With “CUT4ALL” and “forward,” two teams from the Fachhochschule Dortmund took home top honors in this year’s greenhouse.ruhr startup grant program. Both innovations receive intensive support from the university’s startup service.
The greenhouse.ruhr program specifically supports founders with socially and environmentally innovative business ideas; the point of contact at the university for the program is startup coach Erdme Brüning.(Opens in a new tab)
Each year, eight selected teams are given the opportunity to develop their ideas into viable business models through an intensive, four-month coaching program. Following a final pitch, a panel of experts selects the best concepts.
The Award Winners
Second place went to Linus Hielscher and Gero Ulrich for “CUT4ALL.” Gero is studying architecture at Fachhochschule Dortmund and Arts, and together the two have developed a method for transforming the many tufts of hair from hair salons into a high-quality building material. Lars Allenberg was awarded third place for “forward.” He studied design at the University of Applied Sciences and developed a digital platform that uses a flexible donation model and transparent communication to encourage young people to donate and motivates them to make a long-term commitment through playful elements.
CUT4ALL Develops Natural Fiber from Hair
Here's how the startup support service helps
Behind these successes lies a strong infrastructure at the university. Jonas Jagdziewski, together with Christina Schönberger, heads the SQuArE Startup, Training, and Creative Center at Fachhochschule Dortmund, the first point of contact for university members interested in starting a business. In addition to counseling and coaching, the center offers a MakerSpace with a well-equipped workshop, providing the opportunity to test ideas in practice and develop initial prototypes. Workshop director Andrej Bolgert supports users in bringing their ideas to life using the available resources.
“There’s certainly no shortage of ideas at the university,” says Jonas Jagdziewski. They conduct a good 160 counseling sessions each year. And even though only a fraction of those eventually lead to actual business startups, there are no bad ideas, according to Jagdziewski. “Every idea has the potential to become a success story—whether as a market-ready product or as a step in personal development.”
“It’s not my job to evaluate the ideas,” explains the university coach. “At SQuArE, we help determine whether it’s worth pursuing an idea further.” This analysis includes market tests and business plans as well as personal motivation and qualifications. “We’re the sparring partner for developing the business model,” says Jonas Jagdziewski. To this end, the startup experts pull out all the stops. At Fachhochschule Dortmund, they bring together people with diverse skills, help them network, and guide them through the maze of startup funding and scholarships.
Each year, the startup service provides counseling to approximately 65 startup teams and individual founders. This results in about five new business launches annually. In addition, there are numerous steps toward self-employment, during which the startup service helps founders find the right niche within a market segment.
Anyone with an idea who wants to find out what potential lies in their project will find answers at SQuArE. The team provides support from the very first steps all the way through to the company’s founding.