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On the evening of 16 January 2024, more than 70 start-up founders, students and interested members of the public gathered for the 22nd Start-up Get-together on campus in Building 6. The team led by Professor Dr Frank Schumann organised the evening, which featured inspiring success stories and a variety of talks from the start-up and innovation ecosystem in south-west Saxony.
Originally launched as a pub event by Professor Dr Ulla Meister and Matthias Baumgart with a handful of start-up founders, the Start-up Round Table has, over the past 10 years, developed into an institution for those who are curious and interested in the start-up scene. Professor Dr Frank Schumann, project manager at SAXEED at the Mittweida campus, welcomed the guests and emphasised the aim of preserving the character of a regulars’ get-together despite the ever-growing number of attendees. In his words, a regulars’ get-together is a place where “a sense of community is forged and nurtured, friendships develop and ideas are exchanged.” He and his team – consisting of Dirk Liebers, Sarah Uhlig and Saskia Jeraufke – are committed, through both the organisation and the content of the event, to maintaining the relaxed and open atmosphere that has characterised the gathering amongst all guests, thereby contributing to an unrestricted exchange of ideas.
Dirk Liebers, site manager at SAXEED Mittweida, hosted the evening and reported on the latest news and successes from the network. For example, the FOUNDress project run by the Technical University of Freiberg has been expanded in scope and rolled out to the Mittweida, Chemnitz and Zwickau sites. On the Mittweida campus, Saskia Jeraufke is the point of contact for participants who wish to explore the topic of starting a business in depth, network with other women and successfully navigate the next steps towards setting up their own business. Saskia Jeraufke had played a key role in supporting the development within the SAXEED network and mentioned during the conversation that the federal initiative “EXIST-Women”, was what made this roll-out possible in the first place, and described FOUNDress at the Mittweida campus as “a safe space for the development of creative ideas and personal growth”. As such, in addition to mentoring and an intensive workshop programme, the participating female founders also receive a grant so that they can focus on their business ventures.
Dirk Liebers reported on further success stories, such as two spin-offs from Mittweida University of Applied Sciences. The start-up “Phase Games”, which has been supported by SAXEED throughout its journey to date, has now secured the “InnoStartBonus”, thereby gaining an excellent opportunity to take the start-up project forward and complete its launch in the first quarter of 2024. Another outstanding project that has been significantly advanced thanks to SAXEED’s support is “Carry Home”. The team, comprising graduates of the blockchain Master’s programme, has managed to secure an EXIST start-up grant with significant support from the start-up network and Professor Dr Alexander Knauer. The grant enables the team to concentrate intensively on the development and marketing of their product for a year. “Carry Home” has set itself the goal of making smart home technologies more secure and decentralised. The focus is on the user’s local data security. The plan is to create an intuitive user interface, similar to app management on a smartphone, through which users can specifically control which applications are permitted to access which data. This would give ‘Carry Home’ customers full control over their data within their own smart home network.
Heinz Truckenbrodt from futureSAX then provided information on the 2024 Saxon Start-up Award and the InnoStartBonus, two important topics for start-ups in Saxony. He gave an overview of the criteria and benefits of these programmes. Of particular interest to those present were Truckenbrodt’s comments on the next round of applications and a special call for applications for the InnoStartBonus in July, which would focus on the fields of blockchain and gaming. These topics are of particular relevance to Mittweida University of Applied Sciences, as it is particularly active in these innovative technology fields.
The evening continued with one of the programme’s highlights: the pitch by the three finalists of the SAXEED Ideas Camp. This project promotes cross-campus collaboration between students from different disciplines, with the aim of developing innovative business ideas by combining their diverse knowledge. Through initiatives such as this, the SAXEED start-up network aims to raise awareness of and motivate university members to pursue entrepreneurship. The Saxony Technology Start-up Fund (TGFS) has been a key sponsor of this project for many years, ensuring that students not only gain experience, knowledge and feedback, but also receive a substantial cash prize in recognition of their commitment. The student teams’ presentations were characterised by their persuasiveness and innovative spirit. They met with keen interest from the audience and led to numerous enquiries from those present. First place went to ‘Plantguard’, a project that monitors the health of houseplants using sensors and software and provides useful recommendations for action. Second place went to ‘BankSafeBons’, a solution for the automated and digital storage of shop receipts. This idea met with particular interest amongst the representatives from the banks. “HS-Cooperation”, an app designed to strengthen links between schools and universities and to better prepare A-level students for university, took third place.
During the first break, the guests at the regulars’ get-together discussed the projects that had been presented and spoke directly with the speakers. Thanks to the support of the Faculty of Industrial Engineering and the Management Institut Mittweida e. V., guests were able to enjoy a light buffet whilst engaging in discussions and networking, before moving on to the second main part of the programme. This section featured practical presentations on the success stories of three start-ups, which, despite their differences, had to overcome similar challenges during the start-up process. Janet Schaer, who works as a CEO, coach and speaker, kicked things off. She presented her new project, ‘FOR MY QUEENS’, an app that creates a network for women from a wide variety of professional roles, sectors and life circumstances. The platform supports women through events, workshops and talks, as well as through direct networking, to help them develop their skills and promote their personal success. Patrick Rabe then presented his company, “RWC Factory GmbH”. This spin-off from Mittweida University of Applied Sciences specialises in the manufacture of theft-proof bicycle containers that enable bicycles to be parked securely. Mr Rabe, a graduate of the Faculty of Industrial Engineering, has successfully persuaded towns, local authorities and municipalities to adopt his concept, with the result that his bicycle parking system has now been installed at railway stations and in public spaces throughout Germany. The series of presentations was rounded off by Albert Riehl with his company ‘Pflanzpaket’. His aim is to make the cultivation of houseplants more sustainable. The houseplant growing kits he has developed offer an environmentally friendly way to grow plants at home with significantly reduced waste and CO₂ emissions. Afterwards, demand for the kits he’d brought along was higher than expected. “Next time, I’ll bring more of our plant kits,” said Albert Riehl.
Following these inspiring presentations and insights into the start-up stories, the evening drew to a close with interesting conversations, exciting ideas and new contacts. The positive feedback, the well-considered thoughts and the engaging questions from the participants confirm the success of the start-up get-together. With a new record number of guests, the SAXEED get-together on the Mittweida campus highlighted the growing interest in innovative start-ups, business start-ups originating from the university environment and their prospects for development.
Professor Dr Frank Schumann and the SAXEED team agreed that this major effort had once again been worthwhile, and that the extremely positive feedback from numerous guests and stakeholders in the start-up ecosystem – including the Chemnitz Chamber of Industry and Commerce, IMM prostartup GmbH & Co. KG, Teleskop Effekt GmbH and the Saxony Technology Start-up Fund, was already whetting everyone’s appetite for the 23rd Start-up Get-together.
Contact: SAXEED start-up network in Mittweida and the network’s website
Text and images: Saxeed
