Martin Böhringer studied business informatics at TU Chemnitz and finished a doctorate there. With Lutz Gerlach he had already founded the startup Hojoki before Staffbase.
In 2014 Böhringer, Gerlach and Frank Wolf launched Staffbase in Chemnitz as a mobile app for employees. It reached staff with no desk and no company email, such as shop and factory workers.
Investors first asked why the company was not in Berlin. Böhringer says he will not move, and from his office window he sees a forklift rental and a car repair shop. In 2021 Staffbase raised a $145 million Series D from General Atlantic.
In March 2022 a $115 million Series E from General Atlantic and Insight Partners valued the company at $1.1 billion. The company later converted to an SE. In 2025 Böhringer described an IPO as an extended financing round.