Pans, water pipes or equipment for fire engines: students at FHWS have already developed all kinds of product ideas. Sometimes these turned into successful businesses. A brief review of the last 20 years of start-ups at FHWS.
Prof. Dr. Michael Müßig works not only with students, but also with founders. He came to Schweinfurt in 1998 to teach business informatics. “There, I was fortunate enough to run right into a dedicated student who was starting a business.” The company in question was Netlands, which still exists in Schweinfurt today. In that moment, he realised that he could work with the students and give them valuable advice, Müßig says. This is because he brings experience in starting businesses to the table: before his time at FHWS, he was an employed managing director and participated in an IPO. "These are experiences which should not be left at the door of FHWS but which should be valued and used." In his 20 years of developing and supporting the area of start-ups at FHWS, he has only seen one start-up fail.
Innovative people help the region
Another company founded under FHWS’ influence that has remained in the Main-Franconia region is Eology GmbH. As part of an examination, the two students of Business Information Systems, Axel Scheuering and Daniel Unger, won second place in the Google Online Marketing Challenge of 2009, a competition with over 2,000 student teams from all over the world. And the pipedream of these two friends became reality: “We had had the idea of starting something of our own for a long time, but we slipped right into it through this challenge,” Scheuering says. Companies were very interested in what we had developed for the competition. As a result, the two students got their first orders while they were still studying and founded a GbR. “Sometimes it takes something like this competition, otherwise the initial push probably wouldn’t have happened.” They also received a lot of support from FHWS – in particular from their professor Dr. Mario Fischer, who is also a shareholder in the company. For this reason, Scheuering maintains close contact with FHWS: be it through projects with students or Eology employees who are guest lecturers from time to time.
Today, Eology is one of the 50 fastest growing medium-sized companies in Bavaria. This is the kind of success Müßig hopes to achieve through his teaching and support: “My motivation, somewhat exaggerated, is regional economic development. If we can keep innovative people in the region, who make things happen and create jobs, then we are supporting the region.” The idea of networking is also important to him: “If you can support companies, then great opportunities for collaboration arise. I can open a door for new founders, who then create new doors for others - it's like a cycle."
The first start-up advisor at FHWS, Ulrike Machalett-Gehring, also thinks that it is important for the region to support and encourage prospective founders: " “It’s not just FHWS and the students that benefit, it’s our community, the people and the region.” Together with her colleague Monika Waschik, she makes the topic of entrepreneurship “visible and tangible” at FHWS: The start-up advisors offer workshops, funding assistance and networking opportunities. FHWS is a partner of the Zentrum für Digitale Innovationen (ZDI, Centre for Digital Innovations), which has further expanded the network. Since 2020, FHWS has also been part of the EntrepreneurSHIP programme of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy’s EXIST Culture of Entrepreneurship project. “Every student should be exposed to the topic of self-employment during their studies,” says Machalett-Gehring. For this, the start-up advisors have also developed events such as the “Campus Startup Night” and modules such as “Start-ups” or “5 Euro StartUP”. A start-up café is currently in the planning phase which will promote direct exchange between experienced founders and students.
Sustainably establishing a start-up culture
Close contact is fundamental for the two FHWS start-up advisors: they scarcely lose sight of any of the founders they support and are now networked with 100 start-ups. Their goal: to sustainably establish a start-up culture at FHWS. No matter what the idea, whether it’s an app, pans, a wool shop or a café – “we try to reach out to all of our students and point out that starting a business is an option – for everyone, to be sure,” Machalett-Gehring emphasises. And Monika Waschik adds: “It is particularly important to us, as well as to FHWS, that we change the mindset among students: how can I start to think and act like an entrepreneur?"
How start-ups have changed
Most of the start-up ideas today are apps, says Machalett-Gehring: “Initially, there were a lot of physical products – now the trend is towards digital.” Over the years, the founding process has also developed a certain ease, which has caused the number of inquiries to the two start-up advisors to skyrocket. “That’s exactly what we want. Our regional and national network is constantly growing,” says Waschik. There have also been some changes in support compared to the past: the topic of business start-ups has developed a strong presence and a supportive structure at FHWS, says Prof. Dr. Müßig: “In the beginning it was more like reactive and accidental support, now it’s active support.”
