This semester we kicked off with an all‑day Münster Startup Tour, aimed at both new members and our longtime club veterans.
Welcome to the DigiHub!
Well rested after the All Saints' Day holiday, we gathered on Wednesday, November 2 at 9:00 a.m. in the hallowed halls of edyoucated at Hafenweg 16. Thanks to the provided breakfast of croissants, pretzel sticks, coffee & co., we started the talk by Jannik, one of the co‑founders of the innovative Skill platform, in great spirits. He shared three especially valuable tips for aspiring founders: 1. Idea should come first, the startup second. 2. Try to be a generalist. 3. You have to learn fast, so start running into problems. So dear VCM members, write them down right away, because they can’t be that wrong when you look at edyoucated’s track record!
After that successful kickoff, we continued at 10:45 a.m. with a talk by Mihai about the founding story of our association and the DigiHub. We only had to walk down one floor, so everyone stayed nicely relaxed. Mihai, one of the co‑founders of our club, shared plenty of exciting insights in his always entertaining and empathetic style. Afterwards we enjoyed an exclusive tour of the DigiHub facilities. The tour ended with a climb to the top floor and another highlight: a presentation of the FabLab by Steffen, who briefly paused his vacation just for us. He showed us the many production options the FabLab offers to aspiring founders, from 3D printers and laser cutters to an industrial robot—perfect for testing early prototypes or small‑batch runs. And it’s all free—anyone can book an Open Lab slot on the website, which takes place every Wednesday. So take advantage of this unique opportunity, even if your idea isn’t fully developed yet, to get early help and advice!
Off to the city, off to the Hive!
With all these insights, it was around 11:30 a.m. that it was time to get some fresh air again.
So we hopped on Leeze, e‑scooters & Co and headed together toward our next destination: the Hive, an inspiring co‑working space for a variety of Münster startups. Located on the top floor of a chic building at Hörsterplatz, it also offered a massive view over Münster thanks to the large rooftop terrace. After a warm welcome from Amelie, Leona, the founder of Trialflow—a B2B platform for more efficient stakeholder exchange in clinical studies—guided us through her founding story. What we can learn from her: successful entrepreneurship always involves a certain amount of luck and chance; she was, for example, in the right place at the right time to connect with the right people. Moreover, Leona considers naïveté, contrary to the widespread belief, a kind of superpower because it enables great openness and empathy toward others and their problem‑solving or advice. She also encourages anyone interested in founding with a concrete idea to take the leap now, since the opportunity costs and risks will never be as low as they are during studies.
Afterwards, all the other startups based in the Hive introduced themselves in a few sentences. Joining them were Herbsom, Urbanhive, Applysia, Unlike Any, and Vickii. With so much interesting input, everyone then headed to a well‑deserved lunch break with pizza and great conversations between founders and members.
Back to the DigiHub for Syntinels
At 3:00 p.m., we rode back to the DigiHub once more, because Syntinels visited us there as the finale of Startup Day. Co‑founder Florian and People Manager Rebecca came especially from their downtown office to our harbor, since their office was inaccessible due to the G7 conference. Both presented their biggest learnings and myths in the startup world. What we took away most: Myth 1 – “You need everybody in the same room”: Teams can work very successfully remotely, as can founders. In other words, if you’ve found your perfect co‑founder but they live farther away, you should give it a try and not rule it out categorically. Myth 2 – “You don’t need a company culture at the start”: It’s essential to establish a work culture from the beginning where employees feel comfortable and valued. Last but not least, Myth 3 – “Startups dry out on their founding journey”: Startups don’t dry out; they actually drown in the many possibilities that exist! The most efficient way to counter this is to set realistic deadlines.
5:00 p.m. – End of day! We wrapped up this eventful day packed with input first with a few cold drinks at the harbor and then with more refreshments—drinks and food—at Enchiladas. A heartfelt thank you again to everyone who was there and to the startups for the valuable insights—see you next time!
