At the end of the year, we wanted to give many of our partners, customers, and contacts a small treat, so we sent out nearly 500 Christmas cards. It was a significant effort, but it boosted team spirit and strengthened many connections.
 
At that time, over 10 customers were using our software, we had raised over 500,000 euros, and we had hired nearly 10 new employees. It was a great year, and we are already looking forward to 2024.

We did it! In just two months, we raised over 500,000 euros, successfully closing another financing round. We were filled with immense pride and satisfaction, signaling the start of a new phase.

Great ideas need to be sold. Our mission was to finalize the deal at the notary's office within the next four weeks and secure additional funding. The goal was ambitious, and we engaged in numerous discussions with investors. Additionally, the Freie Hochschule Stuttgart became the first university to start using our operational system. The tension was incredibly high, and the pressure on us as founders was enormous.

We visited a Turkish customer in Istanbul and Ankara. At the summer festival of the German-Turkish Chamber of Industry and Commerce, we made some exciting new connections and visited the German embassy in Ankara. During our stay, we set the targets for the new financing round, aiming to raise 500,000 euros within the next two months. The task was enormous.

In the summer, our team was spread out across Europe. We worked from various locations, focusing on development and processes to become more scalable.

We learned an incredible amount, worked on our core processes, and gave it our all. As summer approached, we made use of the rooftop terrace in the Atrium Tower every day.

Gradually, we started large projects and worked tirelessly on our grand vision, dedicating every day to achieving our major goals. This period demanded extra effort and unwavering dedication, pushing us closer to our ultimate objectives.

In March, we acquired our first customer and participated in Didacta, an educational fair. We focused on marketing efforts and establishing new contacts, which was a significant step for our company.

We then spent the following months focusing primarily on customer acquisition and software development. These were our top priorities, which we pursued with utmost concentration!

After we raised the capital, the world seemed perfect for a brief moment. Suddenly, we had enough funds to make a difference. We hired our first employees and adhered strictly to the financial plan we had drawn up.
 
Now, the real challenge began. We had to convince customers of our product, get it market-ready, and organize our ideas into a coherent structure. This marked the beginning of an incredible year.

We did it! Nine fantastic investors believed in us and our idea, investing over 330,000 euros. We were incredibly excited, but we made it happen. After signing the papers, we went to the Italian restaurant where we founders first met. Then, we celebrated the evening at Fuxam's business address. It was an unforgettable day.

Only one month left until we would sit with the investors at the notary. We could hardly wait. During this time, we worked tirelessly and were eager to change the world. We searched for employees, conducted interviews, developed a new website, and did our best to build the company. It was an exciting time, and the big day was drawing ever closer!

Leo quit his job and started developing a prototype. Then he began a complete redevelopment of the software. We changed the programming language and essentially rebuilt the software from scratch. It was an intense period during which we fully dedicated ourselves to developing our vision.

Only nine days after the decisive call, the first investor committed. The journey had been incredibly tough, making the joy even greater. Within a month, eight more investors followed suit. It was almost unbelievable.

Julian did his best, contacting hundreds of business angels every week. He believed in the vision and the idea. After the team hit rock bottom in the summer, Julian began speaking with more and more interested investors. The software wasn't working properly, and all they had left was the pitch deck.
 
On September 7, 2022, there was a turning point. Julian asked Oliver and Leo to have a conversation that evening. He sincerely told his co-founders that they could make it and that investors were interested, but they needed to give 100% again. Oliver and Leo overcame the summer slump. That day marked a turning point in Fuxam's history and became one of its most important milestones.

The summer was tough for the Fuxam team. Leo had to go back to work because his savings were depleted, so he focused on his job. Oliver had to improve his academic performance. Times were very difficult for us.
 
During the summer, Julian was tasked with finding investors. He reached out to all the VCs in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, and then moved on to the USA, France, and the UK. Rejections came in one after another. At that time, we had only one meeting per month, and the situation seemed hopeless. Without money, Leo couldn't work. Without Leo, we couldn't develop our software to convince investors.
 
We then decided to contact business angels through LinkedIn, which worked significantly better. However, the road ahead was still long, and the summer slump was challenging.

We had always thought that we wouldn't need investors for our vision. But as the scale of our ambitions grew, so did the required resources. Until then, we had invested around 6,000 euros into our company and had achieved some successes. However, we realized that without a substantial financial boost, we wouldn't be able to reach our goal. In an incredible five-day sprint and several long nights, Julian and Leo developed a pitch deck. This marked the beginning of our search for investors, which proved to be incredibly nerve-wracking.

During this time, we worked tirelessly—10 hours a day, 7 days a week—on our vision and idea of developing software that would transform the education system. We realized that a simple exam software wouldn't meet our high standards. So, we envisioned creating an all-in-one solution that would address all the challenges of administration, learning, teaching, and testing. Leo quit his job, and we gave everything we had to move closer to our goal.

We chose a fox as our symbol, not only because it reminded us of our name but also because it aligned with our vision. We wanted a unique logo that was simple yet timeless and had a high recognition value. On February 10, 2022, we had our logo.

A lot happened within the first month after founding the company. From opening a bank account to writing the first lines of code, we covered all the basics. There was still much to do, but it was already possible to log into the software, and a preliminary concept was taking shape.

On December 29, the moment finally arrived. Without hesitation, the founders borrowed money from their family and friends and established Fuxam GmbH. It was a significant milestone, but the real work was just beginning. However, this day marked a crucial step on the path to revolutionizing education.

After the first two intense weeks, we had already learned a lot. Among other things, we discovered that the name SmarTest was already taken. So, Leo suggested an alternative name: Fuxam. All the founders were immediately enthusiastic about it. On that day, the first design draft in the history of Fuxam was also created.

Two days earlier, Oliver and Julian had given up before they even really started. On November 25, 2021, the two went out to dinner with two classmates, including Leo van den Brandt. Leo was a software developer with a steady job, the same age as Julian and Oliver, who had developed his own app and was eager for a new project.
 
Julian proposed the idea to Leo, and Leo was immediately excited. That same evening, Oliver and Julian researched until 1:30 in the morning how to build, establish, and finance a company. On that day, the vision to revolutionize the education system was born.

Julian and Oliver conducted market research and tried to summarize the key points in an Excel sheet. The biggest problem for both of them was that you can't start a software company without a software developer. In the midst of their exam period, the project became too stressful, and Julian and Oliver decided to put it on hold for the time being.

Julian had been carrying this idea around for a while, but it was just an "idea." On October 29, 2021, during a university event in Berlin, he spoke with Oliver Grübnau and had no idea how it would change his life.
 
Oliver, who studied with Julian, asked him what he wanted to do after graduation. Julian replied, "I have this idea, but I'm not sure who I want to pursue it with." Oliver said, "Tell me about it," and Julian shared his vision of developing software to digitize the entire examination process.
 
Together, they decided to explore whether such solutions already existed and to further refine the concept. They even came up with a name for the company: SmarTest.

One of our founders, Julian Schröder, was sitting in university, wondering why we still take exams with pen and paper when the entire learning process is digital. At that time, he was in his third semester and hadn't used a pen in over a year.

His vision was to revolutionize exam management with a fully digital solution that encompasses creating, taking, and grading exams.