Students had the opportunity to learn from 8 different visiting guest speakers from Germany and USA as part of our Master course, From Idea to Commercialization: Start-up School, during the 2020-2021 winter semester. Each of these 8 guests was an expert in the field of Entrepreneurship and Innovation. The list included successful and serial entrepreneurs, the CEO of a digital incubator, and a legal expert on startups and new ventures.
Mr. Constantin Schwab
CEO of Wirelane GmbH, Founder & CEO of kinoheld GmbH, Founder & CEO of Plain Energy GmbH
Mr. Schwab describes himself as a Technology Enthusiast, an Impact Investor, and a Curious Citizen. A successful serial entrepreneur and a celebrated keynote speaker, he is currently the CEO of Wirelane GmbH, an innovative solution for locating public parking spaces, and a sophisticated ecosystem of charging stations for electric cars. He is the recipient of the Fast Company's Innovation by Design Award (2018) and the Red Dot Award (2019). During his interactive lecture, Mr. Schwab highlighted insights from his experience and multiple ventures, and tips on how to deal with rejection as an entrepreneur.
Dr. Franz Glatz
CEO of brigk, a Digital Incubator
Dr. Glatz’s motto is Machen, Machen, Machen. Armed with a doctorate in Chemistry from TUM, Dr. Glatz worked in Investment Banking before taking the plunge into the world of entrepreneurship and startups. He was the managing director of WERK1, an innovation hub in Munich, before his current stint as the CEO of brigk, a digital tech incubator in the region of Ingolstadt. Drawing from his extensive experience in developing and nurturing innovative and creative startups, Dr. Glatz lectured on the topics of finding the key to opening doors for entrepreneurs and startup ventures, and building a strong network as young entrepreneurs.
Mr. Fabian Foelsch
Founder & CEO of BRAINEFFECT
Mr. Foelsch, a proud WFI alumnus, describes himself as a Passionate Performance-Food Entrepreneur & Biohacker. His successful venture, BRAINEFFECT, develops and sells high-quality supplements and digital coaching, to support day-to-day physical and mental health. His startup has won several awards and he has been featured in the list of top creators in Germany. Mr. Foelsch lectured on funding mechanisms for start-ups, and on how to pitch and negotiate with investors.
Mr. Abhi Chakrabarti (USA)
Co-Founder & CEO of Uplancer, Founder & CEO of Bentolingo, Formerly Founder & CEO of Linguavista
Mr. Chakrabarti is a serial Tech Entrepreneur based in the United States who started his first venture, Linguavista, when he was just 19 years old. After Linguavista was acquired by a private equity firm in less than 6 years, he founded Bentolingo, a language learning app utilizing the power of social learning. As Bentolingo continues to steadily climb the charts of the top 50 education apps in the United States, he is currently nurturing his next startup, Uplancer, a marketplace for student freelancing gigs. In his guest lecture, Mr. Chakrabarti provided his most valuable learnings and his biggest challenges in his journey as a Tech Entrepreneur.
Mr. Marc Goldner and Ms. Rachel Korsen (USA)
Co-Founders of Golden Bell Studios
Mr. Marc Goldner and Ms. Rachel Korsen are co-founders of Golden Bell Studios, a USA based entertainment company that creates animation films, comic books, card games, board games, toys, and video games. Mr. Goldner and Ms. Korsen who started their venture while pursuing their bachelor studies at The Ohio State University, continue to grow their business while individually pursuing different master’s degrees currently. In their guest lecture, Mr. Goldner and Ms. Korsen, their experience of how to balance being a student and an entrepreneur, navigating the entertainment business, and the challenges they face every day in running a very lean startup.
Mr. Ehsan Parsa
Founder & CEO of Rootify, Founder & CEO of Carry-On(-e)Wheel
Mr. Ehsan Allahyar Parsa is a serial entrepreneur in the field of EduTech and the permanent shift to digital learning. Mr. Parsa successfully pitched Rootify on Germany’s Die Höhle der Löwen (the equivalent of the program Shark Tank in the USA) and won investment during his pitch. During his lecture, Mr. Parsa explained how to create and consolidate attractive and winning start-up pitches to investors.
Dr. Christian Auktor
Notar, Ingolstadt
Dr. Auktor is an Official Notary (Notar) based in Ingolstadt, who specializes in corporate law and in helping entrepreneurs in officially setting up their companies. He has a doctorate degree from LMU in Munich, is a publishes research author, and has more than 15 years of experience as a notary in Bavaria. He also volunteers in various social projects in the region. Dr. Auktor conducted an interactive Q&A session during which our students asked questions about legal know-how for starting their ventures and the pros and cons of different type of companies.