After four funding rounds, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) has concluded its funding of the KickStart project for the time being. The project was coordinated and supported by the Werk:Raum start-up lab at THWS in Schweinfurt. The aim was to promote start-up activities in a higher education context. An ongoing success.
Published on 29 October 2025
Turning your own project idea into reality usually requires not only courage, but also some support. Students and staff at the Technical University of Applied Sciences Würzburg-Schweinfurt (THWS) were able to obtain this support through the KickStart competition – in the form of funding, but also through organisational assistance from the Werk:Raum team in Schweinfurt. Professor Dr. Volker Bräutigam, professor responsible for the start-up lab, explains: "KickStart is part of Werk:Raum. While we at Werk:Raum here in Schweinfurt provide the location for developing ideas and support the teams on site, the KickStart competition is primarily about being able to develop your own prototype." To this end, the teams pitch for a grant of EUR 7,500, which they can then use over a period of six months to further develop their idea. However, the support of the Werk:Raum team continues even after the KickStart grant has been awarded: the main focus here is on providing comprehensive support and teaching the skills necessary for starting a business.
KickStart competition – pitches, potential, and jury points
The teams submit their ideas to the Werk:Raum team and are then invited to the KickStart competition pitch event. There, they have three minutes to present their ideas in a convincing manner. "The number of participants varied across the four funding rounds – but at some competitions we had almost 30 pitches in one evening, which is very intense," says Lisa Lehmann, innovation manager at the Werk:Raum start-up lab. The five-member jury, consisting of personalities from business, politics, and administration, then awards points and, depending on the number of participants, selects around four to seven teams to receive financial support. Both the degree of innovation and the market potential of the idea are important. Nevertheless, the team's personality also plays a decisive role: "If someone pitches convincingly because they are passionate about their idea, that is also an important criterion," says Professor Dr. Bräutigam.
Taking stocks after four rounds of funding
Since the KickStart project began in the summer semester of 2023, four competitions have been held, in which a total of 180 people in 90 teams took part – 25 teams ultimately received start-up funding of EUR 7,500. After these four funding rounds, the funding has now been distributed and the BMBF project is complete for the time being. "The project is a clear success for us because it gives us the opportunity to support young teams and their ideas in their early stages, even before they are established," emphasises Katharina Pfeuffer, Innovation Manager at Werk:Raum start-up lab. She adds that it is also a great advantage to be able to develop ideas and prototypes in the protected environment of the University. "Even if a project fails here, there are few consequences at first," adds Lisa Lehmann, who closely accompanies the teams in their activities. Nevertheless, there are some bureaucratic hurdles and guidelines in the public sector that require every expense to be applied for in advance – something that is sometimes difficult to reconcile with the more flexible start-up mindset.
From round to round of the KickStart competition, the Werk:Raum team has developed and implemented new learnings. Communication in particular can lead to misunderstandings: even if you win the funding, you can't do whatever you want with it. That's why it's important to communicate transparently and sensitively, says Lehmann. "I'm also still learning to encourage the students to be more independent. We as the Werk:Raum team are facilitators, but not the driving force." The students themselves must bring intrinsic motivation to drive their project forward. Another challenge is basically making students aware of the project itself. The possibility of receiving financial support in particular needs to be explained. However, Professor Dr. Bräutigam sees a lot of potential at THWS: "I believe there really are many good ideas. But some may simply not dare to participate and put their ideas into practice."
Funded teams establish their projects
Several examples of teams that have received funding and are already enjoying great success with their ideas show that participation is worthwhile. One flagship team of the KickStart project is the start-up CAARD, led by Dhairya Shah, the first international student at THWS to found a company here. With the CAARD app, the team is working on a holistic solution to counteract the disorganised chaos of managing contacts – a digital business card that records relationships and promotes interactions. For CEO Dhairya Shah, the team's biggest milestone was to turn the idea outlined in August 2024 into a publicly available product by January 2025. "Today, the CAARD app is available in over 175 countries, our software works on any modern smartphone, and we did it in less than five months," says Shah. The help provided by KickStart funding was crucial: with the EUR 7,500 grant, the team got the capital it needed to quickly move from sketch to working prototype. "In short, KickStart provided the impetus; we are now focusing on growth."
Another start-up that has also received KickStart funding is Sophia Fries's. With her platform "peeps – the social map", she wants to raise awareness of loneliness, especially among people in their mid-twenties, and counteract it. She has now built up a community on Instagram and regularly organises events to bring people with similar interests together. "The greatest success is seeing your own idea work and people actually making friends through peeps – that makes all the work you put into your project worthwhile," says Sophia.
Outlook: What comes after KickStart?
The team at the Werk:Raum start-up lab sees continued success for the KickStart project even after the funding has ended. Most of the funded start-up teams are still at the beginning of their careers, but they have great potential to establish their ideas in the long term. According to Professor Dr. Bräutigam, the prospects for follow-up funding are generally good, as the Bavarian Higher Education Innovation Act stipulates that higher education institutions should explicitly promote start-ups. "With Professor Dr. Jan Schmitt, Vice President for Research and Start-ups at THWS, who was also a co-initiator of the Werk:Raum project, we have support here that gives the topic more visibility and seriousness," says Professor Dr. Bräutigam. The professor responsible for the start-up lab even dreams of a pitch event with 1,000 students – given the Werk:Raum team's passion for start-ups and supporting students, such a huge pitch event may not remain a dream.
