Company: Kreastra
Thorsten Witkowski, Marketing & Communication, Freelance Sole Proprietor
Founder: Thorsten Witkowski
Date of establishment: January 15, 2024
Industry and company: Marketing and communication

What drives you? What is your motto?

The two guiding principles "Those who walk in the footsteps of others leave no traces of their own" (Wilhelm Busch) and "Good marketers recognize that marketing is not a cost factor, but an investment" (Seth Godin) describe what I believe in quite well: 

I am convinced that you have to break new ground and try new things in order to stand out from the crowd and thus remain in the memory of (potential) customers. This also includes the willingness to make mistakes, learn, and develop as a result. Above all, marketing measures should be viewed as an investment in your own brand/product. It takes vision, strategy, building blocks that build on each other, and perseverance to be successful in the long term.

What is your start-up about and what makes it special?

My goal is to support small and medium-sized companies in the Rhine-Main area and beyond with my expertise as a service provider. For larger companies and corporations, I offer my services as an interim manager. I offer consulting and implementation from a single source in almost all marketing and communication disciplines. My focus is on developing environmentally conscious and sustainable marketing approaches that make both ecological and economic sense, and on using state-of-the-art AI technologies and digital tools for more efficient marketing processes and precise data-driven decisions.

What are your first successes?

The biggest success so far has been the "official" start of my self-employment and the associated launch of the website www.kreastra.de. After a long and intensive start-up preparation phase, attending many events, webinars, research, and organizational tasks, it's a great feeling to finally get started. The overwhelmingly positive response, the many congratulations, and the motivating messages from friends, acquaintances, former colleagues, and network partners have also provided an additional boost of motivation.

What is your professional background?

After completing my vocational training as an IT specialist (application development), I started working in marketing as a career changer about 20 years ago. Since then, I have learned all facets of marketing and corporate communications from the ground up and completed a part-time degree at the IMK as a state-certified communications specialist. During these two decades in the service industry, I was able to develop in various positions from clerk to senior executive, thereby gaining a lot of project management and management experience.

What prompted you to start your own business?

The idea of becoming self-employed came to me several years ago while I was still employed. The trigger was the desire to live out my passion for marketing, communication, and creative and innovative strategies not just for one brand or product, but for many brands and many products. When the opportunity arose last year, I decided to embark on this journey and began making preparations.

Who advised you, who are your helpers and mentors?

I was fortunate enough to be able to take advantage of many (mostly free) consulting services. These included, for example: The "GRÜNDERwissen kompakt" series of events organized by the state capital of Wiesbaden. Numerous tools and webinars on the gruenderplattform.de website, an initiative of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection and KfW. Webinars on the websites fuer-gruender.de, omt.de, omr.com, and at the Association of Founders and Self-Employed Persons in Germany (vgsd.de). I also had many conversations with friends and relatives to fill in gaps in my knowledge and get feedback on ideas and concepts.

How did you experience your first days as a founder?

You work towards it for a long time and then it's here: the big day, the "official" launch. The password protection is removed from the website and... actually, nothing happens at first. But since I was prepared for this, I didn't expect anything else. After all, I'm not ceremoniously opening a retail store, nor am I selling a product for which I've acquired numerous pre-orders and then taking boxes to the shipping service provider. 

I knew it would take time before I could fulfill my first orders. So I focused on two things:

1. Informing my network and enjoying the great response I mentioned above.
2. Ensuring that my website was listed quickly and well in search engines, which was not possible before due to password protection on the site.

What was your biggest challenge and how did you overcome it?

As a freelance sole trader, I operate under my own name. This is different from a limited liability company, for example, which can consist of a fictitious name and the addition of the legal form (in this case, "LLC"). Nevertheless, it was important to me to create a brand and build it up over the long term so that I would be recognized by the public. This turned out to be a tricky task and a big challenge. After all, the name should be memorable, embody what I stand for, not already be protected elsewhere, and "work" well in different media and representations. It took some time, numerous ideas, many discussions with artificial intelligence (AI), and a lot of research, including at the German Patent and Trademark Office (DPMA), before I found exactly what I was looking for in "Kreastra" (creativity meets strategy).

How do you draw attention to your company? What is your best marketing idea?

My website is the central component of my external image. I also share my blog articles and other interesting content via my Facebook page and my profiles on LinkedIn and Xing. In addition, I increase my reach with the help of online ads in search results and social networks, plan various ways of directly addressing potential customers, and rely on positive word-of-mouth advertising.

How did you finance your start-up?

As a freelancer, I work from my home office or a co-working space using the technology I already have. Fortunately, there were no other major start-up investments, so I don't need bank loans or anything like that. 

What dream would you still like to realize?

I want to grow with my company and never stop learning new things. At the same time, I want to speak at events and share my expertise. In the long term, I want to achieve healthy business growth, establish a limited liability company, and hire people who share my vision and values.

Please complete the following sentence: If I had more time, I would...

...do even more volunteer work and read more. 

What is your special tip: What would you recommend to founders?

I would recommend three things to anyone considering starting a business:

1. Acquire knowledge
   There are so many good and mostly free sources of information on the internet that are really helpful. Whether it's templates (e.g., for a business plan), webinars (e.g., on tax topics), or tips & tricks (e.g., white papers).
2. Discussions
   Talk about your idea(s). Experience shows that discussing your plans, business idea, brand name, etc. with others will give you valuable feedback. You should take critical feedback seriously, but not personally. See it as something positive; it will definitely help you move forward.
3. Brand check & internet research
   Once you have decided on a company, brand, or product name, be sure to check whether the term is already protected elsewhere before you start creating a logo, registering a domain, etc. This will save you from having to do the work twice. It is important to know whether you can protect the term yourself or whether it is already protected elsewhere, in which case it is better not to use it. Internet research is equally important: what can you find under the planned name? Is the term perhaps associated with other things that have negative connotations? Perhaps it also has a meaning in another language. It is better to get an overview beforehand.

I could list many more things, but that would go beyond the scope of this article. Feel free to write to me via my website or connect with me on social media. I am happy to provide information and help where I can.