Startup Your Life. With new impulses.
Ideas need courage, exchange with others and entrepreneurial thinking. With the Founders@IU initiative at IU International University of Applied Science, we support students and alumni who want to found a startup themselves and turn their ideas into reality. In a strong network of experts and like-minded people, you can (further) develop your startup ideas, implement them and strengthen your entrepreneurial skills.
Whether tech, social or eco startup - you are not alone.
That's what we want to achieve together:
Impulses for the founding, development and financing of your startup
Solutions and ideas for you and for a better future
Strengthening your entrepreneurial mindset
Linking social, ecological and economic topics with trends
Becoming self-employed with a sense of responsibility and implementation power
Working on SDGs and ESGs
Motivation for social entrepreneurship
Network, but do it right.
Together with us, you can build a network that will really get you ahead. With Founders@IU, we offer you the right start-up platform for real entrepreneurship. Visit our networking events, read exciting interviews and connect with fellow students and other founders.
Founders@IU Newsletter
Let's stay in touch regularly! Simply sign up for our newsletter here and receive information about entrepreneurship in the IU cosmos every 2 months!
We will provide you with (in)success stories, interviews and the latest events! Be part of the Founders@IU community and stay informed!
Entrepreneurial networking and programme
Female Founders Program
We think female entrepreneurs should be supported. Do you agree? Then take part in our free, six-month online programme "How to become a Female Founder" in cooperation with the FSIWS. Ideal for all women who want to start their own business with their ideas.
More information
EXIST START-UP GRANT
Would you like to start a business but lack the support and budget? Then the EXIST start-up grant could be for you!
The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection supports university graduates and students in preparing their business start-ups with the initiative Start-ups from Science.
On the first Tuesday of every month, you can join us live at our information event on the EXIST start-up grant! To register, send an email to founders@iu.org and secure your place now.
More informationNetworking events
Do you have a start-up idea or are you generally interested in start-up projects? Founders@IU offers you a startup platform to network with other successful founders and startups. You will also receive valuable information and insights at our networking events.
Apply now for one of the coveted places in our new we Female Founders Batch, which starts on 21 February 2024!
A great team of experts and founders will accompany you for 6 months with live workshops, webinars and trainings (time commitment per week: 2-3 hours).
You will be given access to our AI-based platform to expand your network with other female founders and to share and expand your expertise at eye level. We also award ten EXIST-Women funded scholarships including a 1-year mentorship! Tick the EXIST scholarship box when you apply.
Online via Zoom, free of charge!
Interviews on the topic of start-ups
Look forward to interviews with founders who will present their start-up projects. All from the IU circle - i.e. employees, alumni, award winners, Venture Programme participants or female founders.
Would you like to get in touch with someone or present your startup idea yourself in an interview? Write to us!
Georg, founder of CadPerfection
Read this interview to find out how Georg got off to a flying start with his first company at a young age while also rocking his distance learning degree at IU!
To the interview
Kristina Schreiner, Co-founder Chewsome
Read in this interview how Kristina and her co-founder Victoria are revolutionising the market for baby food, what it was like to start up as a mother and what tips she has for future founders.
To the interview
Christoph Kohler, Founder of WingX
Read in this interview how our Alumni Award winner Christoph Kohler is revolutionising the aerospace industry with WINGX and how exciting aviation and data science can be!
To the interview
Prof. Dr. Nicolai Krüger, Professor for Business Informatics
How does ChatGpt help with the start-up process? How will the start-up process change in the near future?
Prof. Dr. Nicolai Krüger, Professor of Business Informatics, has been dealing with these and many more questions for years. In this interview, he gives us a little insight into the exciting topic of "start-up intelligence" and ideas about what the start-up of tomorrow might look like.
To the interview
Lisa Eppel, Founder "Ad Girls Club"
With the "Ad Girls Club", our New Work Bachelor student Lisa Eppel fights against sexist behaviour towards female colleagues in the advertising industry!
Find out in this interview what exactly is behind this initiative and what Lisa wants to achieve with it!
To the interview
Prof. Dr. Stefan Remhof, Founder of Thesis2Go
In this interview, learn how our professor turned a mishap into an innovation and how it can also help you with your Bachelor Thesis.
To the interview
Gertrud-Luise Lakemann, Founder Balilwana e.V.
Read in this interview what great and valuable work Getrud-Luise and her association Balilwana e.V. are doing in Uganda and how her social management studies at IU are helping her!
To the interview
Prof. Mirko Bendig, Head of the “B.A. Entrepreneurship Programme“
What can I expect from the Entrepreneurship programme? What can I expect during my studies and what practical experience does my professor have? Find out more here...
Read more
Raphael Ott, Co-Founder of Sodex Innovations GmbH
Study and gain a foothold in the construction industry as a young and innovative start-up? In his interview, Raphael, co-founder of Sodex Innovations GmbH, reports on how this is possible and who or what helps him.
Studying and successfully founding a company at the same time works!
To the interview
Jennifer Martens, Ōmaka Founder
This impressive Female-Founder interview is not only about the success story of ŌMAKA, but also about Jennifer's overall goals: to make the world more diverse and enlightened.
To the interview
Robin Renschler, Co-Founder & CEO of Hoscom
How does Robin Renschler and his team want to digitalise the luxury hotel industry with HOSCOM? Read how our IU Alumni wants to revolutionise the work in the hotel industry and even won the Founder's Prize+ of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection (BMWK)!
To the interview
Luisa Schmid, "Studium im Gepäck" Co-Founder
It's a question that many students ask themselves: How can I discover the world and still study? Find out here what the idea behind "Studium im Gepäck" is...
To the interview
Caro Noack, "Junity Travel" Founder
Read here how Caro Noack dealt with the first lockdown shortly after founding "Junity", a travel platform for accessible travel, and why accessibility is a topic close to Caro's heart!
To the interview
Anita Wandinger, CEO of AWA Hotel
From her dream as an opera singer to the successful CEO of a family business! Anita graduated with a double degree in International Hospitality Management from IU, won the Alumni Award for Entrepreneurship in 2021 and now successfully runs the family-owned AWA Hotel in Munich! Learn more about Anita and her visions in this interview.
To the interviewStudies
Sabrina Micklich & Anna Reese
Founders@IU
Awards, accreditations and certifications
