Maria Möller could hardly be happier about the room she has just moved into. Not only is it one of several in the new office, no, it is also above ground - and therefore much sunnier than the basement where she and her co-founder Laura Mohn once started Talking Hands. Their product is flipbooks for sign language. These flipbooks each depict a sign, such as the words mom, dad, ball, sad or green. Children flip through them, learn the words and the sign and use them to supplement their verbal communication. The idea originally came about because Mohn's sister has Down's syndrome and uses sign language to communicate. However, this is only possible if the other person also speaks sign language. In the meantime, however, they have realized that there is also a great need for children without disabilities, especially if they have problems learning a language or expressing themselves. Mohn and Möller have recently raised a lot of money for their idea.

Ms. Möller, what have you done recently?

For my stepfather's 70th birthday, I invited the whole family to Margarete in Frankfurt, a rather expensive restaurant - and also paid the bill. That was something special, because in the early days of our start-up, my parents had to pay for me. We couldn't even pay ourselves a salary, so it was nice to give something back.

How long did your parents have to contribute?

We founded our start-up in the midst of coronavirus in October 2020. We had our first seed round in January 2022, when we raised a mid-six-figure sum. This allows me and my now two co-founders to pay ourselves a modest salary. That was also extremely important, as we couldn't pay rent or pay for food before. We worked in my girlfriend's family's basement, which we couldn't have done forever.

You make flipbooks for sign language. How do investors react to such a start-up idea?

They were very cautious at first. Most of them looked at us and said: "That's a great idea, but don't you want to set up an association or a foundation? They saw us as a nice project, but certainly not as a business case. So we plundered our savings accounts and founded a UG. At the time, Laura (first name, co-founder, editor's note) and I invested around 6,000 euros in the foundation and then in the first edition of the flipbooks.

Were you not worried that there would be a lack of demand?

My co-founder made the first flipbooks for her final thesis, we studied communication design together. They were tested in a Frankfurt daycare center - and they were so enthusiastic that they told others and they asked us for more flipbooks. So we knew that there was a demand and we also knew that the feedback was extremely good. The children who get hold of the flipbooks are enthusiastic, they learn the signs very quickly. Important to know: Our books are also for children with Down syndrome, but by no means exclusively. It is important to us that all children can sign so that they can communicate with each other. Signs can also help with language learning, which is why the books are also used by many speech therapists.

What did your parents say when you said we were going to make flipbooks?

My father is a freelance artist in Los Angeles who immediately said: Sure, do it. My mother works for GIZ in development aid, and at the beginning she said: Don't you want to do this at the weekend? Of course, she was worried that the permanent position might be better for me. But now she's a big fan, very proud - and does a lot of advertising for our flipbooks.

How many customers do you have?

Our books can be found in 3,000 educational institutions throughout Germany, and we have an app that serves as an extension. At some point, a daycare center simply can't store any more new flipbooks, so of course an app like this can help.

Do you speak sign language yourself?

We have taken courses in it and we also work with a well-known sign language specialist. So yes, we can do sign language quite well.

You said that many investors were dismissive. When did that change?

I think the first important step was to join the accelerator at Goethe University, where we were able to make new contacts. One day, the founder of Emma, the mattress start-up, was also there. I went there quite nervously after a presentation and showed him one of our flipbooks. He was enthusiastic and invested in us, along with others, in the seed round. That was important. With the investment, we were able to move out of the basement, today we have an 80 square meter office and have been able to grow. We have had a third co-founder on board since the end of 2021, who also programs the app, and we currently have seven working students/interns who help us a lot. This would not have been possible without an investment.

Inclusion is a top priority almost everywhere. Is that why people are snatching the books out of your hands?

We actually sell well, but that has little to do with it. On the contrary: the German education system is a long way behind when it comes to inclusion. We were at Germany's most important education fair two weeks ago and had a lot of interested visitors at our stand. When we said that it promotes learning, they all pricked up their ears. When we said that it had something to do with inclusion, they turned on their heels and had a really allergic reaction. So, dear readers, take a good look at yourselves and ask yourselves why inclusion in German schools and daycare centers is still not as far along as we would like it to be. I think that's a great pity.

‍

Thank you very much for the interview.

Personal details: Maria Möller is co-founder and managing director of talking hands flipbooks GmbH. She studied Visual Communication at the European School of Design. After her studies, she worked in the advertising industry for a year before founding her start-up together with Laura Mohn.

‍

‍