The WeUse app allows you to set up all those belongings you are willing to let others borrow or rent. The app focuses on closed communities for a reason. In Emil’s own thesis from the Engineering, Innovation and Business programme from SDU Sønderborg, he investigated what makes people want to share. The results showed that 92% of people want to share their belongings with others, yet only 2% actually do so. This is because many people don’t feel comfortable sharing their belongings with someone they don’t know.
WeUse has a solution for that. By sharing through their app, colleagues can meet, hand over the item and with a simple swipe – similar to MobilePay, a contract is set up to document the rental. Through their home contents insurance, the owner now has 30 days of insurance in case the colleague accidentally breaks the borrowed item.
“My Master’s thesis showed that having a basic relationship with others increases willingness to share by 60%. WeUse is the only platform in the world that focuses on closed communities. But it has taken a long time – the app development alone took us two and a half years. In September 2022, we completely changed our focus from housing associations to businesses. Housing associations were difficult to get off the ground. Even though we contacted several large housing organisations, the reality is that people are more focused on being a good colleague than being the best neighbour,” says Emil.
Interest in their project has already attracted attention and WeUse has also been recognised by Innovation Fund Denmark. With an Innofounder, the start-up has a secure and solid foundation for the challenging first years of entrepreneurial life. The Innofounder is an investment in promising new solutions that have the potential to create growth and employment in Denmark, and that also contribute to solving some of society’s challenges.
Born or made
Emil Busch has always been interested in solving life’s challenges, big or small. Today, WeUse is gaining ground as a real benefit to society, but back at HTX in Kolding, Emil put his energy into inventions that improved the balance in our daily lives. Emil has since sold and earned either money or experience from the inventions.
“My parents both come from a conservative industry; my mum is an accountant and my dad has a background in banking. I was a creative child and often played with LEGO. And my favourite character is Gyro Gearloose from Donald Duck. If I thought I had too many toys, I would pull out a table and a chair and set up a stall on the residential road in front of our house. From there I sold my surplus toys. I’ve really just always felt like an entrepreneur,” says Emil.
In 2018, Emil’s friends Mark Yeoman and Tinus Byrgesen organised the entrepreneurial competition ‘Race to the Moon’ at SDU Sønderborg. The competition is a Danfoss-organised parallel to the long-standing ‘Man on the Moon’ competition held internally within the company. That year, the focal point at SDU was sustainable startup ideas. Mark and Tinus knew that Emil had lots of ideas and asked him to join in. As fate would have it, Emil had the first inklings of the green company WeUse, which is now facing an exciting future ahead.
For Emil and WeUse, it has always been important to ensure that making sustainable decisions is not difficult.
“I have always been interested in finding ways to minimise our consumption without it becoming a chore or compromising our comfort. Nobody wants to take shorter and colder baths. Nor should we drop air travel altogether, for example. The idea of actually being able to help each other, save some money and do something good, well people think that’s pretty cool. The idea also works well for introverts because WeUse turns the situation around – instead of asking for a loan, the platform already offers all kinds of items that you can use,” says Emil.