Founder of the month: adjusted flow
07.07.2025
Emma Schmitt
Founder of the month
Want to buy electricity when it's cheap? With adjusted flow, you can! The software for digital order planning and control of supply engineering increases efficiency, flexibility, and competitiveness in manufacturing. In addition, adjusted flow's AI-based optimization software enables energy costs to be reduced by planning energy consumption in production so that processes that require a lot of energy take place when electricity prices are low.
adjusted flow in an interview with KIT-Gründerschmiede
The founders of adjusted flow, Jonas Wilz and Jonathan Engelhard, studied industrial engineering at KIT. The two have been on the road with us a lot, most recently at the KIT Innovators Homecoming and HANNOVER MESSE.
We spoke with them about what they have learned and their idea – you can find the entire conversation with even more insights on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. It’s worth a listen!
What does your company stand for?
We want to shape a sustainable future, which is why we are developing the EOIS software platform that enables industrial customers to optimize their energy consumption and thus save costs.
Where and how did you come up with the idea to start the company?
There was never one brilliant idea, but rather the software platform was developed from our experiences during our studies, from Jonas’ work as an industrial energy consultant, and from our discussions with companies.
How did the founding team come together?
Jonas wanted to start his own business in the field of industrial energy optimization after completing his master’s degree. After asking around among friends and acquaintances, Jonathan was immediately on board. The two know each other from their dorm.
What is your big vision?
To found a profitable software company that saves energy costs through intelligent software and advances the energy transition.
Where do you see significant hurdles in the start-up process?
Basically, there are no deal-breaker hurdles. The start-up capital for the limited liability company (GmbH) has to be raised first, and there is a lot of bureaucracy and paperwork, which means that everything could go a little faster.
We sought support from the KIT Start-up Center and various accelerators (CyberForum, arise, AXEL), through which we also received mentors for assistance. And, of course, we also have support from friends, family, and acquaintances.
What were the biggest challenges during your start-up phase?
Finding the right people with the right motivation and skills is not that easy, and securing financing is also quite a challenge.
How did you solve the problem of (follow-up) financing?
We are currently financed by the EXIST start-up grant and are looking for an investor for the BW Pre-Seed Program.
What are your next big milestones in the next 12 months?
Securing investment and BW Pre-Seed funding and releasing the first version of the software.
In your opinion, what qualities should a founder have?
Enjoy their work and be able to deal with setbacks. Our tip: Just do it!
What would you do differently from today’s perspective?
If we knew that… Maybe we’ll be able to answer that in five years.
