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Melissa Sant'Anna
March 15, 2024

People in beta | Meet Space and Lemon Innovations

We sat down with Markus Neumann, CEO of Space and Lemon to ask about their entrepreneurial journey, what is like to work with trends and innovation, and why they chose betahaus to be their office location and ecosystem. If you're more into video-content, watch the interview on our LinkedIn profile or Instagram (links below).

What is Space and Lemon Innovations (SLI), and who is the team behind it?

As a company we are a “technology specialist”. We create exclusive trend radars for our clients, based on the digital- and technology trend scouting of our team. Clients are big brands from a variety of industries: Fast Moving Consumer Goods, Finance, Telecommunications, Transportation, Industrials, Software and alike. 

Besides that we do special research close to the business of our clients.

We are a team of 12 people, based at betahaus in Berlin and Hamburg, with a diverse set of skills and educational background.

Part of the Space and Lemon team at the rooftop at betahaus | Kreuzberg.

How do you know something that’s trending has potential?

Backed by eight years of experience, when we do trendscouting we follow a set of strict scouting rules to identify micro-trends and to avoid hypes. One of the core principles is “follow the money”. We always look at where Venture Capital money is flowing to. Not every investment is relevant, though. The amount of money invested counts, depending on the geography we look at.

How do you stay updated with the latest trends and advancements in all the different industries you serve?

Permanent trend scouting. Almost everyone on the team does it daily, looking for exciting developments in the digital and tech world. Everyone has their own best practices for scouting, but the scouting rules I mentioned before are the guardrails we all operate in. We also have added so called “practices”. Meaning selected team members that are more specialised in certain technologies, like AI, or industries. 

We also operate an internal trend database. It helps to keep track of the main developments and to filter the noise.

Inside Space and Lemon's private workspace at betahaus | Kreuzberg.

How do you measure the success or impact of your innovation projects?

Internally the most important KPI is the length of the client relationship. We have several clients that have been working with us for many years, some even since the company was founded. We put high-standards on our work and challenge ourselves constantly. If we would not do this, clients would not want to work with us.

Can you give us an idea of the most exciting & successful innovation projects you have undertaken with larger corporations?

Over the years we have educated thousands of professionals on the opportunities of new technologies in an ever changing digital world. Exciting already! And it gets even more exciting when you see the growth of departments and entire companies. Based on our research presentations and innovation workshops, clients have opened up new lines of business, created partnerships with upcoming tech companies or have built new digital products. I am always proud of the positive impact we have on our clients' business.

What made you decide on choosing betahaus as your office space and has joining the ecosystem benefited the growth of Space & Lemon?

I have known betahaus in Berlin since 2013, the “Mortizplatz-days”. To me it has always been a lively space at the heart of Berlin’s tech- and startup scene. Although we started in Hamburg, we always had the metaphorical “Koffer in Berlin”. Many great ideas start here and as technology and innovation specialist we need to be close to the people working on those ideas. That’s why we chose betahaus.

Certainly we gain inspiration from the betahaus co-workers and members of what is happening right now. This has indirectly benefited our growth.

The Space and Lemon team in their private office at betahaus | Kreuzberg.

Can you tell us a bit about how you came up with Space and Lemon and how your entrepreneurial journey was?

Originally, SLI was founded in Hamburg by my Co-CEO Laurent. We have known each other since 2012, when I started my first job and the same company he was working for. Actually, he was the person hiring me back then.

I have joined Space and Lemon shortly after its official launch as a Freelancer and have been working as such for about 5 years. In 2021 we officially opened the Berlin office and in 2022 I joined as Co-CEO full-time.

Even though you have office spaces at betahaus, is remote work also part of the reality at Space and Lemon?

It is. Today, we operate on a flexible schedule. Everyone is free to work where they feel most productive for the tasks at hand. On average we are at the office 2-3 times per week. The other days working at the clients or travelling for keynotes or working from home. It is what works best for the team right now.

Go check out the wonderful work they are doing at Space and Lemon! If you like to read these stories, make sure to follow us on whichever social platform of your preference, whether it's LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube or Twitter. We are always sharing interesting stories from the betahaus community. See you next time!