IT incubator at Saarland University offers nationwide start-up program

Philipp Adamidis, Axel Koch and Björn Maurer advise students and researchers interested in founding their own company in the IT incubator at Saarland University.

“IT Inkubator GmbH“ at Saarland University is offering a new, nationwide start-up program to ensure that start-ups can be established more quickly and successfully. The aim is not only to transform the ideas and inventions developed on the Saarland Informatics Campus into products, services and spin-offs. Students and researchers from other universities and research institutes can also use the new program to set up companies or advance their technology to such an extent that established industrial companies will acquire licenses for it. However, they have to come to Saarland to do so.

“The new standardized program simplifies the process and thus the founders’ access to financing in the start-up preparation phase,” explains Björn Maurer. Since 2016 he has been working as an incubation manager at the IT incubator at Saarland University. Previously, he held similar positions in Berlin and Munich and has supervised start-ups such as Flixbus. Future start-up founders must apply for the new program. If their presentation is successful, they are given the opportunity to complete the three phases of the program in Saarbrücken, which each take up to three months, and receive a total of up to €65,000 in financial support from the Saarland State Chancellery.

One of the challenges of the first phase is to find a suitable start-up team. “If you are interested in setting up a company, you can also come to us on your own, and we will then help you to supplement your team via our network,” explains Maurer.
The second phase involves the development of a promising business model, the targeted selection of customers and the completion of a prototype. At the same time, the founders complete up to twelve workshops, which are offered in cooperation with the “Saarland Accelerator” of the Contact Point for Knowledge and Technology Transfer – KWT – at Saarland University. “This phase is usually very intensive,” says Axel Koch, Managing Director of the IT Incubator. This is followed by the financing phase, i.e. the search for investors, and coaching in so-called pitching, i.e. the presentation of the business idea to potential investors.

“With this new program, which involves very little red tape, we are closing a gap in Saarland – especially with regard to the rapid validation of the business models developed and the mentoring of the founders, who are often inexperienced in sales, in the acquisition of their first customers,” says Koch.

Interested parties can apply for the program to the IT incubator at any time.

Further information:
IT incubator in Saarbrücken
https://itinkubator.de/

Questions can be directed to:
Björn Maurer
IT Incubator GmbH
Saarland Informatics Campus
Phone: 0681 302 64269
E-mail: bjoern.maurer@it-inkubator.de

Editor:
Gordon Bolduan
Science communication
Competence Center Computer Science Saarland
Saarland Informatics Campus
Phone: 0681 302-70741
E-mail: bolduan@mmci.uni-saarland.de