Startups with a system: when technology solves real problems

Source: JKU Career News October 2025

From deceptively real AI fakes to high gym churn rates - two start-ups from Upper Austria are showing how to tackle pressing challenges with a clear vision and smart tools. LAYONARDO is developing software to detect deepfakes in real time, while IMARA Connect is setting new standards in the fitness market with data-driven member retention. Supported by the tech2b program, ideas grow into scalable solutions with impact.

LAYONARDO - Can we still believe what we see?

In a world in which reality and fiction are becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish, the Upper Austrian start-up LAYONARDO is dedicated to one of the most pressing problems of our time - deepfakes.

This deceptively real content created by generative AI raises fundamental questions - one in particular: What can we still believe?

LAYONARDO specializes in the development of a disruptive technology for detecting AI-generated deepfakes. "Our mission is to bring trust back to the digital world," says CEO and co-founder Oliver Hepp. The software analyzes image content in real time and checks it for traces of synthetic manipulation and artificial intelligence.

LAYONARDO is therefore not only facing a technical challenge, but also an ethical one. "The question is not only how we recognize deepfakes," says Hepp, "but also how we as a society deal with the new uncertainty."

The company is looking for the answer to this in a mix of technology, education and international exchange. Because in times of digital deception, one thing is clear: the truth needs allies. LAYONARDO and tech2b are partners in building the foundations for a trustworthy visual future.

Photorealistic deepfakes can now be generated en masse and cost-effectively at the touch of a button. Our cooperation lays the foundation for the scalable and automated verification of visual truth.

Wherever image material has financial, legal or ethical consequences, there is an acute need for reliable verification.

LAYONARDO builds the virus scan for deepfakes.

CEO and co-founder Oliver Hepp in conversation:

How did the tech2b program support you in particular?

tech2b is an excellent partner that supports us with know-how, experience, financing opportunities and a valuable network. Especially in the early phase, the program helped us to hone our business model, establish initial contacts with potential partners and obtain targeted feedback.

What message would you like to pass on to people interested in founding a company?

While our technology verifies images, tech2b checks ideas for potential and accompanies them on the way to implementation. We therefore advise all those interested in founding a company to consider tech2b as their first port of call and to develop their vision further together with tech2b.

IMARA Connect - Customer loyalty on autopilot

Gyms in Europe lose over 50% of their members every year - and usually realize it too late. This is exactly where IMARA Connect comes in: it is the first customer retention software specifically for fitness studios. The system recognizes when members are at risk of dropping out. It communicates automatically, activates via gamification and measurably increases customer loyalty. Signing up is easy, staying on is the real challenge.

The product is not an administration tool, but a customer engagement software: push messages in the event of inactivity, check-ins with a points system, rewards, reactivation campaigns and feedback functions. Studios save time through automated communication at every step of the customer journey, create loyal members - and reduce the most expensive KPI in business: customer churn.

Members can intuitively create real connections in the studio and work out together with people in their studio, all in the member app.

Behind the start-up is an interdisciplinary team of founders led by CEO Mukassa Fozing with a strong background in the fitness industry, tech, design and product development. IMARA Connect has been running in six studios in Austria since May 2025 - with over 1,700 app check-ins and over 270,000 points collected in the first 8 weeks alone.

What began as an idea is currently developing into an effective SaaS system for sustainable member retention - with a clear goal: to redefine the digital fitness world - from administration to genuine customer relationships.

CEO Mukassa Fozing in conversation:

How did the tech2b program support you in particular? 

With tech2b, we had the right people at our side in the initial phase to gain new perspectives, absorb the experience of others and make important decisions. The network is huge, and so are the opportunities to gain knowledge.

What message would you like to pass on to people interested in founding a company?

Founding is not a straightforward path - don't get too attached to the basic idea if the research shows otherwise. Try to solve real problems, and often your basic idea will find its way back into the product at a later point.

Passion is beautiful, but it takes an insatiable hunger to solve a problem. Because there will come phases in which passion is put to the test, and what remains is your urge to solve what you started out for.

Look for a good team. You can recognize a good team not by its professional competence, but by its willingness to always respond with openness and the courage to take responsibility, regardless of the change. Build a culture from the start, you may be small, but every seed that exists from the beginning is a large organism later on.

Don't expect understanding from those around you, but patience. They will rarely understand why you are doing what you are doing to yourself. But they don't have to. Patience is the best thing your environment can offer you. Patience and trust that you know why you are doing what you are doing. Patience and forbearance.