Entrepreneurial Networks and Startup Management

A total of ten teams, each consisting of five students, worked on practice-oriented projects throughout the semester. Eight teams collaborated directly with successful early-stage startups, which provided real business challenges drawn from their day-to-day entrepreneurial activities. These cases addressed topics such as strategy, business model development, market opportunities, growth, and entrepreneurial networks. Working closely with startup founders allowed students to develop practical solutions while gaining valuable insights into the realities of early-stage ventures.

The remaining two teams participated in an Open Innovation Challenge. Instead of solving an existing startup case, they developed their own business ideas and entrepreneurial concepts, providing an opportunity to explore original venture creation from the ground up.

The practical projects were complemented by a strong academic foundation. Throughout the course, students explored and presented research-based methods and analytical approaches that matched the specific challenges of their respective projects. This combination of theoretical knowledge and practical application ensured a close integration of entrepreneurship research and real-world problem solving.

The course concluded with a final pitch event on 15 July 2026. Each team presented its solution in a six-minute pitch before a jury consisting of faculty members and founders from the participating startups. The presentations were followed by a two-minute Q&A session in which the teams defended and discussed their concepts.

The final event demonstrated the value of close collaboration between academia and the startup ecosystem. Most notably, one student team decided to further develop the concept created during the course into a new startup venture. The course therefore not only strengthened entrepreneurial competencies but also successfully inspired students to take the next step toward founding a company themselves.