founders

KIT entrepreneurial spirit at CeBIT 2016

Posted on by Dr. Rolf Blattner

In 2016, the CeBIT was once again held in Hanover with strong participation by KIT. This year’s motto of the event, “Discover d!conomy – the digital transformation has arrived!”, explored the question of how digital technologies will simplify business processes and everyday life in the future. The main topics were “Big Data”, “Cloud”, “Internet of Things”, “Mobile”, “Industry 4.0” and “Work 4.0”.

Especially the large number of KIT spin-offs clearly demonstrated the position of the Institute in research and the transfer of knowledge between society and the business world. A total of eleven start-up teams from KIT and one FZI team took the opportunity to present their products and services to a broad audience and discuss solutions to current changes with the trade fair visitors.

KIT Vizepräsident Prof. Dr. Thomas Hirth, KIT Gründerberater Dr. Rolf Blattner, Prof. Dr. Ralf Reussner (KIT/FZI), Bundeskanzlerin Dr. Angela Merkel, Bundesministerin Prof. Dr. Johanna Wanka, Ministerpräsident Stephan Weil, Dr. Christoph Amma von „Kinemic“ (v. l. n. r.)

KIT Vice President Prof. Thomas Hirth, KIT Start-up Consultant Dr Rolf Blattner, Prof Ralf Reussner (KIT/FZI), Federal Chancellor Dr Angela Merkel, Federal Minister Prof Johanna Wanka, Prime Minister Stephan Weil, Dr Christoph Amma of “Kinemic” (left to right)
- picture: Patrick Langer, KIT

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KIT high-tech incubator – Room for growth for otego

Posted on by Simone Schappert

Despite an innovative business idea, the path to independence isn’t always easy. During the beginning stage of a startup, the main focus lies on the issue of financing as well as on searching for suitable spaces for realizing this idea. The rental prices for office and laboratory spaces then turn out to be costly affairs on the free market, which makes it hard for young entrepreneurs to gain a foothold.

Die Neuen im Hightech-Inkubator: André Gall, Frederick Lessmann, Matthias Hecht und Silas Aslan von oteo

André Gall, Frederick Lessmann, Matthias Hecht and Silas Aslan from otego

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KIT startup teams sweep the board at the CyberChampions Award 2015

Posted on by Simone Schappert

ShareBW Kongress des CyberForumsOn 11/12/2015, the CyberChampions Award was awarded as part of the ShareBW Congress. The prize was offered to founders and young businesses from the extended TechnologieRegion Karlsruhe (Karlsruhe TechnologyRegion) in the categories “Best Concept” and “NewComer” as well as a special prize for “Innovation.” As early as October, 29 applicant teams pitched in order to be selected for one of the coveted spots in the finals. A 17-person jury, including former prize recipients as well as representatives from industry and economy, evaluated the submissions. The decisive factors for a spot in the finals were specific know-how about markets and customers, a clear positioning, and a smart strategy. Ten startup teams with roots at the KIT were selected among the 11 finalists. Continue reading →

EXIST Business Start-up Grant: Three KIT teams demonstrate great potential

Posted on by Karola Janz

The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) offers prospective founders a number of funding programs for implementing their startup ideas. An important instrument is the EXIST Business Start-up Grant, which supports startup projects from an early stage. The funding is directed toward students, graduates, and scientists from universities and non-university research institutions. Within one year, the teams receive the opportunity to turn their first idea into a concrete business model, including a business plan, and to receive professional assistance in doing so.

Three KIT teams didn’t miss out on this chance and applied for the grant – successfully! The founders of Aquaplot, Curafida, and Selfbits were able to gain support with their innovative and technology-oriented ideas and, thus, received the EXIST Business Start-up Grant. The KIT Innovation Department actively helped in preparing applications. The Aquaplot team develops a software as a service solution for navigating and planning routes for maritime and cargo traffic. The team of Curafida also offers a SaaS application. Their system for health services is intended to bring chronically ill patients and their medical specialist closer together and to improve the flow of information. The third team, Selfbits, is working on a cloud-based service in the field of knowledge management / knowledge acquisition.

During the course of the year-long funding period, the teams can continue advancing their startup plans. In doing so, the prospective founders are supported through seminars and coaching. The goal is to prepare them for market entry through the technical and entrepreneurial realization of the idea. The task of the founders is to improve their business plan – the final business plan is the conclusion of the grant support. We look forward to seeing the development of the three KIT teams and wish them a lot of success!

BMWi starts online learning program for entrepreneurs

Posted on by Thomas Neumann
BMWi-Lernprogramm_300

Source: Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy / Startup Workshop

The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy has expanded its offerings for entrepreneurs and those interested. In cooperation with the career network XING, it has developed a free learning program for entrepreneurs.

The online learning program leads you through the most important stages during the startup process and helps you with many issues. For instance, you receive guidance in finding out whether self-employment is a career opportunity for you. In the individual stages, you find useful information, overviews, and other documents to work on. If you are already in the process of a startup, the learning program helps you in developing a business plan, informs you about different legal forms, and shows you what formalities and documents you need as part of a business startup, among other things.

The guide is built in modules so that you can skip directly to those issues that are important to you. We recommend the learning program as a reference tool. For additional information about the topic of founding, we will gladly advise you in person.

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