From ZF Friedrichshafen AG to the Mittelstand: why we founded SimplifieD

Three computer scientists and engineers leave one of the world’s largest automotive suppliers — for the German Mittelstand. This is our story.

Three paths, one enterprise

Oliver Bührer grew up in Bad Wurzach, in the heart of Upper Swabia. Even as a teenager, he worked holiday jobs in metal processing — among shavings, machine oil and shift plans. After studying Automotive Information Technology at HTWG Konstanz, he joined ZF Friedrichshafen AG. For more than 8 years he worked his way through software development, cloud infrastructure and technical project leadership for autonomous systems. Oliver knows factory floors from his teens — not from a textbook, but from actually working on them.

Markus Dieing is also from Bad Wurzach. He studied for a Master’s in Business Administration with a focus on corporate development. At ZF Friedrichshafen AG, he took charge of managing a software portfolio of more than 280 projects. He then moved to Carl Zeiss Meditec in market intelligence. But Markus was never just an employee: while still a student he was advising start-ups and founding his own. The question of whether he’d one day do his own thing had been with him since his teens.

Gabriel Michelberger comes from Friedrichshafen on Lake Constance. B.Sc. Computer Science with a focus on robotics and artificial intelligence. Almost 8 years at ZF Friedrichshafen AG — IoT, cloud architecture, AI, autonomous systems. Gabriel doesn’t just use AI, he lives it every day. For him it isn’t a tool, it’s a way of thinking.

The realisation

At some point, all three of us saw the same thing: inside a corporate structure, our talents would never reach their full potential. The ideas were there, the know-how was there, the drive was there — but the structures held us back. We wanted to build, not to wait. To ship, not to request approvals.

Oliver and Markus have known each other since school. At ZF Friedrichshafen AG, Gabriel met Oliver — and both immediately noticed: same spirit, same drive. Through Oliver, Markus joined the conversation. Three different backgrounds, one shared conviction: we could move more if we took things into our own hands.

The pivot — from product to mission

In the beginning, we experimented with our own app ideas. Then something unexpected happened: out of necessity, Oliver started automating his own processes. No big project, no pitch deck — just pragmatic problem-solving. Suddenly people were asking: “Can you do this for us too?”

The insight was clear: the business model wasn’t our product — it was the knowledge and ability to transform businesses. The combination of technical depth and real process understanding was exactly what the Mittelstand was missing.

The leap

All three of us resigned from ZF Friedrichshafen AG. Stable salaries, predictable careers — done. That wasn’t an easy step. But it was the right one.

Each of us had a moment where it became clear: there’s no going back. Stepping out of the safe harbour was one of the biggest moves of our lives. But we knew: everything we’d learned in the enterprise comes with us. And if we don’t do this now, we never will.

What drives us

We take the process know-how and technical excellence of large enterprises and translate it for mid-sized businesses. Not as slides in a consultant’s deck, but as real, working solutions.

At SimplifieD, AI isn’t a slide in a pitch deck — it’s DNA. We use what we preach. Every day. In our own processes and for our clients.

“We come from this world. We know what the shop floor smells like. We know enterprise-grade processes. And we’re bringing that into the Mittelstand now.”

What we gave up — and what we got in return

Gave up: stable salaries, predictable careers, the comfort zone. The feeling that at the end of the month money lands in the account automatically — no matter what.

Got in return: freedom, purpose, responsibility over our own fate. Interesting people and real challenges every single day. The feeling of building something bigger than a project plan.

Our drive is clear: we combine enterprise experience with the agility of the Mittelstand — and create solutions that actually work.

“We’ve seen what’s possible inside large enterprises. Now we’re making it accessible for the Mittelstand — pragmatic, measurable and on equal footing.”