HR Tech Startup Become.1 Secures €3.3 Million in Seed Funding to Make Employee Benefits Simple, Flexible, and Compliant

September 9, 2024

The HR tech startup become.1 has secured a total of €3.3 million in seed funding to further expand its all-in-one platform for employee benefits. Fresh equity comes from lead investor D11Z.Ventures, Haufe Group Ventures, the Start-up BW Innovation Fund managed by MBG Baden-Württemberg, the High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), as well as prominent business angels, including Matthias Allmendinger (Taxdoo), Sebastian Koch (formerly KPMG), and Maru Winnacker (Urania Ventures). HTGF and other business angels were already involved in the pre-seed round in 2022, which included investors such as Thomas Otter (Acadian Ventures) and Michal Jarocki (formerly Commerzbank). Now, with Haufe Group Ventures, the startup gains an additional strategic partner that leverages decades of experience from Haufe Group SE in the corporate service sector and a broad network in midsize companies. The seed round is aimed at expanding the product portfolio and further internationalization—enabling companies to more effectively retain their employees across Europe with become.1’s suitable benefits.

become.1 ensures that employee benefits are effectively utilized

In times of increasing skills shortages, it is becoming more and more important for companies to retain employees and attract new talents. Although employee benefits are supposed to help with this, they often miss the mark: Less than half of the employees in Germany regularly use the offered benefits. One main reason is that the benefits are often not sufficiently tailored to the individual needs of the employees. To meet these needs, companies must offer and manage different benefits—but this comes with significant bureaucratic effort and complex tax and social security regulations.

This is exactly where become.1 comes in: “With our digital all-in-one platform for employee benefits, which offers minimal effort for employers and maximum flexibility for employees, we help companies strengthen their position with employees and talents,” says Friedrich Villhauer, Co-CEO of become.1. “We ensure that employee benefits become double benefits – for employers and their employees. Even today, increased usage rates of our offerings of up to over 90 percent show that become.1 can make a real contribution to employee retention,” adds David Wambsganss, Co-CEO of Become.1.

“The platform of become.1 sets new standards in managing employee benefits. Through its flexible solution, the effort for employers and employees is reduced to a minimum. The combination of user-friendliness and 100 percent tax compliance convinced us as an investor,” says Jan Ludwig, Investment Manager of lead investor D11Z.Ventures.

“The world of work is changing – and employee retention is more important than ever. Therefore, appropriate benefits are a must-have and no longer just a nice-to-have. To effectively address the needs of their employees, companies need benefits that are more flexible and easier to manage. We are convinced that become.1 offers the right solution for this and look forward to supporting the team as an investor and strategic partner with our expertise in the corporate service sector,” says Jasper Roll, Managing Director of investor Haufe Group Ventures.

“become.1, with its intelligent software, offers the right solution for retaining and attracting employees, which is more important than ever in a constantly changing work environment. At the same time, become.1 convinces with its ease of use for employers. We are confident that become.1 will become one of the key players in the market,” says Andreas Stadie, Investment Manager at Start-up BW Innovation Fund.

Daniela Bach, Principal at HTGF, adds: “Since our pre-seed investment, we have been impressed by how the founding team asserts itself in a competitive market and continues to expand the platform in a highly customer-centric and capital-efficient manner. We are delighted to support them with additional capital in their growth.”

The vision: become.1 retains employees through more flexible benefits – simple, compliant, and step-by-step across Europe

Since its founding in 2019, become.1 has successfully established itself as an all-in-one software for employee benefits in Germany. The startup has already convinced several hundred clients, including well-known companies such as Hypoport, Stadler Rail, Knuspr, Diconium, and Eurofins Genomics. The demand for a solution like become.1 is high, as the requirements for employee benefits are increasing: Employees expect the offering to be not only diverse but also easily accessible and adaptable to their personal life situations. With a monthly budget provided by their employer, they can independently decide how to use their employee benefits through become.1 – whether for the monthly public transport pass, lunch, sports courses, private internet costs, or childcare fees.

Companies choose from the digital all-in-one software which benefits to offer their employees. These can be easily, compliantly, and securely managed and seamlessly integrated into existing HRM (Human Resource Management) and payroll systems. This minimizes administrative processes while providing more flexibility for both companies and employees. The platform is aimed at German companies but also offers solutions for their employees in other European countries, including Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Spain, the UK, and Luxembourg.

The Heidelberg-based startup become.1 was founded in 2019 by Co-CEOs Friedrich Villhauer and David Wambsganss. Villhauer has extensive experience in tax consulting, which he gained at PwC and EY among others. Wambsganss brings extensive expertise in software sales and marketing, which he gained at Salesforce and SAP. Following a pivot in 2022, the two have pursued the vision with become.1 to offer an all-in-one software for employee benefits that provides minimal administrative effort for employers and maximum flexibility for employees, making employee benefits more accessible and effectively usable. The leadership team is completed by CPO Falko Zühlke (formerly SEAT), CTO Daniel Eberl (formerly TeamViewer), and Lead Architect Andreas Riemer (formerly Deutsche Bahn).

About become.1
Become.1 was founded in 2019 in Heidelberg. Led by co-founders and CEOs Friedrich Villhauer and David Wambsganss, the HR tech startup aims to provide minimal administrative effort for employers and maximum flexibility for employees with its all-in-one software for employee benefits, making employee benefits more accessible and effectively usable. become.1 currently has nearly 30 employees and already won several hundred SMEs and startups as customers, including Hypoport, Stadler Rail, Knuspr, Diconium, and Eurofins Genomics.
For more information, visit: www.become1.de

About D11Z. Ventures
D11Z. Ventures is a dynamic early-stage investor specializing in digital and AI startups in Germany and Europe. As a single-family office VC, D11Z. Ventures pursues the vision of shaping the digital future as a leading European investor in the fields of AI, IoT, and SaaS.With experience, expertise, and agility, D11Z. Ventures promotes digital transformation and has valuable connections to tech SMEs and global market leaders. The focus is on seeking founders with visionary ideas to sustainably shape the digital future. True to the motto”Shaping Tomorrow, Today,” D11Z. Ventures brings visionary ideas to life today.

About Haufe Group Ventures
Haufe Group Ventures shapes the future of the working world by investing in new business models for corporate services in the DACH region and developing its own products. Under the management of Jasper Roll, the company operates both as a venture studio, where innovative products are created, and as a venture capital investor, providing early-stage B2B SaaS startups with capital and strategic value. As a subsidiary of Haufe Group SE based in Freiburg, Haufe Group Ventures draws on decades of entrepreneurial experience and a strong network.

About MBG Baden-Württemberg
MBG Mittelständische Beteiligungsgesellschaft Baden-Württemberg GmbH is one of the large equity capital providers in Germany. It invests in the public interest and is a partner to the SME sector. Currently, it provides around 660 small and medium-sized enterprises in Baden-Württemberg with over €209 million in equity capital. MBG supports growth and innovation projects, business successions, and start-ups primarily with mezzanine capital in the form of silent partnerships. As a fund manager, it manages several venture capital funds for institutional investors such as banks, insurance companies, foundations, and the public sector, like the Start-up BW Innovation Fund active here. The deep network of MBG in the economy, through its shareholder circle of chambers, associations, and the credit industry, serves as the launch platform for portfolio companies to achieve faster growth.

About HTGF – High-Tech Gründerfonds
HTGF is one of the leading and most active early-stage investors in Germany and Europe, financing start-ups in the fields of Deep Tech, Industrial Tech, Climate Tech, Digital Tech, Life Sciences and Chemistry. With its experienced investment team, HTGF supports start-ups in all phases of their development into international market leaders. HTGF invests in pre-seed and seed phases and can participate significantly in later-stage financing rounds. Across its funds, HTGF has over 2 billion euros under management. Since its inception in 2005, HTGF has financed more than 750 start-ups and successfully sold shares in more than 180 companies.
Fund investors in the public-private partnership include the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Action, KfW Capital and 45 companies.
For more information, please visit HTGF.de or follow us on LinkedIn. 

Media contact
High-Tech Gründerfonds Management GmbH  
Tobias Jacob, Senior Marketing & Communications Manager   
T.: +49 228 – 82300 – 121 
t.jacob@htgf.de