Company: sharries UG (limited liability)
Founders: Joerg Lichtenberg, Sabrina Lichtenberg, Asgard Federspiel, Christoph Federspiel, Lars Reichelt, Ralph Küpper Date of establishment: February 24, 2025
Industry and company: Digital social tech startup (app/sharing economy/circular economy)

Interview partner: Joerg Lichtenberg                              

What drives you? What is your motto?
Sustainability begins in everyday life: abundance becomes joy – share instead of throwing away.

What is your startup about and what makes it special?
wishare is an app that allows people to give away and find things in their neighborhood for free – it's easy, fair, and there's no haggling.
Our guiding principle: objects don't lose their value just because they are no longer relevant to one person. Passing them on creates new uses, joy, and concrete support – and sharries reward this impact with karma points.

What are your first successes?
Our greatest success: Even in the test market, many people are already actively using the app – and numerous items have already been exchanged. The feedback from the community is direct and very positive – and that's exactly what gives us momentum: wishare is really being used in everyday life.

What is your professional background?
I myself have been working in marketing for over 20 years and have been involved in several start-ups. As a team, we complement each other with strong finance and operations expertise, extensive experience in branding/communication and community building, and a clear focus on sales and partnerships. Technically, we bring many years of experience in app and platform development – from frontend to backend to AI/automation. 

What prompted you to start your own business?
I grew up with an entrepreneurial spirit: my father was an entrepreneur and supported me when things got tough. The brilliant idea came from my wife Sabrina—from her experiences in Free Your Stuff groups, where sharing often becomes complicated and unpleasant.
I've experienced setbacks, even bankruptcy. That hurts, but it teaches humility: courage means getting up and carrying on. When I saw how many good things end up in the trash, it was clear to me that wishare had to turn that into something meaningful.

Who are your helpers and mentors?
My most important mentor was my father—a rock in the surf, never a know-it-all; unfortunately, he didn't live to see wishare. The start-up financing came from a friend. In addition, there was support from the Wiesbaden Chamber of Commerce, the Heimathafen network, and the Wiesbaden Lions Club: advice, opening doors, honest feedback.

How did you experience your first days as a founder?
It was a mixture of goosebumps and respect: suddenly, an idea became a real platform—with real people and real handovers. The first matches were a special moment for me: connections were being made. And at the same time, I had a full to-do list. So, I had to focus, prioritize, and get started.

What was your biggest challenge and how did you overcome it?
Time is the biggest hurdle—especially when everyone on the team is working in parallel and has families.

We overcome this with clear priorities, fixed time slots, short sprints, and a simple principle: make visible progress every week. Better to take small steps consistently than big ones infrequently.

How do you draw attention to your company? What is your best marketing idea?
We thrive on community energy: recommendations are our strongest driver. In addition, social media (reels/stories), targeted ads, and local presence with flyers/posters at partners. It has the greatest impact when people feel that sharing creates community and protects resources.

How did you finance your start-up?
We deliberately started lean: pre-seed funding from our private circle plus our own funds. This enabled us to develop an MVP and pilot – without a large apparatus, with a clear focus and strict cost control.

What dream would you still like to realize?
I would like to see wishare being used throughout Germany – and in a few years' time, we will be able to say: We have made a measurable contribution to reducing waste and connecting people. Creating a real community that brings joy and lives sustainability.

Please complete the following sentence: If I had more time, we would... get
even more people excited about wishare – and I would finish writing my children's book.

What is your special tip: What would you recommend to founders?
Don't wait for the perfect moment: Start, test, listen. Perfection comes later – what's important is courage, learning, and perseverance.