Communications and Marketing
Mobility dashboard wins Start-up Cup at Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg
Each team had just five minutes to convince the jury of their business idea. The jury in turn scrutinised the presented ideas for new products and services for plausibility with critical questions. "What tells you that no one else is realising this idea?" was one question, for example, to which each of the five start-up teams that made it to the final had to have a good answer ready. And the jury also wanted to know: "Who are your customers?" and "Where do you produce and how much of it can you already produce?".
At the final in front of around 70 guests in the large lecture theatre, the finalists were hardly nervous thanks to their good preparation. And they all stuck to the five-minute time limit. The teams had previously trained their stage performance with a professional coach as part of the university's start-up centre. The university set up the start-up centre, which also organises the competition, under the name Start-up-Manufaktur in order to offer a comprehensive range of start-up services.
A jury had previously selected the five business ideas for the final from numerous submissions. During the presentations or "pitches", it became clear that the business ideas were quite advanced. Most of the teams were able to present something concrete, such as product samples or demo software.
The jury awarded first prize, worth 2500 euros, to "mobilityHQ", a mobility dashboard for cities and municipalities. The software was developed by Lena Recki, Paul Bossauer, Kalvin Kroth and Felix Peters, who are research associates at the university. The idea originated from a research project at the university. The dashboard visualises different mobility data in a new way and thus supports the mobility transition. Second place went to business administration student Karol Genczyk and his colleagues Luc Robuste and Tobias Kipp, who produce juice from citrus zest - 100 per cent natural, unpasteurised and with a shelf life of several months. they named their product "Succo di zesta", for which they received 2,000 euros in prize money.
The jury awarded third place to students Jan Hornig and Tim Hornig, who have developed a process to generate heat from industrial water streams and bind CO2 at the same time. Their "Neptune" model utilises high-efficiency heat exchangers and heat pumps.
The other finalists were "BürokrAI", an end-to-end software solution that supports SMEs with task management, and the tooth drops from Marius Unsel and Jens Selent. What both of them dislike about conventional toothpaste is that it causes plastic waste and contains questionable ingredients. Their solution: dry toothpaste drops based on hydroxyapatite, hygienically dispensed individually. the audience found this idea the most appealing, awarding the audience prize to the toothpaste alternative.
Jury member Axel Nitsch from Bonn-based early-stage investor HTGF was delighted with the variety and quality of the business ideas presented:
"I am delighted to be part of the Start-up Cup every year and to see how the presenting teams are getting better and better. I believe that the Start-up Cup makes an important contribution to the further development of the ecosystem in our region. I am already very excited about next year."
Special prizes were awarded that evening in the large lecture theatre at the university for mobilityHQ and the student Mohammad Mahdi Yousefian and his solution for managing medical data. Yousefian, who is studying Applied Biology at H-BRS, came up with the idea of combining hybrid encryption with Ki, blockchain and secure tablets. In this way, patient data should be immediately available, prioritised and tamper-proof. As part of the prize, the student will be accepted into the Hubgrade Accelerator Programme of the Digitalhub Bonn.
The Start-up Cup has been running at Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences since 2021. The idea behind the university's internal competition is to offer a low-threshold introduction to the topic of start-ups. Participation is possible with a brand-new idea in the draft stage as well as with a largely developed product for which a start-up already exists. Condition: The start-up must have been founded no more than one year ago. The jury is made up of professors from the university and external experts. The competition is sponsored by the Centre for Entrepreneurship, Innovation and SMEs (CENTIM) and the Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences.
Competition of good ideas: The final of the Start-up Cup
Contact
Karoline Noth
Project lead SoNaR, @ Start-up-Manufaktur - das Gründungszentrum der Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg
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Rheinbach
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H 306
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Von-Liebig-Straße 20
53359, Rheinbach
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Mo-Do: nach Vereinbarung
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Sankt Augustin
Room
F 413
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Grantham-Allee 20
Sankt Augustin
Telephone
022418659850
Location
Sankt Augustin
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E 240
Address
Grantham-Allee 20
53757, Sankt Augustin
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+49 2241 865 9560