#bawükommt Tour 2024
22.04.2024
Ana Beatriz Benatti
Backstage
3 days, 3 startup ecosystems and a bus full of startups, companies and institutions from the startup world of Baden-Württemberg. Thomas and Daniela were at the start for the KIT-Gründerschmiede, this year for the first time as supporters of the tour.
The programme for the 2024 Tour was promising
On Thursday we left the SAP Arena in Mannheim at 8am. As we were not complete here (nine people from Stuttgart came directly to Nuremberg), the networking was concentrated at the back of the bus, at the end of which was a large table with seven seats around it – very cosy and entertaining.
Our programme at a glance:
Day 1: Nürnberg: Zollhof followed by lunch on the bus // Dresden: Visit to the start-up Wandelbots, followed by a cosy dinner at the Watzke Brewery
Day 2: Prague: Impact Hub Praha// Czech Founders NGO and VC & Opero, Startup Kitchen and Ment2Grow // Visit to the start-up Ackee
What did we learn and take away from the tour?
Zollhof has shared the experience that it is more targeted and effective for incubators and start-ups if the support is personalised and individualised and there are no overarching thematic workshops per quarter, as not every start-up needs a workshop on, for example, patent applications/financing rounds at the same time.
Wandelbots has shown us that success, courage, failure and reorientation can go hand in hand. After seven years, the company is saying goodbye to its TecPEN product and will now only offer software development. The first months after the change show that although the decision was very painful (38 out of 140 employees had to leave), it was also important and the right one.
Impact Hub Praha: Flexibility and openness are important when setting up an impact hub in Prague. If there are too few start-ups at the beginning, anyone interested can easily use the newly created co-working space and the actual strategy can be pursued and expanded in parallel.
Czech Founders und Startup Kitchen has shown us: Competition stimulates business, but it does not create community. That’s why the focus in Prague is on cooperation, because sharing is caring. The ecosystem, and therefore the start-ups, benefit most when synergies are created and used, when people stick together and support each other. We were also very pleased and pleasantly surprised that there was so much interest from the other side. The four speakers also peppered us with questions and Adam and Tomas spontaneously joined us in the evening to continue networking.
Mark from the successful Czech Tech Startup Ackee presented the ups and downs of her company’s journey in her very innovative, new and green office on the 6th floor above the rooftops of Prague. Afterwards, he was bombarded with questions for over an hour, as the start-ups on the tour were particularly keen to share ideas and experiences.
What remains to be said?
The highlight is and will always be the togetherness on the bus. Of course, the various programme items were very interesting and a good opportunity to look beyond one’s own horizons. However, it is the new personal contacts and insights that are most lasting, as the word ‘networking’ takes on a new dimension on a 6-hour bus journey. And as everyone sings into the night on the first night, a bond is formed that lasts until the end of the tour. We come back with the happy realisation that we are already doing a hell of a lot right in Karlsruhe and that we have already introduced and implemented many things that others are still planning or dreaming of. So less complaining and more rejoicing. 😉
What is unique about the #bawükommt Tour?
The mix makes the difference, because there is not just one target group on the bus, but three: start-ups, investors, incubators and institutions that support start-ups. They all need and benefit from each other. And a very dedicated organising team (thank you very much) has been responsible for the annual tour for nine years now.
