Startup EN

GET STARTED NOW

CONSOLIDATE IDEAS,
BUILD A BUSINESS.

WHO WE ARE

Since 2007, a total of 152 startups have benefited from WECONOMY - and the trend is rising. CureVac, FOND of and Kinexon were one of the first. Will your startup be the next?

YOUR BENEFIT

Know-how

Learn from and with the best!

During speed mentoring sessions and keynote speeches, top managers and executives will provide you with insights, extensive business knowledge and new perspectives.

Network

With our help you can build up a network!

Contacts are crucial for entrepreneurial progress. We support you with a strong network and our expertise: Get in touch with top managers and find out what challenges they see for your company.

Coaching

Take your startup to the next level!

Four two-day workshops on the topics of market, sales and growth help you to take important steps for further development. Make your startup ready for the next step and lay the foundation for cooperations and partnerships.

HERE ARE THE PREREQUISITES

Learn more about what we expect and require from your startup.

Early Stage / Pre Seed

Startups that have not yet been founded can also take part in the competition. Experience shows that you have the best chances if you can present a proof of concept or pilots!

Headquarters in Germany

Your startup should be based in Germany.

STEM and technology focus

We are looking for innovative startups that are active in the STEM and technology sector. Whether MedTech, FinTech, AgriTech - the range is broad, so go for it!

Diversity

Success stands and falls with the diversity of the team. The more diverse, the better!

You don't meet all the requirements?

„

We are currently at a point in the company's development where contacts with investors are exciting. But today we also want to learn from mentors how growth factors are perceived and what customers are looking for. For example, what role do leadership programmes play in our industry sector?

Amelie Wiedemann

Dear Employee

Mehr Info

APPLICATIONS START MAY 2023

Are you ready to really take off with your startup? We welcome you to apply next year, the winners of this year are already announced.

THE WECONOMY JURY

Prof. Dr. Burkhard Schwenker

Roland Berger GmbH

Steering Committee Member of the Wissensfabrik, Chairman of the WECONOMY Jury

Dr. Iris Liliana Bleck

FintechX GmbH

Co-Founder and CEO of a fintech startup offering banking products to SMEs. Previously, she was Deputy Managing Director of the German branch of Silicon Valley Bank, that provides support to innovative growth companies as well as their investors.

Dr. Axel Krieger

Digitalplus GmbH

Managing Director and co-founder of Digital+ Partners, has over 15 years of experience in strategy consulting at McKinsey. He was most recently responsible for the automotive and industrial sector in China and for the northeast of the USA (New York, Boston).

Catharina van Delden

innosabi GmbH

Catharina van Delden is CEO and CO-Founder of innosabi GmbH. innosabi is one of the leading providers of software for idea and innovation management. With her involvement in the BITKOM Presidium, she represents the interests of the digital industry and has been a member of the Advisory Board (South) of Deutsche Bank AG since 2017.

Hans-Jürgen Jakobs

Handelsblatt Media Group

Economist and journalist. Hans-Jürgen Jakobs has been working at Handelsblatt since 2013, since 2016 as Senior Editor.

Dr. Ingmar Hoerr

Founder of CureVac and Founder of Morpho Foudation

Biologist and Founder and longtime CEO and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of CureVac AG in Tübingen, that has been founded in 2000. He has been one of the first WECONOMY Winners in year 2007. In 2011 he joined the WECONOMY Jury for the first time.

Daria Saharova

World Fund

One of the few female partners in venture capital, is in the process of launching the largest European climate tech VC in Germany. In 2020, the German Startup Association awarded her the German Startup Award in the category "Best Female Investor".

Bettine Schmitz

Auxxo

Co-founder of Auxxo, an angel investor club that focuses particularly on startups with at least one woman on the founding team.

Dr. Lukas Günther

Sofinnova

His focus is on healthcare and technology. The former surgeon was previously an investment director at Wellington Partners.

Dr. Christiane Zedelius

Dentons Group

Many years of experience in the fields of distribution and commercial law. She advises companies on franchise, agency and licence agreements as well as sourcing and quality agreements. 2017 she founded the female health startup mimeno.