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Entrepreneurial spirit at WHU: Young entrepreneurs impressed with innovative ideas!
On July 16, 2025, the WHU Entrepreneurship Center offered inspiring pitches and networking for innovative start-ups at Zalando headquarters.
Entrepreneurial spirit at WHU: Young entrepreneurs impressed with innovative ideas!
On July 16, 2025, an impressive event took place as part of the WHU Accelerator, which was characterized by an inspiring atmosphere. Loud WHU The participants reported on excellent founding teams that had stood out from a large number of applications. Niklas van Bömmel, head of startup coaching at the WHU Entrepreneurship Center, highlighted the quality of the pitches, which were supported by 80 experienced mentors.
What was particularly notable was the opportunity for the young entrepreneurs to network after their presentations at Zalando headquarters. This promoted exchange and the establishment of valuable contacts within the start-up community.
Outstanding start-ups
Among the start-ups participating in the WHU Accelerator was the company Vaestro, which received a special bonus of 3,000 euros from confluentes e.V., WHU's student management consultancy. Vaestro, founded by Henri Voigt (BSc 2018) and Nils Bartig, offers innovative heat pump solutions for the sustainable modernization of heating systems in apartment buildings.
Other start-ups that made an impact include:
- arcos: Gegründet von Louis Wübben und Linus Wetzig (beide BSc 2025), entwickelt eine integrierte Alarmempfangsinfrastruktur für die Digitalisierung von Rettungsleitstellen.
- DocuZero: Gegründet von Jaro Müller (BSc 2023), Kajo Kratzenstein und Viktor Presber, bietet KI-gestützte Dokumentationsautomatisierung an.
- Kivo Games: Gegründet von Franziska Harzheim (BSc 2022) und Oscar Kerscher, bringt KI in Gaming-Studios zur Analyse von Spielverhalten in Echtzeit.
- nyka Technologies: Gegründet von Adam Sylejman Bekteshi, Jamil Hashemi und Pierre Chami (alle BSc 2024), bietet eine personalisierte Gesundheitsplattform mit KI-gestützten Empfehlungen.
- Orbion: Gegründet von Çağlar Bozkurt und Aniruddh Goteti (MBA 2024), entwickelt eine KI-Plattform zur Vorhersage stabiler Proteine.
- ZULA Kids: Gegründet von Janine Vanessa Heinrich (MSc 2022) und Alain Missala, bringt Kinderbücher über eine datengestützte Publishing-Plattform in die Familien.
Promoting entrepreneurship
Another important event organized as part of the WHU Entrepreneurship Center will take place on November 29th. Under the title “Save democracy with kebab prices – How start-ups and medium-sized businesses keep our society stable” the aim is to promote entrepreneurship and innovation, emphasizing the role of small, creative teams in solving real problems. LinkedIn highlights that this is a discussion about supporting SMEs and start-ups. The focus is on moving faster, thinking bolder and tackling current challenges.
Thanks to Adam Sylejman Bekteshi for organizing the event, which aims to give people tools and opportunities to take risks and achieve bigger dreams.
Creation of founding factories in Germany
In a broader context, the establishment of the Learning and Exchange Center to accelerate and professionalize start-up factories and ecosystems in Germany is becoming increasingly important. Entrepreneurship points out that although Germany is a leader in research, it has weaknesses in the commercialization of scientific results. Insights are often not translated into marketable products, hindering economic growth and innovation.
In addition, the “Start-up Factories” lighthouse competition was launched by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection. The aim of the competition is to promote university-affiliated start-up centers and the creation of additional start-up factories, inspired by models such as UnternehmerTUM, HPI and CampusFounders, in order to increase the number of knowledge-based spin-offs in Germany.