Munich Startup: What is GründerRegio M and what goals does the initiative pursue?
Bettina Wenzel, Gründer Regio M: GründerRegio M is an initiative of the science and business region Munich to promote university-related business creation and entrepreneurship. The association was founded in 1998 to improve the framework conditions for founders and startups in the Munich business region. Members of the registered association include universities and research centers as well as institutions, associations, and technology and startup centers.
GründerRegio M understands itself as a network. The association bundles the numerous activities of its members and sets new initiatives with the goal of promoting founders and startups in Munich. In addition to networking activities, GründerRegio M has been a project carrier since 1999 for a variety of projects for founders from the university environment, for founders with a migration background, and for women who want to work independently.
Munich Startup: What offerings can the initiative provide to founders?
Bettina Wenzel, Gründer Regio M: Since 2003, support for female entrepreneurs has been a focus of GründerRegio M’s activities. With the project Guide – Advice and support for female entrepreneurs, the initiative has built core expertise in the field of female entrepreneurship. The Guide project offers both individual startup advice and small group coaching, workshops, webinars, and networking meetings for female entrepreneurs. The offerings are available to all women in Munich interested in starting a business, regardless of their business idea or stage of startup preparation.
The Guide project is supported by the MBQ, Munich’s employment and qualification program by the Landeshauptstadt München – Referat für Arbeit und Wirtschaft. This allows us to offer consulting, workshops, and networking events at very affordable participation fees. Individual, targeted, and practice-oriented advice and support for female entrepreneurs is important to us. This way, participants can build exactly the business that fits perfectly with their wishes, goals, and circumstances.
Increasing the share of women in startups
Munich Startup: Your Guide project explicitly targets female entrepreneurs. Why is supporting female entrepreneurs so important to you?
Bettina Wenzel, Gründer Regio M: Supporting female entrepreneurs is extremely important because women are still underrepresented in the startup sector. Despite excellent professional qualifications, women account for only 37 percent of all startups and less than 20 percent of startups. Increasing the share of women in startups is an economic necessity. Through their diverse competencies, women can actively contribute to a vibrant startup scene, successful entrepreneurship, and thus strengthen the competitiveness of Munich as a business location and beyond the state capital.
Munich Startup: What makes the Munich ecosystem so special in your view?
Bettina Wenzel, Gründer Regio M: The Munich ecosystem is characterized by great heterogeneity and a very vibrant startup scene. It is marked by very successful, growth-oriented startups in the areas of IT, software, healthtech, fintech, and transport, but also by numerous exciting ventures in the cultural and creative industries as well as in retail and gastronomy. There are the most diverse support offerings for those interested in starting a business, whether in the spin-off services of universities or in various startup centers and incubators. The startup consultant scene is almost as diverse as the scene of founders themselves, so that every person interested in starting a business can find both appropriate support and suitable facilities for their own business or startup.
Munich Startup: What significance do university-related startups have within the Munich startup scene?
Bettina Wenzel, Gründer Regio M: At a university location like Munich, university-related startups are of particular importance. They are carriers of knowledge-based and, above all, research-based ventures. Through them, research results and current research trends are brought into practice. An important aspect is also that the ideas, trends, and needs of young target groups, i.e., students and graduates, are taken up and implemented into concrete products or services.
Looking back: 25 years of GründerRegio M
Munich Startup: How has the Munich startup scene changed over the past 25 years?
Bettina Wenzel, Gründer Regio M: The number of players in the Munich startup scene has multiplied and diversified over the past 25 years. In addition to “traditional” startup supporters such as university startup offices, many new players have entered the ecosystem, for example industrial companies with incubators or coworking spaces. The range of startup workshops, startup advice and coaching, and especially networking offerings has increased significantly in recent years. Today there are numerous opportunities for founders and entrepreneurs to exchange ideas and network both within and across industries, not only in person but also digitally. It’s also nice that the visibility of the Munich startup scene has increased significantly both nationally and internationally in recent years.
Munich Startup: What successes are you particularly proud of?
Bettina Wenzel, Gründer Regio M: GründerRegio M and the female entrepreneurs initiative Guide have recorded many successes in recent years. As a project manager, the awarding of the Anita Augspurg Prize in 2016 by the Second Mayor of the Landeshauptstadt München to the Guide project was a special recognition of our successful commitment to Munich’s female entrepreneurs. I was also particularly pleased by the Munich City Council’s decision in autumn 2022 to secure the Guide project permanently – that is, to ensure permanent funding of Guide – Advice and support for female entrepreneurs through the MBQ. And last but not least, we – the board, the team, and the members of GründerRegio M – are proud that we can look back on 25 years of shared and successful shaping of the Munich startup scene this summer. At our 25th anniversary celebration at Munich’s Seidlvilla, we’ve already made further plans to support Munich’s female and male entrepreneurs and for the future of the Munich ecosystem.
