Another Process Mining Cinderella Story - From Student to Founder

Process Mining is gaining  more and more traction amongst job seekers, students, and young professionals alike. Celonis is invested in helping people from all different types of backgrounds and skill levels step into this emerging market by offering a variety of free certification programs.  Subsequently, many of the students trained through these programs later find employment in the vast Celonis Ecosystem of consulting and technology partners. In some cases, a student may be so compelled that they decided to not just join the Ecosystem through an existing partner, but rather found their own company and pave their own way.   

Patrick Groth is one of these exceptional cases.  He built his legacy around process mining, becoming the impressively young and successful founder of Logatik GmbH, a German Based consultancy focused on Process mining for the SME sector. His initial exposure and training with PM came from none other than the Celonis Process Mining Expert Certification track he attended back in his uni days at the FAU Nuremberg Erlangen. Patricks interest only continued to grow from there. He furthered his path in the process mining sphere with a placement first at Digatus and later at the Deloitte Center for Process Bionics. It was then he decided to take the leap and found Logatik. In January of 2022, the company officially became a Certified Partner of the Celonis Ecosystem. 

We had the chance to sit down with Patrick and hear about his journey. This is what he had to say. 

1. What was your motivation to found Logatik?

   As a student consultant I have worked on projects for multiple companies in the SME sector. Here, I realized that new technologies and digitization are often an unchartered territory. Oftentimes, this is not rooted in missing resources but more in the fact that the entry barrier can be off-putting for many smaller companies. With this conviction, together with two good friends, we founded Logatik GmbH. 

2. How did you come across Celonis?

   I started my process mining journey about three years ago. As part of a student consultancy, I became aware of Celonis and became a participant in the first batch of the Process Mining Expert Track. At that time, process mining was really hyped, and I wanted to know what it was all about. Due to the almost unbelievable seeming promises in the marketing, I was originally skeptical. However, I recognized relatively quickly the potential that process mining offers.

3. What were your first steps in the process mining world and how did you get started with Logatik?

   A little more than a year ago, I was able to acquire my first project at PSD Bank Nuremberg. With the help of Celonis and my employer at the time, Digatus, I was able to carry out a successful process mining project. Afterwards, I worked at Deloitte in the Center for Process Bionics, which is one of the biggest process mining teams globally. Here, I was able to gain valuable insights on how to implement process mining on a larger scale. 

4. What best practices did you take away from the Academic Alliance for the startup?

   I was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to practically apply the knowledge I learned in the training in combination with the background knowledge I had from my computer science degree. The training was a great support, especially the project approach, but also best practices on data modeling were very valuable for our first steps. 

5. How has Celonis supported you so far in founding Logatik GmbH?

   Celonis is a great support. I am in regular contact with the Academic Alliance, partner management and digital consulting team. No matter what question I have, they are always very helpful and make you feel like they want to help you succeed. Just last Friday, I was in contact with one of the "Celonauts" again. During the conversation it turned out that a renowned Celonis partner needed support with the implementation of an app. This is just one example of the numerous supports we have received since our founding.

6. What is it like to be a partner in the Celonis Ecosystem?

   Whether it's the aforementioned referral of a contact, an inquiry on our part about partner status, or even a joint collaboration like this interview - contact with Celonis has always delighted me. I am particularly impressed by the communication, which has always been at eye level, and the fact that every Celonaut is first-class at what they do. 

7. What was your main motivation for founding Logatik?

   As noted at the beginning, during my time at Deloitte, among other things, I was able to see how large corporations were already successfully using process mining.

   However, when I am at a networking event in my home country, to put it bluntly, out of 50 company owners, at most two have even heard of it. We are convinced that this must change quickly in the next few years in order to secure the competitiveness of all companies in the long term. We want to help accelerate these necessary changes.

   But it's not just about making technology accessible. We firmly believe that increasing efficiency plays a big part in solving current challenges. If we don't become more efficient in the production and transportation of goods and the conduct of business in general, we won't be able to maintain our standard of living in the long term. Nor will we be able to achieve climate targets if we continue as we are.

Patrick is a great example of how young talents can evolve within the Celonis Ecosystem, from working for renowned consultancies to becoming a founder in their own right.  If Patrick’s story inspires you and you’re keen to learn more about process mining, check out  Celonis’ free certification opportunities through the Academic Alliance. You can also take a look at current jobs in the field of process mining via the Celopeers Job Market. 

Angela-Sophia Gebert

Academic Alliance Manager