Since October 2015, Stadtwerke Gießen has been offering founders a platform as well as the resources and premises to bring innovative ideas to market maturity. With the help of GründerWerkStadt, Julia Althen successfully established her start-up within twelve months. Several other creative minds are currently working on following her example at the premises in Lahnstraße Gießen.
Graduation, job application, permanent position - this is the path most people choose after leaving school or university. Julia Althen, on the other hand, opted for the alternative of self-employment around a year ago. Immediately after completing her Master's degree in Media Studies and Business Administration, she was given the opportunity to carry out a competition analysis at the Giessen-based company Cursor Software AG. "The results impressed the managers so much that they immediately implemented some of my recommendations," reveals the 28-year-old. "That signalled to me that I can make a difference with my ideas and my work."
This is precisely why Julia Althen applied for the GründerWerkStadt programme run by Stadtwerke Gießen (SWG), which started in October 2015. At a press event to mark the first anniversary on 31 October, Jens Schmidt, Commercial Director of SWG, summed up the GründerWerkStadt concept: "It's about supporting creative people in establishing their innovative start-up companies on the market. In this way, we create added value for all sides and strengthen the entrepreneurial spirit and innovative power in the entire region."
Driving innovation
Using new ideas to develop solutions to upcoming challenges today - this idea is playing an increasingly important role at SWG. The energy service provider is underlining just how important this is with a new division that deals exclusively with the topic of innovation management. Department head Dominik Schröder emphasised at the press event on 31 October: "GründerWerkStadt is one of the most important elements of our innovation strategy. We offer founders twelve months' time and all the necessary resources to work on their ideas in peace and quiet."
The modern premises of GründerWerkStadt are located directly on the SWG factory premises in Lahnstrasse. Since the beginning of 2016, the 180 square metre space on the upper floor of Umspannwerk West has been home to a modern open-plan office with mobile desks, individual workstations, a presentation corner and a small kitchen. "The perfect ambience," emphasised Dominik Schröder. "This is where the entrepreneurial spirit and our very own strengths can come together to create something new," Jens Schmidt continued.
If the company is ultimately founded, Stadtwerke Giessen will receive a share in return for the financial support provided to the start-ups.
First female founder takes positive stock
At the end of her year at GründerWerkStadt, Julia Althen emphasised at the press event how much the environment and atmosphere had helped her to start her own business: "For me, it was the perfect opportunity to concentrate fully on the field of activity that I was most passionate about during my studies - the world of analysis and interpretation. This allowed me to further develop my services in a targeted manner. The contacts I made through SWG also helped me a lot. This network in particular is one of the most important building blocks for success at the beginning."
Among other things, the young woman offers companies the opportunity to create individual, transparent analyses of their own strengths and highlight unique selling points compared to competitors. She explained: "With the help of the categories I create, different companies can be directly compared with each other, opportunities can be recognised and risks can be identified at an early stage."
For SWG, the successful entrepreneur proves that the GründerWerkStadt idea works. "Julia Althen's example will be followed by several others in the coming years," Dominik Schröder is certain, adding: "These include start-ups that deal with completely different problems." As far as the topics are concerned, SWG has deliberately kept the criteria open. This is also demonstrated by the current projects: Two deal with the development of applications for smartphones and one with digitalised data acquisition during maintenance work. Two other founders are working on new technologies for passenger counting in local public transport and innovative new wastewater systems.
"Even if energy issues are currently at the forefront of our day-to-day business, as a service provider in Giessen and the region, we will be faced with numerous other tasks in the future that are not directly related to our core business area. Many a solution may be developed by the creative minds here on our doorstep. These ideas can mature in GründerWerkStadt," explained Jens Schmidt.
Anyone wishing to apply to GründerWerkStadt can use the website at www.gruenderwerkstadt.de. Here, SWG provides all the important information about the process, the requirements and the scope of support.