PLAN4: Interview with the 2023 SCSA winner

PLAN4 is revolutionising the construction industry with software solutions for digital as-built assessment and construction planning. The start-up's products support local authorities, architectural firms, housing companies and construction planners in tackling the refurbishment backlog in Germany. They offer a digital, sustainable and efficient solution to optimise assessment and planning processes. In 2023, they also won over the Smart Country Startup Award jury with this concept and won the coveted SCSA Award in the Smart City category.

In this interview, co-founder and IT expert Thorsten Harig talks about how the startup is doing today and what experiences you were able to gain during the live pitch on the Plaza Stage at SCCON.

SCCON: What was it like for you to pitch live on stage at the Smart Country Convention 2023?

Thorsten Harig: Matthias, our Head of Sales, spoke of the incredible experience of being able to stand on stage at the Smart Country Convention 2023 and present our project to such a high-calibre audience. The atmosphere was electrifying and it was a great opportunity to showcase our vision and commitment to digitalisation in Germany. The positive response and feedback from the audience motivated us to work even harder on our ideas.

SCCON: What happened for you after the win, did anything change?

Thorsten Harig: Winning the Smart Country Convention 2023 definitely gave us a big boost. We gained visibility and also had a few press enquiries and interviews afterwards. The oversized ‘prize’ cheque is now on display in our office for everyone to see, so it also has a direct impact on new team members and is a daily incentive.

SCCON: Have you already invested the prize money and would you like to tell us what?

Thorsten Harig: Yes, we have invested the prize money strategically. It actually went directly into staff expansion and recruitment. We significantly expanded our team again at the turn of the year 2023/2024 in order to be able to respond even better to market requirements.

SCCON: What would you like to see in the future with regard to the digitalisation of cities and authorities in Germany?

Thorsten Harig: We would like to see more courageous and faster implementation of digital projects in cities and public authorities. Digitalisation should be seen as an opportunity to make administration more efficient, citizen-friendly and transparent. In addition to technological innovations, this also requires a cultural change in the authorities that promotes a more open and agile approach. We hope that Germany will position itself more strongly as a pioneer in the digital transformation in the coming years and also rely on innovative start-ups that can bring a breath of fresh air to the administration.

As an innovation prize of the Smart Country Convention and the Get Started start-up initiative of Bitkom e. V., the Smart Country Startup Award (SCSA) honours young companies with outstanding solutions in the GovTech and Smart City categories. The winners can look forward to a free one-year membership of Get Started and prize money of 5,000 euros each.

Startups can still apply for the Smart Country Startup Award 2024 until 16 September.

Click here for the official application form: Application Form: www.bitkom.org/EN/Topics/Startups/Application-Form-Smart-Country-Startup-Award-2024

Further information on the award can be found here.