Community Member of the Month: Circonomit

Meet Circonomit co-founded by Dana Aleff. She and co-founder Erik Müller secured new financing and are expanding their startup throughout the DACH region. This rising star is also part of our community and has strong ties to our Impact programs.

1. Tell us the story of Circonomit: what do you do exactly and how did you find your way to it?

Circonomit is building a digital control system for companies that not only maps complexity, but makes it manageable. Our software helps decision-makers—from controllers to managing directors—understand how financial and ecological factors are interconnected, so they can take action before issues arise. We work where Excel and traditional planning tools reach their limits, especially when it comes to external disruptions like supply chain delays or energy price shocks.

The idea emerged from our research at RWTH Aachen, where we constantly saw the same frustrating pattern in industry: companies were making complex decisions with outdated tools that couldn’t reflect real-world interdependencies. We decided to act. Even before writing a single line of code, we sold our concept—our first customer was so convinced they wired us a five-figure amount after a phone call during a rollerblading session.

Since then, our journey has been guided by one principle: if even a child can understand the value of what we do, then we’re communicating it right. That’s why Dana pitched the concept to kids at a local kindergarten and refined the product based on their feedback—including the question: “Why isn’t it more colorful?” 

2. What led you to join TechQuartier?

We joined TechQuartier through the Impact Challenge, a venture clienting program that connects impact-centric startups with established corporates. What truly set it apart was the opportunity to work on a real pilot project with an industry partner – Signal Iduna. This hands-on collaboration with real-world impact made the experience incredibly valuable and distinguished it from many other startup programs we’ve seen. In fact, we won the Pitch Competition on last year’s IMPACT FESTIVAL innovation stage and secured a spot in TechQuartier’s Accelerator: Green Transformation, which took place last fall. 

3. Any exciting news or projects to share with us?

Absolutely! BIG NEWS: Circonomit just raised €2.8 million in funding, led by Vorwerk Ventures. This is a major milestone for us and a strong validation of our vision to transform how companies steer through complexity.

Our next big focus is the launch of Model Builder 2.0, a powerful upgrade to our platform that will make it dramatically easier for companies to simulate scenarios, understand cause-and-effect relationships, and make better decisions—within hours instead of months. We’re also expanding our tech team to scale faster and support more customers.

Looking ahead, we aim to help Germany’s hidden champions make 500,000 better business decisions at the intersection of sustainability and profitability—turning data into real control, one model at a time.

>> Read more: Deutsches Tech-Start-up sichert sich 2,8 Millionen Euro Erstfinanzierung

4. In 3 words: What are the key topics that spark a good conversation with you?

Sports, art, math (I'm a bit of a nerd!) – and funny stories, always

Where can you meet Dana?

On 20 August at our Fundraising Readiness Networking Event – The Future is Female (and Funded). You’ll get to hear more of Dana’s story and connect with other (female) founders and investors.

>> Register here.

Impact Challenge Applications are now open

Interested in joining our next Impact Challenge and igniting success? Applications are open until 31 August.