Congratulations! Our MBA alumnus Christoph Roling (MBA Corporate Management) and his co-founders Jes Hennig and Thomas Heuck were recently awarded the GründerGeist, the start-up prize of the Hamburg Economic Juniors, for their innovative idea. With their start-up Parto, they have created a digital payment solution for people in care who previously could not or were not allowed to access their own money and were always dependent on the support of staff in the institutions. This is a considerable effort for everyone involved and, what's more, all transactions take place with cash. Parto wants to change this and enable digital participation with the new payment system. We asked Christoph how the idea for Parto came about and what the biggest challenges were.
Start-up Prize for HSBA Alumnus
Can you explain how the idea for Parto came about?
First of all, thank you for the congratulations! We are really pleased that our project has received so much support. In fact, the industry itself has such a big problem with the issue that the Diakonie Nord Nord Ost from Lübeck has been looking for a solution through its network. With the experience from our previous company, where we provided cards and accounts for Gen Z – including pocket money accounts – we were approached as part of a feasibility study. The more we looked into the topic, the clearer it became that a solution was needed that went beyond an individual project. This is how Parto was founded.
How exactly does your digital payment solution work?
Parto offers the organisations running the care facilities, for example a Diakonie Nord, Nord Ost, Caritas or private organisations, a holistic administration software. This includes a company account and a trust collective account, as well as VISA debit cards for employees and optionally for clients. This solution can then be used to manage all the finances in the facilities, including the legally compliant administration of client funds, centrally and efficiently in a single software solution.
This means that employees in youth welfare, integration assistance or geriatric care can use their card to make payments for one or more clients and at the same time also for purchases for the institution, i.e. for business expenses.
However, the organisation can also issue cards directly to the residents of the facility. This allows clients to participate in normal (digital) life and, if necessary, receive educational support from staff.
Parto enables greater participation for people in care while at the same time massively reducing the workload for staff in the facilities.
What was the biggest challenge for you on the road to Parto?
We are dealing with two very sensitive industries. On the one hand, there is a large amount of administrative and legal requirements in the social economy – on the other hand, there are many rules and regulations in the banking sector. Finding a model in which we map the requirements of our customers, enable participation and observe the regulatory requirements of BaFin was definitely the biggest challenge.
And one more question with our students in mind: What advice would you give to young people thinking about starting their own business?
I don't think it's ever been as easy as it is today to turn your own idea into reality. When you start a business, you learn an incredible amount in a short period of time and you are forced out of your comfort zone and challenged in many ways. It's a lot of fun. And it doesn't always have to be cutting edge – you can do it without AI and blockchain.