Meet the CEO revolutionizing logistics communication

Founded in April 2022, Heylog has been on a journey of rapid development, securing a €3 million investment and signing its first customers within six months. In this blog post, we talk to Bernhard Hauser, the man in charge, and find out what made it all possible.

How Heylog is revolutionizing the world of logistics

Heylog was born out of an idea for a communication service for modern logistics from KUBIKx, the venture builder of Schmitz Cargobull Group, Europe’s leading manufacturer of semi-trailers, trailers, and truck bodies. The SaaS tool helps dispatchers save time and effort by integrating messaging services like WhatsApp, Meta Messenger, and Viber on one platform and combining them with additional features, especially for dispatching. Put simply, Heylog makes everyday messaging apps fit for logistics and helps dispatchers to stay in touch with their drivers on the channels they like most.

Introducing Heylog’s CEO Bernhard Hauser, business messaging expert and serial entrepreneur

After being spun off, the corporate venture needed a CEO, and Bernhard was a natural choice, having founded a business messaging startup himself in 2015. Bernhard reflects, “Although we were too early in the market at the time, I fell in love with business messaging and how it can improve communication overall.” In 2018, he went on to work at Meta, where he once again specialized in business messaging, collaborating with the WhatsApp team on improving their business access. While there, he also launched an accelerator for growth-stage startups in Berlin. Prior to joining Heylog, Bernhard was helping companies become better at product management and business development, something that is still a large part of his role as CEO today.

Bernhard has been busy in recent months taking Heylog to industry events. During a panel discussion at the World of Freight Expo in October, Bernhard highlighted Heylog’s unique approach to improving logistics communication – rather than forcing new technology on the industry, Heylog works with and optimizes technology that is already widespread in the sector. For example, BYOD (bring your own device) is a commonly accepted practice that is, on the one hand, convenient but, on the other, creates challenges such as GDPR compliance. By integrating into existing apps like Whatsapp, Heylog enables dispatchers and drivers to communicate on the channels they like the most while making them fit for logistics.

Since joining, Bernhard has launched the venture, hired key employees, and onboarded the first paying customers to the platform - his proudest achievement to date – all within an impressive six months. When asked about the secret to this success, he replied, “With strong partners on board from day one, I could make faster progress and avoid the mistakes I made at my first company.”

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What it means to work with a corporate venture builder

Bernhard collaborates closely with KUBIKx and the founding shareholders, Schmitz Cargobull Group, Ninepointfive, and WhatAVenture. With corporate power, venture capital expertise, and a hands-on venture building mentality, Heylog has all the relevant experience it needs to grow into a sustainable business. As Bernhard put it, “Having the expertise from partners already available from the very start has helped guide the company in the right direction.” After a validation period led by WhatAVenture, the founding team was able to pivot into the current business model and propose an investable pitch deck to the founding partners in just eight weeks, securing €3 million investment in the process. Bernhard continues, “Even before Heylog was born, WhatAVenture helped everyone involved to find the right direction for this new venture. Now, especially the early sales and ongoing marketing activities led by WhatAVenture help us significantly when it comes to bringing the company forward.”

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So, what is in Heylog’s future?

For now, Bernhard is focused on constantly improving the product and finding the right talent to build the venture further. The ultimate goal is to radically enhance driver communication and processes within the logistics industry. An industry that Bernhard comments is under “immense pressure from many different sides”.

And what advice does Bernhard have for those looking to start their own venture? “Pick the right partners, choose a setup that suits you personally and bring the right people on board - both employees and advisors.”

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