Showcase offices for business start-ups

The foundation floor of UniKasselTransfer: you have to go a little higher to reach it. The elevator goes up to the 3rd floor of Torhaus A in Gottschalkstraße. Downstairs, future architects and urban planners are trained; upstairs, on the top floor, start-ups are founded. A long corridor connects six offices, a meeting room and a kitchenette. In the offices, desks with computer equipment and telephones. Still somewhat spartan, but very clear and functional. After a renovation phase, financed by residual funds from the dissolved university society, the Foundation Floor has been back in operation since July 1. "In contrast to the Science Park, where established companies move in, the start-up floor is intended for students and employees of the university who are developing early business concepts, i.e. are in the pre-foundation phase and have not yet gained a foothold on the market as start-ups," explains Gabriele Hennemuth, who advises start-up projects at UniKasselTransfer Incubator. The creative and communicative atmosphere is motivating and supportive: The teams can meet like-minded people here, which promotes the exchange of ideas, experience and contacts.

Some of the five teams are supported by EXIST grants or received a six-month Hessen Ideas Grant to establish themselves on the market with new business ideas. Game designers Robin Vehrs (32) and Chris Schnerr (36) from riprip, computer scientist Jonas Thelemann (25) from maevsi and Johannes Pfleging (36) from CoARTec, who has a doctorate in engineering, joined us for the interview. Schoolutions and Larabicus have also moved into offices on the founding floor (for profiles, see right). To say it straight away, the teams feel extremely comfortable here after only a short time and are receiving excellent support and advice from UniKasselTransfer. The year ahead offers them planning security. They have a daily workspace that creates structure and routine: for Chris Schnerr, this is one of the main advantages: "We worked from home for a long time, now we have a focus and are not distracted by our private lives." Johannes Pfleging appreciates the professional environment and the existing infrastructure. He also likes the proximity to the campus and the exchange with colleagues next door. However, Robin Vehrs admits that it's still early days: "It still needs to come together. I'm guessing that there will be even more contacts towards winter, once we've settled in here." Jonas Thelemann also believes this, although he really enjoys working at night when no one else is around on the start-up floor. But he also sees this as an advantage of this location, as it offers peace and quiet and guarantees absolute concentration.

Are they aiming high with their start-up ideas? Differently: while Larabicus receives excellence funding with EXIST research transfer and is working flat out to build a growing company, Chris Schnerr emphasizes that riprip should remain small: "We are concentrating on our strengths. Consistency is more important to us than rapid growth." Jonas Thelemann is "super satisfied" with what he has achieved so far. Where is the project heading? He wants to focus on the ideas of the customers and remain open to further perspectives. And for Johannes Pfleging, the start-up floor is already a "good opportunity to see what you can get up and running. I can test my business model. No matter how it turns out, it will remain a great experience."

This article appeared in the university magazine publik 2024/3. Text and photos: Andreas Gebhardt