Proof of Concept 2023 - Our participants

Published on: Oct 18, 2023Proof of Concept Entrepreneurship Summit Crowdfunding Crowdinvesting

By Entrepreneurship Campus

Proof of Concept 2023 - Our participants

Every year, motivated entrepreneurs meet at the Entrepreneurship Summit and put their start-up ideas to the test in the Proof of Concept market test.

On Saturday, 7 founders will present their product/service on the main stage in the Audimax after the lunch break. They will then have until Sunday afternoon to test their product/service on the market - meaning on the Entrepreneurship Summit participants - generate their first sales and get valuable feedback from potential customers. Their stands will be located on the upper floor of the Henry Ford Building. There you can get a feel for the products/services of the aspiring founders.

To get started, you can get to know our Proof of Concept participants 2023 a little bit here:

twelve

The labour market in Germany has been complaining about a shortage of skilled workers for some time. Contrast this with the fact that, according to a Gallup study from 2021, only 17% of the workforce in Germany is engaged. 68% are not engaged, and 15% quit internally. This leads to low productivity, high absenteeism, employee dissatisfaction and turnover.

In addition, there is a great lack of transparency in German companies about the talents, strengths and interests of their employees. Talent management focuses on certified skills instead of strengths. A lot of potential is wasted here, which - used correctly - can counteract the shortage of skilled workers.

Based on my many years of experience in building and developing companies and teams as well as insights from organisational psychology, New Work and Maria Montessori, I have developed the method "Building self-motivated high-performance teams". It starts with the distribution of work in the team with the aim of making the strengths and interests of the employees visible and matching them to the appropriate tasks and roles. In this way, hidden strengths and potentials can be recognised and utilised.

When work is distributed according to strengths and interests, the intrinsic motivation of each employee increases, and with it their satisfaction, health and loyalty to the company. This results in higher productivity, lower fluctuation and thus lower personnel procurement costs, as well as a higher attractiveness of the employer on the labour market.

Website: twelve

Cleao - The Future of Networking

At the core of our concept is a matchmaking app for entrepreneurs modelled on Tinder. The app is designed to help entrepreneurs meet like-minded people, suitable co-founders, investors or other business partners in the simplest and most efficient way possible. For this purpose, the profiles of other app users (interests, qualifications and other information) are displayed one after the other. You can save the profiles and contact the people easily within the app via a chat function.

In addition, there is the possibility to filter according to certain characteristics (interests, qualifications, etc.) in order to systematically organise the search for a suitable business partner.

Later on, it will probably also be possible to create a start-up profile, so that investors and other entrepreneurs can not only search for founders, but also for companies.

Revenue model:
Income is to be generated through a freemium model. The main functions will be available to everyone for free, so we want to lower the barrier to entry and maximise the number of users. Certain functions will be offered for a fee in a subscription system.

Marketing:
In order to get users and keep the marketing costs as low as possible, we want to enter into partnerships with co-founder pools. Such a partnership could mean, for example, that we advertise for the co-founder pool in our app and the company behind the co-founder pool advertises for us in return.

Website: Cleo - The Future of Networking

Die neue Freiheit - The new freedom

Description of the workshop offer
The new freedom - unfolding the potential in the post-professional phase of life

Brief description
You have been involved in your profession for many years and now retirement age is approaching. The transition to the post-work phase will change many things in your life: Leisure time, finances, contacts and role and importance in society. How will you use this new freedom? This workshop will help you to better prepare for the post-work phase of your life. You will find support for developing a clear idea of how you want to shape your life after working life. The participants of the workshop will deal with different topics and develop plans for the future.

Contents

Positioning with a view to the transition to old age
Health, family and friends and social network
Factors for satisfaction in the time after work
Finances and continuation of professional activities
Possibilities for social engagement
The personal model for the future with post-professional plans and projects

Method
Moderated processing based on guiding questions on the contents of the seminar. Work on the personal future model, "reflection teams" to deepen personal questions, discussion in the plenum and exchange in small groups. Participants receive an after-work booklet for notes on the guiding questions.

Committed professionals and managers aged 55 and over who are planning their transition into the post-professional phase of life in the next 1 to 5 years.

Website: Die neue Freiheit

Dourados

Mion, I am a ship's carpenter and I am starting the Dourado project with an old fishing cutter.

The first part of the project consists of building the cutter into a sailing two-master with 12 berths. The second part is the voyage through the Atlantic Ocean.

We, the volunteers, want to give people the opportunity to discover the world like centuries ago, to make connections and to face new challenges. Whether it's trade with smallholder structures, art, handicrafts or research. We use the latest technology, plan in a resource-conserving, sustainable and value-adding way. Love and seafaring!

Website: Dourados

Alignle

A 2022 Gallup study found that 70-80% of workers worldwide feel unfulfilled or even disengaged at work. This is despite increasing efforts by companies to improve the situation. We have developed a novel consulting and coaching method to help individuals and companies better understand individual potential, establish a meaning-oriented mindset/culture and get into flow more often.

Website: Alignle

Nachhaltige Wunder Innovationsberatung - Sustainable Miracles Innovation Consulting

We are currently experiencing numerous crises that are accompanied by many new demands on companies. Sustainability, CO2 neutrality, work-life balance. This requires transformations in many areas (from resource procurement - through stronger regulations and the effects of the ecological crises). Up to personnel/administration, due to the existing labour shortage (also concerning managers).

Traditional entrepreneurs have little access to and experience of the values required and little experience of how to implement them. At the same time, there are many people who acquire this knowledge, expertise and practical experience on their own. With my management consultancy we develop solutions for ecological and social problem areas in the company in order to achieve the necessary transformation for a functioning economy.

They work together with teams of experienced people (volunteers, activists) to facilitate this exchange. The transfer of knowledge takes place through consultations with decision-makers and leaders of the teams (employees), complemented by a comprehensive consultation on ecological-social-economic contexts with a feminist view of leadership.

We educate on problematic issues (such as problem-causing ways of working, poor communication, lack of sustainable efficiency) through coaching and workshops with proven methods in which these values and ways of thinking are directly practiced with practical experiences, as well as the provision of supporting learning and practice materials (videos and written). Consultations take place in presence and online, in individual conversations, as well as in (also regular) work meetings. In order to get a realistic picture and, if necessary, to change course as soon as values are not compatible. A high degree of trustworthiness is also a basic prerequisite in our values. But this is needed on both sides. We are not available for green washing or half-hearted cheating! Furthermore, I offer access to my networking contacts (experienced coaches, selected initiatives and experts) for already existing solutions on the relevant topics (sustainability, circular economy, pesticide alternatives, etc).

Website: Nachhaltige Wunder Innovationsberatung

Reishandlung - Rice shop

In the future, you will be able to order premium quality round grain rice from REISHANDLUNG. On 21 and 22 October 2023, we will be at the Entrepreneurship Summit in Berlin.