Virtualbadge.io: Certificates with a Future

March 2020. Four ambitious students sit in a notary’s office in Mannheim, signing the paperwork to officially launch their first company. That evening, they celebrate the milestone at a bar, toasting to the future of their start-up. The next day: lockdown. The COVID-19 pandemic brings life in Germany to a halt. “Looking back, it’s incredible how many things didn’t go as planned for us in 2020—but at the time, we didn’t really dwell on it,” says Malte Zander. Laughing, he adds, “We had no real experience in business, but we had plenty of motivation.”

Together with three friends, the 28-year-old founded the start-up FutureNext GmbH five years ago while completing his bachelor’s degree at the University of Mannheim. Initially, it was a digital agency offering online marketing services. “For us, the priority was building a company together. The product itself was secondary at first,” Zander explains. Together with his co-founders Giovanna Pergher, Kenny Strubel, and Daniel Szymkowiak, he took on various projects through the agency—including organizing a photoshoot for a company’s 50th anniversary. “That was definitely a chaotic time,” he admits.

But for all its challenges, the pandemic also turned out to be a source of inspiration. A little while later, while working on a client project, the four young entrepreneurs supported the Europe-wide #EUvsVirus hackathon, an initiative led by the European Commission to develop technological, political, and social solutions to the COVID crisis. “After the event, we had the idea to issue digital participation badges for attendees across Europe,” Zander recalls. “The badges were a hit and got widely shared online. Soon, sponsors reached out, expressing interest in similar certificates. That’s when we knew: this was it—and Virtualbadge.io was born.”

The road to the first customer

In the summer of 2020, the founders began developing the software for Virtualbadge.io. “At first, we focused only on event participation certificates, like we did for the hackathon,” Zander explains. Meanwhile, they continued offering marketing and development services to generate revenue. It took nearly two years to refine the software into a market-ready product and land their first paying customers. “I still remember the moment we got our first customer inquiry. We were sitting in my kitchen when the message popped up on my phone. We all jumped up and started dancing around the apartment,” he says with a smile.

Fast forward to today, and the start-up’s early struggles feel like a distant memory. Now operating as a division of FutureNext GmbH, Virtualbadge.io provides companies and educational institutions with a platform to create, manage, and distribute digital certificates, credentials, and badges. Each certificate comes with a QR code for easy verification. “When a traditional paper certificate is scanned and saved as a PDF, it’s not the same as the original and is prone to forgery. That’s why many employers require notarized copies in job applications, for example” the start-up’s CEO explains. “Our platform meets all the security standards necessary for digital certification.”

Depending on their needs, customers can either create and send certificates independently using the online tool or work with the Virtualbadge.io team to develop customized solutions. The start-up now serves over 1,000 clients, including TÜV Academy, SRH, Deutsche Weiterbildungsgesellschaft, and major corporations like Siemens. Recently, the University of Mannheim also joined the list. “Seeing my alma mater issue its first master’s degree certificates through our platform was a huge highlight for me,” says Zander.

Zander still feels closely connected to his university. The MAFINEX technology center, where Virtualbadge.io’s offices are located, is just about a kilometer from the Mannheim Palace. On the third floor of the building, the start-up’s 20-member team is spread across multiple offices, working at large desks. Next to them is a meeting room—“and our storage closet, which we affectionately call ‘the archive,’” Zander says with a laugh. “Unlike many start-ups, we don’t work remotely much. We enjoy spending time together in the office.”

An enormous market

As an undergraduate at the University of Mannheim, Zander studied business administration from 2016 to 2020. He also took two courses at the Mannheim Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (MCEI) and wrote his bachelor’s thesis in collaboration with the center. “But beyond that, being a university student itself has helped me tremendously—I learned how to approach problems in a structured way and manage my everyday life. That’s incredibly useful when starting a business.”

Zander is optimistic about the future of his industry. “In a few years, paper certificates and diplomas will be obsolete. They’re simply less secure, more expensive, and require more effort to send by mail compared to their digital counterparts.” According to the founder, the market for digital certification is “enormous”—after all, there’s a certificate for almost everything these days. “Think about this table,” he says, pointing to his desk. “Not only was it manufactured using a certified process, but the quality of the wood itself also had to be certified.”

What about competition? “Sure,” Zander says with a grin, “but competition is what keeps a market alive.” He acknowledges that no single company could handle the sheer number and variety of certifications issued worldwide. “There are some well-established competitors in the U.S. that have been around longer than us. But here in Germany, Virtualbadge.io is currently the market leader—and we plan to keep it that way.”

Text: Jessica Scholich / April 2025