Why Airfocus's Founder Chose to Sell After Years of Growth
For many startup founders, an exit is the ultimate goal. But for Malte Scholz, the founder of Airfocus, that wasn't the case. Still, selling his company eventually became the logical next step—necessary to take the product to new heights, as he explains today.
Scholz has gone through the exit process himself and knows which early decisions founders must make to become attractive to potential buyers.
The Story Behind Airfocus
Airfocus was founded in Hamburg in 2017 by Malte Scholz, Christian Hoffmeister, and Valentin Firak. The SaaS startup began as a bootstrapped venture before later securing investment from European backers, including venture capital firms like Picea Capital.
The idea for Airfocus grew out of a personal frustration. Scholz, then working as a product manager, searched for the right tools—without success. After extensive research, he was left with one conclusion: none of the existing solutions, from PowerPoint to Jira, truly met his needs.
