Founding with full energy into the future: At the launch of the EXIST Women funding program, over 50 committed female founders and women interested in starting a business came together at HfWU Nürtingen-Geislingen. HFT Stuttgart is also part of the Stuttgart region network as an active partner university.
The programme, funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection, is aimed specifically at women interested in starting their own business - from female students and scientists to female graduates.
The event kicked off with a motivating video message from Verena Pausder, Chairwoman of the Board of the German Start-ups Association. The entrepreneur is one of the best-known faces on the start-up scene in Germany. "Don't give up", she encouraged the women in their endeavours. "It's a marathon and not a sprint, success doesn't come overnight. That's not the aim of the exercise either, but to create things that won't go away, that change markets and industries."
The participants were then given an insight into the 9-month programme with a focus on coaching, mentoring, co-founder matching, prototyping and numerous practical workshops.
In addition to the HfWU, the network also includes Esslingen University of Applied Sciences, Stuttgart Media University (HdM), the University of Stuttgart, the University of Hohenheim and the University of Tübingen - as well as Stuttgart University of Applied Sciences with the PLAN G start-up centre.
PLAN G contributes expertise from the fields of online marketing, accounting, purpose and female empowerment, among others. The aim is to strengthen women on their individual path to self-employment - both professionally and personally.
At the HFT, we are starting the EXIST Women journey with 9 inspiring female founders, with our now established Purpose workshop kicking off in April.
One highlight of the kick-off event was the panel discussion "From idea to start-up", in which successful female founders from various sectors shared their experiences - openly, honestly and inspiringly.
Sarina Hötzel (Fünf Prozent), Aliena Leonhard (relionite), Dr Julia-Sophie Ezinger (Rhome) and Agnieszka Walorska (mika) exchanged views on various issues under the moderation of Tuğba Küpeli (HfWU) and Andrea Fuhrer (HfWU). Topics such as willingness to take risks, part-time start-ups, work-life balance and the search for a suitable co-founder were openly addressed, with topics such as willingness to take risks, part-time start-ups, work-life balance and the search for suitable co-founders taking centre stage.
The event concluded with a "female founders' barbecue", where new visions were forged together - in the HfWU Futurebox.
