FAMILY FLOW
Saarbrücken / Homburg, Saarland, Germany | Remote | Fulltime | Digital Health (DiGA)
About Family Flow
Family Flow is a scientifically grounded, trauma-sensitive parenting app that helps parents with their own history of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) manage the moment between a trigger and their reaction to their child — building a personalized 'Flow Plan' (trigger → warning signs → pause → skill → parenting strategy) instead of another generic parenting app.
The opportunity
The concept is built on more than 20 years of clinical and scientific work on child maltreatment led by Prof. Dr. med. Eva Möhler, Chair of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Saarland University, alongside DFKI researchers Patrick Gebhard and Jan Alexandersson. The idea and clinical content are finalized — what's missing is the team and funding to build and launch the app. We are looking for a CEO / Business co-founder (fundraising, tech and operations) to turn a validated clinical concept into a real product.
Tasks
What you will own
Company build-up & fundraising
- Lead incorporation of Family Flow and raise the funding needed for app development (German, French and English versions).
- Own the path to the German DiGA directory (digital health app reimbursement) and the parallel free-market / B2C launch.
Product & delivery
- Translate the finalized clinical concept and psychotherapeutic material into a software roadmap, in partnership with a tech/development team or subcontractor (e.g. potential partnerships with Pioneo, Pfeffermind or Charamel).
- Own day-to-day operations, as the current interdisciplinary team (DFKI + Child and Adolescent Psychiatry) is part-time only.
Go-to-market
- Build the launch plan for Germany and France, then wider Europe, including social-media-led B2C acquisition alongside the DiGA pathway.
Requirements
What you bring
Core experience
- Fundraising experience (grants and/or investors) and comfort building a company from an academic/clinical concept.
- Hands-on operations and project management skills; willingness to work full-time (the current founding team is part-time).
Especially valuable
- Experience with the digital health / DiGA regulatory pathway in Germany.
- Software/product background, or strong ability to manage external development partners.
- Interest in child psychiatry, trauma-informed care or parenting technology.
Benefits
Why join Family Flow
- A clinically validated concept backed by 20+ years of research and a published evidence base, not an unproven idea.
- Direct partnership with a University Professor and Chair of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Saarland University.
- Address a problem estimated to cost society €20 billion in Germany alone (Deutsche Traumafolgekostenstudie), with a clear DiGA reimbursement path.
Family Flow welcomes co-founder candidates regardless of gender, age, ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, sexual identity, or any other characteristic. This is a search for the right partner to build the company with, not a conventional hire.
southwestX is a deep tech startup factory turning European research into scalable businesses. Rooted in Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate, we connect researchers, founders, companies and investors across Germany, France, Luxembourg and beyond. Our programs support the entrepreneurial journey from early ideas and market validation to international growth.
This page brings together two ways to get involved: join the southwestX team, or join researchers to build a new deep tech startup.
Join our startup factory.
Work with us to help researchers become founders, support ambitious startups and connect new technologies with industry. Our own vacancies offer the opportunity to help build the programs, partnerships and community that bring research-driven entrepreneurship to life.
Become a co-founder alongside researchers.
Discover scientific projects whose teams are looking for entrepreneurial partners to turn their technology into a business. We connect researchers with people who bring complementary business, technical or industry expertise—and the ambition to build a company together.
You do not need to arrive with your own startup idea. You can join a team developing a promising technology and help identify its market, shape its business model, win its first customers and build the venture.
These opportunities may involve forming a new company rather than joining an existing employer. The project stage, expected commitment, funding and compensation arrangements depend on the individual opportunity.
Whether you want to support founders or become one yourself, help us bring the next generation of European technologies from the lab to the market.