From Problem to Solution: How PLANFRED Was Created

Some ideas start in the office. This one started with fish and cold drinks on a beach in Sri Lanka.

It was more than 15 years ago, when three friends were on holiday together. Hannes, Bernd and Maximilian had known each other since school. All three were already self-employed: Hannes as a master builder with his own architecture office, Bernd and Maximilian with a joint advertising agency.

That evening, just after sunset, Hannes talked about his day-to-day work in the construction industry. The problem was always the same: outdated plan versions were circulating on site, nobody knew which version was currently valid, and it cost time and nerves. That conversation sparked an idea: a simple, browser-based plan server that documents uploads and downloads. Straightforward, clear, without unnecessary extras. Something that did not exist at the time.

From Idea to Prototype

Back in Austria, the trio immediately started developing the concept. Hannes contributed the industry knowledge, while Bernd and Maximilian covered software development and UI/UX design. The idea began to take shape. Next, they asked someone who dealt with this problem every day: Martina, then a project manager in architectural planning. She was convinced right away.

Long days in the office followed. Many ideas, many discussions, and one clear principle: the tool had to be easy to use, without unnecessary features that confuse rather than help. Everyone worked on the project with great enthusiasm. In the end, they had a finished prototype.

The Name

Now the project needed a name. It had to be easy to understand, with no spelling out and no explanation required. And it should feel personal, like a colleague helping with plan management. Since the project was about plans, and colleagues usually have names, it eventually became PLANFRED.

The First Years

Building a product is one thing. Establishing it in the market is another. The team financed and developed PLANFRED almost entirely on their own, alongside full-time jobs and during a phase of life in which all four also had a lot going on privately. At the time, they were in their mid to late thirties, including starting families. It took persistence. The first users, free test users from the construction industry, responded positively. Plans were documented in a legally reliable way, follow-up questions were reduced, and the tool was easy to use. “That was an incredible feeling,” co-founder Hannes recalls. “We could hardly believe that our software was being used professionally in the industry and that plans were being exchanged through it in real construction projects.” Through contacts with public institutions, such as BOKU University Vienna, PLANFRED quickly found its way into those environments as well. The feedback could be summed up in two words: “Great tool.”

Growth with Substance

In 2013, three years after that evening in Sri Lanka, PLANFRED presented its product at “Stadtgespräch WienWin” in Aspern and received strong feedback. Shortly afterwards, funding from the Vienna innovation agency ZIT followed, providing the necessary support for marketing and further development.

Soon after, Martina left her job and joined PLANFRED full-time. She acquired the first customers. It took a full five years to pass the milestone of 100 customers. A major achievement. Since then, growth has accelerated significantly. Today, PLANFRED has almost 300,000 users.

What Has Remained

Hannes, Bernd, Martina and Maximilian have invested a great deal of time, energy and conviction in PLANFRED. What drove them from the beginning was the wish to create something of their own that makes work easier for others. That vision is still tangible today. When you talk to the four of them about PLANFRED, their passion is immediately visible: their eyes light up, their hands start to move.

The plan management problem on construction sites was real. They solved it. More than 15 years ago.