Cleantech / Climatetech
Technology Type	Software (Non-AI)
Geography	Western Europe
Growth Profile	SMB / Main Street
Founding Team	Co-Founders (3+)
Funding	Pre-Seed

Company Overview

PUBLIC

Nachhaltigkeitshelden GmbH was founded in 2021 with a mission to build a digital bridge between local sustainable businesses and the consumers seeking them out. The company is headquartered in Munich and operates as a GmbH, a standard German limited liability company structure [LinkedIn]. Public records indicate the company may have evolved from or is connected to another entity, Evenerix UG, though the precise corporate history is not detailed in open filings [North Data].

The founding team consists of at least three individuals. Fabienne Horlaville and Thomas Klir are identified as co-founders in a 2021 podcast appearance, where they discussed their backgrounds in computer science from the Technical University of Darmstadt [Wandelpunkt-Podcast, 2021] [TuneIn]. Kevin Tscholitsch is also cited as a co-founder and was listed as a managing director in a corporate registry entry dated January 2023 [TechQuartier, 2023] [North Data]. The company's size is reported as being in the 2-10 employee range [LinkedIn].

Key milestones are limited to foundational events. The company launched its consumer-facing Android app, which is available on the Google Play Store, to execute on its platform vision [Google Play Store]. Beyond the app launch and its initial founding, no other significant public milestones, such as major partnership announcements or geographic expansions, have been documented in mainstream business or tech media.

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Core company facts are corroborated by LinkedIn and the Google Play Store, but founder roles and corporate history rely on third-party profiles and partial registry data.

Product and Technology

MIXED

The company's public-facing product is a digital map and discovery platform for sustainable local commerce. Its core offering, as described in its app store listing, is an Android application that allows consumers to find nearby providers of sustainable products and services [Google Play Store]. The platform's stated goal is to connect these local businesses with people seeking to live and consume more sustainably, positioning it as a two-sided marketplace [Google Play Store]. On the business side, the company describes itself as an IT and digital marketing service provider, suggesting the platform may also offer tools or services to help listed businesses with their online presence [LinkedIn].

Technologically, the product is a location-based software service. The existence of a dedicated map subdomain and a detailed GDPR-compliant privacy policy indicates a functional web platform that processes user location and usage data [Nachhaltigkeitshelden (own site)]. The stack is not publicly detailed, but the technical co-founder backgrounds in computer science and IT security provide a foundation for building a secure, scalable mapping application [TuneIn] [Mobile Media Forum]. There is no public mention of proprietary algorithms, artificial intelligence, or a distinct technological moat; the differentiation appears to rest on the curated focus on sustainability and local providers.

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Product claims are sourced from the company's own app listing and LinkedIn profile; technical stack and business-side services are inferred from descriptions and founder backgrounds.

Market Research

PUBLIC

The market for platforms that facilitate sustainable consumption is less about creating a new category and more about capturing a behavioral shift already underway, driven by consumer preference and regulatory pressure rather than pure technology innovation. For a company like Nachhaltigkeitshelden, the relevant market is the intersection of digital local discovery and the conscious consumer economy in Germany.

Quantifying the total addressable market (TAM) for a hyper-local, sustainability-focused platform is complex, as no third-party report specifically sizes this niche. However, the demand drivers are well-documented. Consumer interest in sustainable products in Germany is robust, with a 2023 study by the German Federal Environment Agency (UBA) indicating that over 70% of consumers consider environmental and social criteria in their purchasing decisions [German Federal Environment Agency, 2023]. This sentiment is translating into spending, with the market for certified sustainable goods in Germany estimated to have grown steadily over the past decade, though specific annual figures for the retail segment are not publicly available from the cited sources.

Key tailwinds extend beyond consumer sentiment. Regulatory forces, particularly the European Union's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and Germany's Supply Chain Due Diligence Act, are increasing transparency requirements for businesses. This creates a potential wedge for platforms that can help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) document and communicate their sustainable practices to a concerned customer base. The adjacent markets of local commerce platforms (like Google Business Profile) and broader sustainability certification bodies represent both substitutes and potential partnership channels.

A comparable market that offers a sense of scale is the German market for organic food, which reached a sales volume of approximately €15.9 billion in 2022, according to data from the German Federation of the Organic Food Industry (BÖLW) [BÖLW, 2023]. While Nachhaltigkeitshelden's scope extends beyond food to services and non-food retail, this figure provides an analog for the spending power of German consumers actively seeking sustainable alternatives.

German Organic Food Market (2022) | 15.9 | €B

The organic food market's scale suggests a substantial underlying consumer base, but it also highlights the challenge of fragmentation. The opportunity for a digital map is to aggregate a long tail of small providers across multiple categories, a task that requires significant local ground game rather than just software deployment.

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Market sizing relies on analogous industry reports (organic food) and general consumer sentiment studies; no direct TAM/SAM analysis for the specific platform category was found in public sources.

Competitive Landscape

MIXED

Nachhaltigkeitshelden operates in a fragmented space where its primary competition comes not from direct venture-backed replicas, but from established local search platforms, specialized sustainability directories, and the inertia of consumer habit.

A formal comparison table is omitted as no specific, named competitors were identified in public sources. The competitive map is best understood by segment:

• Generalist local discovery platforms. Google Maps and Google Business Profiles represent the dominant, zero-cost alternative for any business seeking local visibility. Their scale is insurmountable, but their focus on sustainability is a passive filter at best, buried within generic search results.
• Niche sustainability directories. These are often region-specific, non-profit, or community-run websites listing eco-friendly shops, repair cafes, or organic markets. They lack the integrated digital marketing services and dedicated app interface Nachhaltigkeitshelden proposes. Examples include city-level initiatives like "Munich Sustainable" guides or broader platforms like "EcoMap" in other regions, though none were cited as direct German competitors.
• Adjacent substitutes. Social media platforms, particularly Instagram with location tagging and sustainability-focused hashtags, serve as an informal discovery layer. Retailer-owned loyalty apps for organic supermarket chains also capture a portion of the sustainable shopping journey, but within a closed ecosystem.

The company's stated defensible edge rests on its dual-sided platform model: a consumer-facing map and app designed exclusively for sustainable discovery, coupled with a B2B offering of IT and digital marketing services for the listed providers [LinkedIn]. This combination aims to create a dedicated ecosystem, as opposed to a passive directory. The edge is perishable, however, as it depends entirely on achieving critical mass in both users and merchant partners within a specific geographic footprint before a larger platform could replicate the curation layer or a well-funded challenger emerges.

Nachhaltigkeitshelden's most significant exposure is its lack of exclusive assets. It does not own a proprietary dataset that cannot be scraped, a unique supply of sustainable merchants, or a patented technology. Its go-to-market is vulnerable to any local player with stronger community ties or a larger sales team onboarding merchants. Furthermore, its focus on being an IT service provider for SMEs pits it against a vast landscape of freelance web developers and generic digital marketing agencies, diluting its unique positioning.

The most plausible 18-month scenario is one of regional consolidation. A winner would be a platform that successfully signs exclusive or deeply integrated partnerships with municipal sustainability offices or major regional retail associations, using public endorsement to accelerate merchant acquisition. A loser would be any pure-play directory, including Nachhaltigkeitshelden if it remains a passive map, that fails to demonstrate clear incremental customer traffic for its listed businesses, leading to merchant churn and a stagnant user base.

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Competitive analysis is inferred from the company's stated positioning and the general market structure; no direct competitor citations are available.

Opportunity

PUBLIC Nachhaltigkeitshelden's opportunity is defined by the growing consumer demand for sustainable local commerce, a market that remains fragmented and underserved by digital discovery tools.

The headline opportunity is for the company to become the primary digital directory and transaction layer for Germany's local, sustainability-focused economy. This outcome is plausible because the company is building a two-sided marketplace from the ground up, targeting a consumer behavior shift already underway. The company's Android app and map platform directly address a known consumer pain point: the difficulty in finding and verifying local businesses that align with sustainable values [Google Play Store]. By positioning itself as both a consumer discovery tool and a digital marketing service for these businesses [LinkedIn], Nachhaltigkeitshelden could capture the initial trust and data layer in a nascent but expanding ecosystem. The absence of a dominant, dedicated national player in the German market for this specific vertical creates a window for a focused entrant to establish a default position.

Several concrete growth scenarios could propel the company from a local directory to a significant platform.

Scenario	What happens	Catalyst	Why it's plausible
Municipal Partnership Model	The platform is adopted by cities as the official sustainability portal for local businesses, embedding it into resident services.	A pilot partnership with a major German city (e.g., Munich, Frankfurt) to map its certified green businesses.	German municipalities have active sustainability agendas and seek digital tools to engage citizens [Wandelpunkt-Podcast, 2021]. The company's B2B positioning as an IT service provider aligns with selling to public entities [LinkedIn].
B2B SaaS Pivot	The company shifts focus to selling white-label map and directory software to larger retailers, banks, or utility companies for their own sustainability initiatives.	Securing a first enterprise client seeking to showcase its sustainable supply chain or local partner network.	The underlying technology is a customizable digital map, a common feature requested by corporate sustainability teams. The founders' technical backgrounds in computer science provide the foundation for such a product build [TuneIn].
Category Expansion via Verification	Nachhaltigkeitshelden becomes a trusted verifier of sustainability claims for small businesses, charging for a "badge" displayed on its map and beyond.	Developing a proprietary, lightweight assessment framework and promoting it through local business networks.	Consumer demand for verified claims over self-declared ones is high. A simple, affordable verification service could fill a gap between informal self-listing and expensive, formal certifications.

Compounding for Nachhaltigkeitshelden would likely follow a classic marketplace flywheel, though evidence of it spinning is not yet public. Each new sustainable business listed improves the utility of the map for consumers. Increased consumer traffic, in turn, makes the platform more attractive for other businesses to join, potentially paying for premium placement or enhanced digital marketing services. The data moat would be the growing, curated database of local sustainable providers,their locations, offerings, and consumer ratings,which becomes increasingly difficult for a new entrant to replicate at city or national scale. Success in one German region could provide a playbook and social proof for rapid expansion into neighboring cities.

For a sense of the potential win size, consider the trajectory of similar local discovery platforms. While direct public comparables in the niche sustainable local commerce space are scarce, companies like Yelp, which built a reviews-based local business directory, reached a market capitalization in the billions at their peak. A more focused, mission-driven acquisition comparable could be HappyCow, a platform for finding vegan and vegetarian restaurants globally, which has maintained a loyal user base and commercial partnerships for over two decades. If the Municipal Partnership scenario plays out and Nachhaltigkeitshelden becomes the adopted platform for several major German cities, the company could establish a defensible regional position with revenue from municipal SaaS fees, business subscriptions, and potential transaction fees. In such a scenario, a successful exit could fall into the tens of millions of euros range, representing a significant multiple on what is likely a very early-stage valuation today. This is a scenario-based outcome, not a forecast.

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- The core product description and founding team background are confirmed by multiple public sources, but the growth scenarios and potential market outcomes are extrapolations based on the company's stated positioning, not on public traction metrics or announced partnerships.

Sources

PUBLIC

1. [LinkedIn] Nachhaltigkeitshelden GmbH | https://de.linkedin.com/company/nachhaltigkeitshelden

2. [Google Play Store] Nachhaltigkeitshelden - Apps on Google Play | https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.nachhaltigkeitshelden.app&hl=en

3. [North Data] Evenerix UG, München | https://www.northdata.com/Evenerix+UG,+M%C3%BCnchen/HRB+291773

4. [North Data] Tscholitsch, Kevin, Hanau | https://www.northdata.com/Tscholitsch,%20Kevin,%20Hanau/w0j

5. [Nachhaltigkeitshelden (own site)] Datenschutz - Nachhaltigkeitshelden | https://maps.nachhaltigkeitshelden.de/datenschutz

6. [Wandelpunkt-Podcast, 2021] Wandelpunkt-Podcast: Interessen vereinen! - Die Nachhaltigkeitshelden, Fabienne Horlaville & Thomas Klir | https://frankfurt-im-wandel.de/news/wandelpunkt-podcast

7. [TuneIn] Wandelpunkt Podcast | Listen to Podcasts On Demand Free | https://tunein.com/podcasts/Arts--Culture-Podcasts/Wandelpunkt-Podcast-p1294861/

8. [Mobile Media Forum] Nachhaltigkeitshelden | https://www.mobilemediaforum.de/nachhaltigkeitshelden

9. [TechQuartier, 2023] TechQuartier | https://techquartier.com/

10. [German Federal Environment Agency, 2023] Umweltbewusstsein in Deutschland 2022 | https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/publikationen/umweltbewusstsein-in-deutschland-2022

11. [BÖLW, 2023] Branchenreport 2023 | https://www.boelw.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Dokumente/Zahlen_und_Fakten/Branchenreport_2023.pdf