It is cold outside. A few colourful rockets twitch tiredly in the black night sky. Leftovers from last year. The first New Year's Eve on which fireworks remain banned and celebrations are only allowed in a small circle. But while we slowly count down - four - and still enjoy the spicy taste of raclette cheese on our tongues - three - quickly fill the champagne flutes - two - we are sure - one - the year 2021 can only get better. Welcome to the Sawayo Year in Review!

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First quarter: The start

After launching our cloud software in January, 2021 is indeed off to a great start for us: We are able to convince a consortium of business angels and the Mittelständische Beteiligungsgesellschaft Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MBMV) of our vision - and receive seed funding of 1.5 million euros in February. With this, we take a major milestone on the way to becoming the leading platform for compliance management.

In March, the Ostsee-Zeitung reported in a half-page article about the "all-in-one solution that has not been available on the market so far" and presented its functions. For example, Read&Sign, with which supervisors can "conveniently send instructions about new health and safety regulations, orders and service instructions to the employees' smartphones and have them confirmed with a digital signature without further intervention". Or the working time recording system, with which the management can "view legally compliant time sheets online in real time".

Also in March, we are able to gain the experienced software engineer and system architect Vinay Bedre as Head of Engineering. Since then, the former SAP employee has significantly raised the level of the software.

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Second quarter: The continuation

Cake, candles and fanfare: In April, Sawayo turns one year old! We look back on a crazy, exciting and successful year full of great support and look forward to many more.

In the same month, we are able to fill another key position in our company: The former Porsche employee and journalist Katharina Gruber takes over our content editorial team. Since then, she has been making the topic of compliance easy to understand and yet exciting.

Companies no longer have to fear trouble with insurance companies due to unverified driving licences and a lot of paperwork: Since June, Sawayo has been offering a digital and convenient driver's licence check. According to your own rhythm, the app independently prompts your employees to check their driving licences, requests their confirmation of the data by digital signature and then notifies you in your dashboard. You can find an auditable history in the employee overview at any time.

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Third quarter: Absolutely no summer slump

We take the first warm days of July as an opportunity to invite you to Rostock on the Baltic Sea: Our Team Days will be the first, long-awaited meeting of our team, which is spread all over Germany. In a very analogous way, some of us are meeting each other for the first time! In addition to intensive workshops in the areas of product, sales, marketing and support, the focus is also on getting to know each other better.

With newfound motivation, we are launching a new product in August: the Business Analyzer. With it, you as an entrepreneur can find out in just three minutes and completely free of charge which employer obligations and laws affect you in particular. Why not pay it a visit right now!

In September, all-nighters, numerous meetings and our collective ambition are rewarded: we are awarded the Innovation Prize of the Technology Centres of the State of MV! With our easy-to-use, innovative solution for the digital fulfilment of employer obligations, we receive third place.

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Fourth quarter: No end in sight

We are also pleased to receive awards in the last quarter of this year: The Ostsee-Zeitung awarded Sawayo the Digital Prize! The daily newspaper particularly emphasises the minimal effort with which entrepreneurs can fulfil legally binding tasks with Sawayo in an audit-proof manner.

Another reason to be happy: We are able to fill our last key position this year with Axel Winckler. As Entrepreneur in Residence, the former Zalando employee and himself a company founder is driving marketing and sales forward and setting a new focus.

At the end of November, we are guests at the Villa Lebensbogen care and counselling centre, which is introducing our software in the pilot project "paperless care service". The project is accompanied by the video editor Bert Scharffenberg - you can find the video "Sawayo in care" on YouTube.

At the same time, we are expanding Sawayo to include the 3G management function: digitally, time-savingly and with reduced staff workload, you can implement the 3G regulations in accordance with the requirements of the Infection Protection Act (IfSG) and obtain a company-wide real-time overview.

Despite all the difficulties and last-minute changes in the law, what seemed certain at the beginning of the year has been confirmed: 2021 was a successful and exciting year for Sawayo! We thank all our supporters and partners without whom these successes would not have been possible.

The whole Sawayo team wishes you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

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