Motivation is a decisive factor in setting up a business and this is precisely the topic of the 18th BRIDGE StartUp Lounge, where start-up teams will once again report on their experiences of starting a business.

This year, the following entrepreneurial teams are involved:

• Skinuvita enables comfortable phototherapy for skin diseases from the comfort of your own home. Their participation in the "EXIST – Business Start-ups from Academia" funding program of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection took place via the BRIDGE university network, located at the University of Bremen's UniTransfer transfer office.
• Food by KFS presents Wachmacher Energy Jam, the first caffeinated fruit spread with an exotic strawberry-baobab flavor.
• Koralle takes a creative and participative approach to the specific challenges faced by organizations.
• Füllerei Findorff provides regional and organic food without packaging.

Key issues will be discussed at the event, including the growth of start-ups and the use of the EXIST scholarship from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection, as well as other support offers. The start-up teams will answer questions about their experiences and share the mistakes they would not repeat.

Focus on Motivation

"Motivation is the most important factor when founding a company and can, of course, vary greatly," says Meike Goos, start-up consultant at the University of Bremen / UniTransfer and acting managing director of BRIDGE. "Motivation also plays an important role in the entire start-up process – be it in customer acquisition, in the search for investors, or even in crisis situations."

Professor Michal Kucera, Vice President for Research and Transfer at the University of Bremen, will be welcoming the guests. He emphasizes: "Our society is facing major challenges. The focus is increasingly shifting to knowledge and technology-driven innovations, as well as social ones. That is why it is important to find ways to strengthen the motivation to found a business."

About BRIDGE:

BRIDGE, which is part of the UniTransfer unit, is the central point of contact for students, alumni, and members of Bremen's universities when it comes to business start-ups. The BRIDGE university network is supported by the University of Bremen, Bremen University of Applied Sciences, Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences, the University of the Arts Bremen, Constructor University, and Bremer Aufbau-Bank GmbH. BRIDGE has the aim of improving the entrepreneurial climate at all involved universities and supporting promising ideas with start-up potential at an early stage.

BRIDGE advises around 160 start-up projects per year and offers more than 80 events involving over 1,600 participants on the topic of business start-ups. The BRIDGE network is able to record 20 start-ups per year from Bremen's universities. Furthermore, the network has acquired over 9 million euros in funds from the nationwide EXIST program since 2007. The "CAMPUSiDEEN" competition, with prizes worth over 20,000 euros, rounds off each year. Since 2003, around 800 entries have been submitted. This makes CAMPUSiDEEN one of the most continuous competitions of its kind.

About UniTransfer:

The University of Bremen is aware of its responsibility in the community and involves society as a whole with its broad understanding of research-based knowledge and technology transfer. UniTransfer is the University of Bremen's central interface between academia, business, and society. The experts at the knowledge and technology transfer office support collaborations and projects across the entire spectrum of university subjects. This ranges from business start-ups, the commercialization of inventions, the referral of specialists and managers or science communication services, to the coordination of school projects and the management of the University Foundation and university fundraising.

Further Information:

https://www.bridge-online.de/en/events/18-bremen-startup-lounge

www.uni-bremen.de/en/

Contact:

Meike Goos
University of Bremen
UniTransfer
BRIDGE Entrepreneur Support Network
Acting Managing Director
Phone: +49 421 218-60346
Email: meike.goos@vw.uni-bremen.de