On 4 July, the eagerly awaited “Startup Port Community Day 2023” took place, at which the community of start-ups supported by the “Startup Port” association and those interested in founding a company met. In addition, the cooperation with the “beyourpilot” association was celebrated, which will considerably strengthen the “Startup Port” in the future. The event promised inspiring pitches, useful insights, exciting discussions and, of course, plenty of opportunity for networking over cool drinks and snacks.
At HAW Hamburg’s Forum Finkenau, a colourful group of people met to share their passion for entrepreneurship and innovation as part of the Startup Port Community Day 2023. The yellow of the Startup Port was the colour of the day. The event started with a warm welcome via video message by Hamburg Mayor Tschentscher as well as Claus Ruhe Madsen, Minister of Economy, Transport, Labour, Technology and Tourism in Schleswig-Holstein. Both politicians emphasised the importance of entrepreneurship for the region, the impact of the Startup Port and underlined the commitment of the public sector in supporting startups.
Podium at the start
The charming Monika Mertens from Gedankenrezepte.de led through the event, who also fascinated the audience with a poetic contribution on the topic of start-ups. The panel provided a platform for diverse exchange. Among the participants were interesting personalities such as Beatrice von Braunschweig, a bachelor’s student of Slavic studies at the University of Hamburg who is interested in founding a company and a participant in the INTIE programme with her fascinating start-up project SpotMe, an intelligent recruiting app. Also on stage was Viktor Büchner, a Master’s student at Leuphana University Lüneburg, who was already successful with his startup “Holy Shit.” in the field of cradle-to-cradle consulting during his Bachelor’s degree and is now developing a biodegradable yoga mat with his current start-up project MadMat. Victor Kessler, a Master’s graduate from Leuphana University Lüneburg and co-founder of the EXIST-funded start-up “Notch”, a sales software to improve cooperation between buyers and sellers, also shared his experiences. Joshua Biron, a Leuphana University of Lüneburg Bachelor student interested in founding a company, presented his startup project on the topic of vertical farming, which was created during the university’s startup camp and has already attracted a lot of attention. Sinziana Thurm, a student at Leuphana University of Lüneburg and former participant of the STEP programme, presented her startup project “IMPACT 3D”, a digital B2B platform that uses 3D printing and AI to offer eco-friendly design, prototyping and manufacturing solutions for businesses. Burak Gökkaya was himself a start-up consultant at the University of Hamburg in the meantime and worked for beyourpilot, meanwhile he is co-founder of Vollefarben.de and was thus able to report on diverse experiences and provide valuable insights.
Pitches, snacks and drinks
After the panel discussion, it was finally time for the eagerly awaited pitches and convivial networking. Numerous startups, including Mycolutions, Toern, BORRO, Amsight, Immerzed, Impact3D, WG MATCH, LHZ Analytics, Groon and mo:re presented their innovative business ideas. The presentations offered participants a wealth of inspiration and opportunities to make contacts. Accompanying the event was music from a DJ, various snacks and drinks. With an estimated number of 300 people, a good 70 more than last year, the event was a complete success. The increasing number of participants underlines the growing interest and importance of the start-up ecosystem in the Hamburg Metropolitan Region.
United start-up support for the Hamburg Metropolitan Region
The cooperation between Startup Port and beyourpilot as a cross-institutional contact point for prospective founders has proven to be fruitful: The cooperation of ten renowned universities and research institutions undoubtedly strengthens the start-up ecosystem and ensures comprehensive support from the idea to market entry. The Startup Port Community Day 2023 was a first highlight of this intensified cooperation and offered an excellent platform for inspiring pitches, interesting field reports, exciting discussions and, last but not least, sociable networking to further strengthen and advance the start-up scene in the Hamburg Metropolitan Region.
