Our robot Armin was in position, the vanilla plan demo was freshly programmed and our AI was ready to go. Meanwhile, garlands and candles transformed our cosy courtyard into a small oasis - with a trail of colourful balloons leading the way from the bus station. Because last Friday was the day: Industry Night 2025 was just around the corner.
Two teams, one goal - a look behind the scenes
It wasn't just going to be an evening to pop in - it was going to be an evening to really get to know Vanillaplan. Understand how software development and marketing intertwine in a start-up in the heart of Basel. And our goal was realised: the first visitors arrived shortly after the doors opened. People asked questions, laughed and tried things out - exactly the mix we had hoped for. Not too many and not too few visitors, who we guided through our office in a tour with various stations.
A tour through our world
Station 1: Operations planning with Armin
Right at the beginning, our visitors were given a playful foretaste of our operational planning - with Armin, our self-built robot arm. Using a remote control, he could be manoeuvred across a playing field on which small figures had to be planned and placed in the right positions. And it was often not so easy to get the right people to the right place at the right time.
Station 2: Hands-on app development
The technical part began right next door: our developers demonstrated live in the Vanillaplan mobile app how functions can be changed with just a few lines of code - which became visible to everyone a few seconds later. The magic of programming, very tangible here.
Station 3: AI in action
A few steps further on, the big surprise: our new AI function, which can be used to generate deployment planning with just one click. Just a year ago, this would have been a dream of the future for us - now it's reality. And yes, we are a little proud of it.
Station 4: Marketing - between meme and magazine
Finally, it got strategic with our marketing team: how do we get our software, which we work on with so much passion, to the man and woman? From a social media mix of product news, blog articles and the odd tongue-in-cheek meme (our temporary office cat Rugrat sends his regards) to traditional publications in trade journals - marketing at Vanillaplan is multifaceted. You could also see our performance board with extracts from real campaigns including analytical analyses.
Rounding off at our bar
After a full tour of our office, the way was finally clear to our small bar. Armed with a drink or pretzel, you could finally return to the inner courtyard and chat to us or other visitors.
Our conclusion?
A wonderful, well-rounded evening - not only because everything went according to plan, but above all because we were able to show what Vanillaplan is all about: people, ideas, technology - and the will to make things possible.
Thank you to everyone who was there. We're already looking forward to Industrienacht 2026!
