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“Cohesion” is the motto of the 16th BRIDGE StartUp Lounge, which will take place for the first time in the Digital Hub Industry on December 7. BRIDGE is the central contact point for students and members of Bremen higher education institutions (HEIs) on the subject of business start-ups.

“Cohesion is particularly important these days – be it for start-up teams themselves, in supporting start-ups, and in networks of all kinds,” says Meike Goos from the BRIDGE university network at the University of Bremen. “Start-up teams have to demonstrate cohesion both in the initial phase of the company’s founding and in their dealings with customers and investors.”

At the StartUp Lounge on December 7, 2022, the founding teams of TOPAS Industriemathematik Innovation gGmbH, tuuli, SYNERA GmbH, and codeLotsen GmbH will discuss the experiences they had when starting their companies. How have the start-ups grown? What hurdles did they have to overcome? Where, in their view, did vital support come from? How did they use the EXIST grant from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action and other funding programs? What mistakes would they not make a second time? What is important to them about “cohesion”?

In a relaxed and lively atmosphere, the following guests will talk about their experiences in short interviews:
topas – provides universal knowledge for intelligent systems
tuuli – offers an AI-based health coach for (expectant) mothers
synera – empowers engineers to independently drive digital transformation in component development with low code
codeLotsen – facilitates targeted IT consulting and development

BRIDGE as Part of the Digital Hub Industry and 20 Years of the BRIDGE Start-Up Network

The BRIDGE StartUp Lounge will take place in the Digital Hub Industry for the first time. The Digital Hub Industry provides the basis for new approaches to a vibrant start-up culture based on innovation and knowledge transfer. Various actors have joined forces to take part in this project, including the Senator for Economic Affairs, Labor, and European Affairs, the Senator for Science and Ports, Wirtschaftsförderung Bremen (Bremen’s economic development agency), encoway GmbH as a company of the Lenze Group, the University of Bremen, as well as other institutions.

BRIDGE’s university team is also involved in this innovative network of practitioners, academics, talents, and supporters, and will soon move into its offices in the Digital Hub Industry. “With the BRIDGE network, we at the University of Bremen are very pleased to be part of the Digital Hub Industry and to help drive forward innovations from cooperation between academia and industry as well as start-ups,” says Professor Michal Kucera, Vice President for Research and Transfer at the University of Bremen.
At the 16th Bremen StartUp Lounge, the 20th anniversary of the BRIDGE start-up network will also be celebrated. “20 years of networking for start-ups from Bremen’s higher education institutions is an extraordinary thing that no other federal state in Germany has. Prospective founders are supported in various formats on their path to self-employment. More than 300 new companies have been created in this way, enriching the regional innovation system,” says Dr. Martin Heinlein, Managing Director of BRIDGE.
Following the short interviews, there will be the opportunity to talk to the entrepreneurs and other stakeholders and to make new contacts. Professor Michal Kucera, Vice President for Research and Transfer, will give the opening speech.
The StartUp Lounge will take place on December 7 at 6 p.m. in the Digital Hub Industry.

About BRIDGE:

BRIDGE advises about 160 start-up projects per year and offers more than 50 events with over 1,200 participants on the topic of business start-ups. The BRIDGE network records around 20 start-ups a year from Bremen’s universities. In addition, the network has raised over 9.0 million euros in funding from the nationwide EXIST program since 2007. The CAMPUSiDEEN competition with prizes worth more than 20,000 euros rounds off the year’s events. Since 2003, almost 800 entries have been submitted. This makes CAMPUSiDEEN one of the most continuous competitions of its kind. At www.bridge-online.de/bridge/gruendungsgalerie you will find a selection of start-ups that have been founded so far from the higher education institutions.