Start-up: Der Hidden Champion der Start-up-Welt aus Hamburg
500 Mitarbeiter, eine Milliarde Dollar Umsatz – und niemand kennt die Firma. Das will der weltweit tätige Spiele-App-Vermarkter Applike, der zu Bertelsmann gehört, jetzt ändern.
In the heart of Hamburg, a young duo - Jonas Thiemann, 23, and Carlo Szelinsky - co-founded the company Applike. A decade later, Applike has achieved a staggering $1 billion in sales, with over half of that coming from the United States. The success of this start-up is remarkable, yet it remains relatively unknown in Germany. This can be attributed to the niche in which Applike operates.
The company specializes in game apps, with nearly 2,000 offerings in its portfolio. These include popular titles like Toon Blast from Peak Games, Royal Match from Dream Games, and Empires & Puzzles from Zynga. According to Thiemann, Applike has generated more than a billion app downloads worldwide, making it the market leader in this segment.
The company is integrated into over 1,000 apps globally and serves clients such as the popular German bonus program Payback, the British supermarket chain Sainsbury’s, McDonald’s in Latin America, and the Taiwanese messenger app Line. Thiemann explains that the company earns money when users click on a game and install it. This model has allowed Applike to become profitable quickly and maintain its profitability.
Customers download the game apps, earn points through gameplay, and can redeem these points for rewards at gas stations, supermarkets, or even McDonald’s, which helps with customer retention.
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
