Founder of the month: StraightUp
21.05.2025
Emma Schmitt
Founder of the month
Smart posture against back pain. Back pain is one of the most common ailments, especially among people who sit a lot. This is exactly where the KIT startup StraightUp comes in: With an intelligent wearable, the founders want to create a new awareness of healthy posture – going far beyond conventional posture belts.
The smart posture trainer is worn directly on the body and uses gentle vibrations to remind the wearer to improve their posture – individually tailored to their health and activity level. The system is controlled via an app, which also offers evaluations, training aids, and personalized recommendations.
Interview with StraightUp
StraightUp is founded by three KIT graduates, Jan Bartenbach, Erik Vautrin, and Marcus Hamann-Schroer, as well as Tobias Baierle, an experienced physiotherapist. Together, they combine expertise in technology, AI, and health sciences
We spoke with the founding team of StraightUp—you can find the entire conversation with even more insights on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
What does your company stand for?
Our big goal is to make back pain a thing of the past. To achieve this, we place great importance on a positive user experience. Back health should be seamlessly and playfully integrated into everyday life – it should be fun, not disruptive.
Where and how did you come up with the brilliant idea to start the company?
The original idea came from Tobias, who has been working in physiotherapy for many years and deals with people suffering from back pain on a daily basis. From his medical perspective, he quickly realized that there was no sustainable solution for back pain and posture problems on the market. We were also familiar with the problem: after long days at a desk, especially during exam periods, you really feel your back – even when you’re young. When Tobias approached us with his idea, we knew immediately that we could make a difference together.
How did the founding team come together?
Jan, Marcus, and Erik already knew each other from college. We took the “Microsystems Product Development for Young Entrepreneurs” module at IMT together. Not only did we develop a product and a business plan there, but we also grew close as a team. We knew we wanted to start a business together. A friend finally put us in touch with Tobias, and it quickly became clear that we were a perfect fit.
What is your big vision?
Our big vision is to make StraightUp accessible to as many people as possible. We want to help more people take an active interest in their back health and motivate them to lead healthier and more active lifestyles.
What are your next major milestones in the coming 12 months?
In the next 12 months, we want to ensure that our wearable is ready for production, further improve our posture detection algorithms, conduct initial customer tests, and finally launch a successful crowdfunding campaign.
In your opinion, what qualities should a founder have?
Team spirit, the willingness to learn new things, and the courage to step out of your comfort zone.
Do you have any practical tips for other young entrepreneurs?
Our tip: Build a strong network early on, take advantage of various accelerator programs, network with start-up initiatives, and talk to as many people as possible about your idea. Feedback from different perspectives is incredibly valuable.
Looking back, what would you do differently?
Of course, we’ve made mistakes and learned from them—that’s just part of the process. It’s a process that has made us stronger as a team. Overall, however, we wouldn’t do anything fundamentally different.
