2 years of CODE_n SPACES: CODE2ORDER takes a look back with us

2015 marks a key milestone for CODE_n: In December, the Innovation Campus CODE_n SPACES opened its doors with the vision of establishing a meeting place for people who want to change the status quo and create new things. Now it brings together more than half a dozen startups driving innovations in sectors like health tech, AI and robotics, big data or Industry 4.0, as well as corporate innovation teams such as the Daimler Incubator Lab1886. The residents are the heart of SPACES and make the Stuttgart location what it is today. We spoke with a team that was one of the first residents to move in with us. Patrick Luik, co-founder and CEO of the CODE2ORDER software startup takes a look back with us at our time together.

Lisa: Hi Patty, 2 years at CODE_n SPACES and you’ve been here since the start! Tell us a bit about your first memories of starting out at SPACES.

Patrick: Moving in in December 2015 was an extremely important step for us. Getting out of my grandparent’s basement and into a very modern environment with everything we needed as a startup at that time. It was also a very motivating moment for me personally. When we moved in, I left my job and came here full time. It was a huge feeling that I won’t forget in a hurry.

Lisa: How has SPACES changed over the last two years and how did you grow with it?

Patrick: SPACES has of course grown in terms of space (another building was added), but also in terms of character. Specifically, more startups, established companies and top managers with wildly varying backgrounds, experiences and ideas have now moved in. This is great for us when discussing the issues we’re currently working on. The expansion of SPACES came in very handy for us. We needed more room, which we were able to get by moving into the neighboring building – having Sales and IT in one office is rarely a good idea. 😉

Almost the entire core team together: At a spontaneous shoot in SPACES in the lounge corner (Fabian Hieber, Christine Schütt, Benjamin Müller and Patrick Luik)

Lisa: What point isCODE2ORDERat currently?

Patrick: We are growing in every respect. Be it that our team is getting larger or that we are gaining more and more hotels. But the continuous improvement of our solution goes hand in hand with that. You could say that we have arrived on the market and we are not twiddling our thumbs.

Lisa: Are there any highlights or anecdotes from the past 2 years that you want to share with us?

Patrick: We really have experienced a lot in those 2 years. At the start, there was the Christmas party with GFT and CODE_n. After the Christmas party, everyone then got together in our 20 sqm office. We turned it into a kind of Christmas market complete with mulled wine stall and also a basketball court. Unfortunately, the basketball hoop is no longer there. 😉

Another highlight was the visit by Christian Lindner. Once we’d finished our discussions with him, we and CODE_n put on another event.

Lisa: What is your favorite place in SPACES? Where do you love to hang out?

Patrick: It really depends what we’re focusing on at the time. If I want to be creative and am working on new ideas, I prefer to be in one of the workshop rooms where you can write on the walls. This often turns unstructured thoughts into usable and useful solutions.

The kitchen is always suitable for a brief discussion with other residents. In the summer, you can often find us outside in the courtyard of SW34. Who wants to sit in the office when the weather is so good?

I have to confess, though, you won’t find us playing foosball now as much as we used to. 😉

Always a good atmosphere in the CODE2ORDER office: Patrick and his now 11-strong team’s good mood is often infectious

Lisa: What’s next – what are your immediate plans?

Patrick: There’s a lot going on for us in 2018. We want to at least quadruple our customer numbers, bring more solutions to market and install a highly skilled advisor. More on that soon.

Lisa: Thank you Patty! We are looking forward to seeing CODE2ORDER evolve live 🙂

We’d also like to thank all the residents: You are an inspiration and we have your creativity to thank for CODE_n SPACES being able to constantly develop and pave the way for innovation!