GUIDE: How to start a startup in Mannheim

In recent years, several interesting startups have emerged in Mannheim, the cultural and economic center of the Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region. No wonder, remembering that the city has been a member of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network since 2014 and even the Forbes magazine honored Mannheim for its exceptional inventive power, while emphasizing Mannheim’s positive economic and innovative environment.

Some of the city’s brilliant founders recently came together to attend the annual Q-Summit in Mannheim, one of Germany’s most important conferences for entrepreneurship and innovation organized by students. This is reason enough to take a closer look at the founding potential of the city…

ON-CAMPUS ORGANIZATIONS

At the prestigious University of Mannheim several on-campus initiatives help you to gain ground in the startup world:

• Thinc! is the student initiative for entrepreneurship at the university of Mannheim. Since 2004, they foster innovative ideas at their weekly meetings. Get inspired, while attending their workshops, pitch trainings and support programs.
• Join the student team organizing the Q-Summit. Together with the 1000+ participants attending the Q every year, you will be able to learn more about the startup culture. Besides that, it is a great chance to network with like-minded peers.
• Since 2015, the 100 members of the student initiative Infinity are all about social entrepreneurship, CRM and sustainable solutions. A great place if you are planning to save our planet with your business idea!
• Nomen est omen. The name Enactus combines the words Entrepreneurial, Action as well as Us (student, academic and business leaders collaborating to create a better world). If you are planning to become a social entrepreneur, you should most definitely check out what they are doing.
• Course Offerings: The chair of Prof. Woywode at the University Mannheim offers several courses for Bachelor and Master students, as well as PhD candidates. Besides that, the StartDurch program at the Hochschule Mannheim and the Dhpreneur Project, a cooperation between DHBW Mannheim and Karlsruhe, teaches students entrepreneurial know-how.

CO-WORKING SPACES AND INCUBATORS

If you are looking for coworking-spaces within the city, you might be interested in one of the following options: BauteilB or DOCK3, as well as Ponderosa, Raumteiler and Salon, Co-working Jungbusch or E-Hub.

Founders and those who dream to be one someday, might be also interested in the mentoring programs powered by local incubators. To offer specialized mentoring for your startup’s needs, these incubators often focused on a specific industry. The website Startup Mannheim gives a nice overview about these hubs, so check them out to find the one that suits you the most. Want some examples?

• Mafinex focuses on technology and IT entrepreneurs.
• C-Hub supports creative and cultural industries.
• Cubex41 is the place-to-be for startups operating in the medical sector.
• Fun Fact: Mannheim holds the title of “UNESCO City of Music”. Therefore, the Musikpark aims for founders in the music industry.
• The Gig7 is the center for female entrepreneurship. Although the incubator mainly supports women in business, mixed teams are welcome as well.
• On a regional level: The Walldorf-based startup center innowerft supports innovative startups from the high-tech, software and technology sector. As a strong partner, they accompany and advise you on your way to found a successful company. The innowerft is a joint initiative of SAP SE, the city of Walldorf and the FZI Research Center for Computer Science Karlsruhe.
• Another regional contact point is the Gründungswerkstatt, providing a secure platform for implementing your business idea. You can work and communicate with other nationwide founders and will be supported by an expert of the IHK.

EVENTS AND NETWORK OPPORTUNITIES

The Mannheim Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation MCEI offers a calendar that gives an excellent overview about current events. Additionally, events happening within the regional ecosystem are also announced at the website of Startup Mannheim. When you are specifically interested in learning more about entrepreneurship and want to participate in interesting workshops, you should check out the facebook site of IHK Rhein-Neckar.

Besides that, we want to emphasize the Regulars’ Table for founders by Startup Mannheim, every second Wednesday of the month (6 pm). Founders and those interested in startups meet at the Dankbar Mannheim. During the cozy exchange of experiences, you will get the chance to enrich your own professional network. Another interesting gathering is the Startup Lounge by the MCEI. They meet every other Tuesday (7:30 pm) during the semester (February-June; September-December) at the Café L3.

We already talked about the benefits of pitch events in previous guides, so last but not least we recommend some Pitch Contests: Opportunities to pitch your startup to a bigger crowd are the Start-up BW Elevator-Pitch, the Q-Summit Pitch-Battle (€5.000) or the MCEI Seed-Award (supports startup teams that have emerged at the University of Mannheim with a €10.000 seed price).

VENTURE CAPITAL

First Momentum Ventures — That’s us! We are a young innovative fund, with a special passion for student startups. Our main goal is to provide young inspiring startups with a first pre-seed investment. Our five founders (Andreas Fischer, Alexander Kaiser, Sebastian Böhmer, Karl Lorey and Benedikt Stolz, l.t.r.) are always happy to get to know you and your ideas, but you can also contact our Mannheim ambassador Mario Padis anytime! Mario, a Business Administration student, is intensively involved in the regional startup scene. So it is quite likely that you meet him at events. Just feel free to get in touch. We are really looking forward to that!

Looking for an investment, you may also consider the various business angels located in Mannheim. Or call the city of Mannheim for help. They support upcoming companies with two programs: KREATECH funds small companies with a strong focus on technology or creative industries, while the Beteiligungsfonds Wirtschaftsförderung Mannheim supports startups with slightly larger tickets (€50.000 to €200.000). Furthermore, the independent subsidiary of the Landesbank Baden Wuerttenberg LBBW Venture invests in early and late growth stages of companies. Apart from financial support, they offer access to their corporate client network.

CONCLUSION

The startup ecosystem of Mannheim offers the first foundation to start a company of your own. Especially as a young founder or student this is the best time in your life to be brave and try out something new, something unfamiliar and daunting. Whether you’re looking to simply learn about entrepreneurship or dedicate a few years to build that next unicorn, just remember to have fun on this journey! Allow yourself to try, to fail and to try it again. But you will be surrounded by the best support team you could ever wish for: Peers as passionate and brilliant as you are.

So, are you up for the challenge?

Note: Did we miss some important touch points for student founders in Mannheim? Let us know! We are always happy to learn more about your regional startup ecosystem.

As a pre-seed investor, we help your startup to gain its first momentum by backing you with a first investment as well as world-class mentoring, a strong community, and the required know-how. Read more at firstmomentum.vc, stay up-to-date with our newsletter or get in touch through Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn.