Last Tuesday, the StartUp Munich event series kicked off at the Munich Chamber of Industry and Commerce Forum. The event series offers founders information on creating a business plan, shares proven practical tips, and provides an opportunity to exchange ideas with startup experts and like-minded individuals.
StartUp Munich is a joint initiative of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry for Munich and Upper Bavaria, the State capital Munich (Referat für Arbeit und Wirtschaft), the Stadtsparkasse Munich, the Kreissparkasse München Starnberg Ebersberg, the FounderRegio M as well as the Munich Business Juniors.
Approximately 130 interested founders participated in the kick-off event. The first event of StartUp Munich served as an introduction to the initiative and provided an opportunity for participants to get to know each other and network.
After all partners had welcomed the guests and introduced themselves, the highlight of the evening followed: FlixBusFounder André Schwämmlein took an hour to share his insights into the journey of a successful founder. Schwämmlein founded his company with his partners in 2012, leveraging the liberalization of long-distance bus travel in Germany to propel his business model to success. FlixBus was one of the first providers to offer affordable rides throughout Germany. FlixBus itself does not own its own buses, but offers an online ticket sales platform and a brand umbrella for bus companies. FlixBus, which announced its merger with MeinFernbus in early 2015, cooperates with regional bus companies and can therefore offer a very dense long-distance bus network.
Schwämmlein himself says “Actually, we sell an experience” and alludes to FlixBus's promise of convenience. With free Wi-Fi, snacks, and affordable prices, FlixBus targets a broad target audience. In addition to business customers and students, families are also among its customers on certain routes (e.g., Munich – Stuttgart). Schwämmlein, who himself once started in a tiny office and now has over 800 employees (not including bus drivers), encouraged the founders and advised them to always take a certain amount of risk when starting a business.
After his report, André Schwämmlein took the time to answer all questions from the audience. During the subsequent networking session, the founders were able to get to know each other and visit the initiators at their booths to ask them questions about their topics.
Further dates of the event series:
April 12: Stage 1: Product-Customer-Market
April 21: Stage 2: Marketing-Sales
April 26: Stage 3: Finance
May 3rd: Best Practice & Networking
TipThis year, for the first time, you have the opportunity to submit a short version of your business concept. The best ideas will be recognized, and if the StartUp Munich team is particularly impressed by an idea, they will invite the idea contributor or their team to a pitch during the final spurt on May 3rd. Simply submit your idea and win vouchers, business plan software, and the opportunity to pitch in front of an audience! All you have to do is send an email with your concept (max. one page) along with your name and contact details to info@startup-muenchen.de by April 21st. Good luck!
