Waiting on hold is part of many call centers. The startup virtualQ® based in Berlin and Stuttgart puts an end to waiting on hold. HTGF supports this idea with a seed funding.

Now customers do not have to wait on the phone anymore, not knowing when it is their turn. With the virtualQ® waiting service they can choose to wait virtually and hang up the phone. In addition, they can also line up with an App on their smart phone or using the Web. A push notification or text message is sent to inform the caller, when it is their turn. Thus they can be connected to an agent directly without waiting time. This saved time can be used productively, whereas call centers can improve their peak management and lower their line costs at the same time.

Interested parties and first customers come from various industries such as energy, insurance, banking and telecommunications. virtualQ® is of interest to anyone operating a call center. The ROI is less than one year since line costs can be saved drastically. Call center pay a small fee for installation, a fee per saved waiting minute and an annual license fee. The service is free of charge for all callers.

„This service of virtual waiting is the first of its kind worldwide“, stated the industry expert Ralf Mühlenhöver a few months ago. The jury of the popular IKT Innovation award is also convinced of the idea and awarded a prize to virtualQ®. With the seed investment from HTGF, virtualQ® will develop the product further, scale their team and realize the international market entry.

Dr. Tanja Emmerling, Investment Manager of HTGF, says: “Companies using the virtualQ service can improve their customer service and cut costs at the same time. Several references prove that the team meets an urgent need with their solution.”

About virtualQ GmbH
virtualQ® was founded by three entrepreneurs in November 2014. Since then the company works on digitizing waiting on hold. virtualQ® is located in Berlin and Stuttgart.

Contact:
virtualQ GmbH
Jens Kühnapfel
Papellallee 78/79
10437 Berlin
+49 17672586742
jens@virtualq.io
www.virtualq.io

About High-Tech Gründerfonds
High-Tech Gruenderfonds invests in young, high potential high-tech start-ups. The seed financing provided is designed to enable start-ups to take an idea through prototyping and to market launch. Typically, High-Tech Gruenderfonds invests EUR 500,000 in the seed stage, with the potential for up to a total of EUR 2 million per portfolio company in follow-on financing. Investors in this public/private partnership include the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy, the KfW Banking Group, as well as strategic corporate investors including ALTANA, BASF, Bayer, B. Braun, Robert Bosch, CEWE, Daimler, Deutsche Post DHL, Deutsche Telekom, Evonik, Lanxess, media + more venture Beteiligungs GmbH & Co. KG, METRO, Qiagen, RWE Innogy, SAP, Tengelmann and Carl Zeiss. High-Tech Gruenderfonds has about EUR 576 million under management in two funds (EUR 272 million HTGF I, EUR 304 million HTGF II).

Contact:
High-Tech Gründerfonds Management GmbH
Dr. Tanja Emmerling Phone:
+49 228 82300-100
t.emmerling@htgf.de
www.high-tech-gruenderfonds.de