An AI-driven digital advisor — Panos.AI
The story behind Panos.AI is one of constant belief in creating a solution which would benefit many businesses globally. Statistics show that while about 80% of businesses already automate their processes, up to 70% of these projects fail.
No matter how long it took, Founder Frank Spangenberg knew his original idea would help automate business processes successfully. He just needed the right opportunity and team to build the business. He was to realize this goal by joining the Applied Data Hackathon, meeting other interested “hackers” and then working together to achieve success. On placing highly in the hackathon leaderboard, they won entry into the Applied Data Incubator in Berlin. With fellow hackathon participant Daniel Pavlicek joining the team alongside Mohammad Mohammadkhani, the data-driven entrepreneurs are making Frank’s dream of a digital advisor a reality.
Frank’s belief in the power of data-driven, self-learning algorithms started to form in what would become Panos.AI last year. Without a team in 2021, he would apply for pitches and accelerator programs supported by his girlfriend. He was successful with some and less so with others, but it was these experiences that helped propel his notion that he could truly create an effective business. Frank shares what this was like, “During these experiences I had the opportunity to attend workshops on topics such as completing a business model canvas or practicing and preparing for pitches. This helped prepare me for building a startup. However, it still was only really me.” In 2022 Frank was to discover another type of program that could propel his solution forward, and the opportunity came via the exciting route of a hackathon.
Frank had seen the Applied Data Hackathon promoted with its top prize of entry into the Applied Data Incubator in Berlin around February 2022. He was intrigued by the opportunity to join the six-month program for early-stage startups that provides expert coaching, mentoring from a dedicated data community, scholarship funding and access to The Drivery, the coworking space in Berlin. Frank describes the hackathon experience, “It was a very exciting week collaborating online over continents, having intense brainstorming sessions and workshops — a lot of new information to process. We did have other members in our hackathon team but they dropped out before we reached the final stages. This meant we pulled an all-nighter to finish our pitch in time, successfully!”
Each team that gets to enter the Applied Data Incubator can bring in other eligible scholars so Frank got to work on finding other data-driven entrepreneurs. “I reached out in Berlin Facebook groups and to professionals from Ukraine and Russia looking for a change. There was also lots of interest which included Mohammad (Mo). After holding a job interview we knew Mo was right and at the same time Daniel, who took part in the hackathon in another team, joined us. Our team was set to enter the incubator, we just needed a place to live.”
Berlin’s accommodation situation has become notorious. From stories of sublime luck to others who share their woes, it’s no secret that the city has some issues when it comes to places to live. This may help explain why the majority of team Panos.AI spent 14 days in a 10-bedroom hostel. In the end they were successful and the team shared how they drove through Berlin for two days to furnish their apartment. Mostly for free due to the various online sharing communities the city offers — a somewhat glistening diamond in the difficult world of apartment hunting. With their places and accommodation set, it was time for Panos.AI to grow.
Panos.AI — “The world’s first digital advisor”
Panos.AI has a lofty ambition. They want their solution to immediately help companies by allowing decision makers and employees to automate business processes successfully. They plan to do this by providing an integrated artificial intelligence that already knows processes and solutions.
Frank explains this in more detail, “We are the place for companies who need guidance on where to start, where to set up their strategy, how to actually automate business processes and what kind of solutions and partners they should use. So it’s about picking the right place to start and completing the steps to reach monitored success.” Daniel adds, “To achieve this we start with processing public available data. With this we can provide immediate access to insights and success. We are breaking the current status quo with analysis and insights for decision making. The scope is really open for where this can go because the AI completes the work.”
The vision of Panos.AI is to bring together approaches which have not yet been combined in this area and to automate the automation. “Until now most people use traditional methods to implement changes, such as extensive workshops with paper and Excel files.” Frank says, before concluding, “Our solution instead achieves automation by using already available data that’s specific for the company and so is not generalized. By combining this with natural language processing we can apply it to any company in any industry in the world.”
The team shares an example to help visualize their solution. “If I download an app to complete my tax returns, I don’t need knowledge on taxes because the app is guiding me with recommendations. The purpose of success is to get back as much tax I’ve already paid as possible. Or if we look at the marketplace principle and price comparison models. Users go into a portal, enter their preferences and then receive a list of the best matched providers for say energy or for a mobile phone contract. We apply the same principles for Panos.AI. We guide and provide the best tools, solutions, partners and products that are available for a specific need.”
Applied Data Incubator
The team joined the Applied Data Incubator in Berlin as part of the first ever cohort in April 2022. They are all open about having to make changes in their lives to make it happen, but believe the opportunity to work together and build Panos.AI is worth it. Frank explains more, “It’s an interesting opportunity but also a challenge. We can grow and improve and that’s important.” Mo adds to this, “It’s been a positive experience so far. There is nothing like this available in this field, in regards to the funding and support of the creation of a data-driven company. When we tell friends in other countries about the incubator, they are surprised to hear that no shares are taken. This is one of the first programs of its kind and very specific to our topic, so it fits like a glove.”
The Panos.AI Team
Mo was freelancing as a data scientist when Panos.AI was attending the hackathon. It was with a little bit of luck that he found the opportunity to join them afterwards. “My girlfriend was the one who saw a post by Frank on Facebook. I really liked the idea behind the startup and as someone who always wants to build and achieve something, wanted to join.” Mo has always been a computer scientist and shares that when he moved to Germany to study data science in 2015, there were only 4 universities that offered courses. “This has changed now, which is great to see. At Panos.AI I mostly apply my knowledge with transformers which my master thesis was focused on. However as a startup we’re a team and therefore we must do everything. So depending on what’s needed, I’m a data engineer, an analyst, a scientist. You can’t define an exact job description in an early-stage startup!”
This desire to do whatever is needed runs through the team at Panos.AI. Frank’s background is as a product/project manager and consultant for business process automation. “I have always worked with a focus on automation. This has included applying it within products or consulting companies on how to start, run and scale automation initiatives. It’s where the idea of Panos.AI began because I saw the need to apply process automation more strategically with a focus on people, culture, sustainability and success.”
Daniel’s background is as a data scientist related to machine learning and engineering. “I worked in computer vision and traffic forecasting but believe future wise the area we are working in is very applicable. Ultimately one of my goals is to reskill myself a little bit and I have a vision to be able to work in every aspect of a startup.”
Combined the team brings together a shared passion and a belief in achieving success by applying their data-driven knowledge. As a final insight, Frank answers why the name Panos.AI. “I have spent time in Greece and naturally you come across Greek mythology. I looked through some of the gods or god-like people and discovered the short version of the male name Panagiotis. The far-fetched meaning behind it is an all knowing partner who guides you, so I took this as the inspiration!” It’s a fitting name for a digital advisor that helps companies automate their digital processes successfully. Now Panos.AI is using their experience and insights so companies in the future can start automating successfully.
