Munich Startup: Please introduce yourselves briefly.
Belinda Büchner, startup consultant at TUM: Embedded in the Department of Entrepreneurship at the Technical University of Munich, TUM startup consulting advises prospective founders from idea generation to company spin-off. The focus is on advising founding teams regarding market opportunities and customer needs, business models, development of business plans, technical and economic feasibility, and building interdisciplinary founding teams.
The team, consisting of ten startup consultants, also supports the acquisition of public funding and accompanies projects and controls them during the funding phase of publicly funded startups. Startup consulting is the central and permanent contact point for teams. Depending on needs and the founding phase, the consultants mediate appropriate offerings within the TUM ecosystem, primarily at the UnternehmerTUM incubator and in the TUM Venture Labs. The expanded team also offers TUM-wide networking events, facilities, as well as awareness-raising and internationalization programs.
Valuable connections for the future
Munich Startup: What is your focus when working with startups?
Belinda Büchner: Our consulting approach is strongly needs-oriented and flexibly adapts to the individual challenges of founding teams. In regular personal meetings, we work with founders to define concrete next steps to ensure continuous progress. A “team-pull approach” gives startups the freedom to decide for themselves when they need a new consulting session. This flexibility and close interaction create a foundation of trust and enable us to support each startup quickly, specifically, and individually. We place great emphasis on integrating founders into our network. This facilitates access to experienced mentors, specialized experts, and other founders. In addition, we promote community exchange, so founders can learn from each other and forge valuable connections for the future.
Munich Startup: To be successful, a startup must…
Belinda Büchner: …solve a real problem and understand the needs of its customer or user base, be able to interpret feedback and respond accordingly, have passion for the cause, team cohesion, and perseverance.
Thanks to startup consulting: effective “entrepreneurial journey”
Munich Startup: Why does a good startup actually need a strong ecosystem behind it?
Belinda Büchner: A strong ecosystem provides not only access to knowledge and resources, but also creates valuable networking opportunities. Founding teams can make progress faster and benefit from simplified access to talent, capital, and partnerships, including with research institutions. Additionally, the network facilitates connections to industry partners and subject matter experts. Together with UnternehmerTUM and the topic-specific TUM Venture Labs, we create an effective “entrepreneurial journey” that supports teams in all phases of their development. Through access to modern infrastructure, regularly offered qualification formats, and networking events, we ensure comprehensive support.
Munich Startup: What is the biggest mistake a startup can make?
Belinda Büchner: Especially in the very technically oriented environment we work in, a common mistake is that founding teams start with product development without first validating the market and properly understanding customer needs. It’s important to win pilot customers who are willing to work with a founding team at an early stage. These customers test the still-unfinished product on site. This way, startups don’t fall into the trap of building the perfect product that unfortunately nobody wants.
“Sustainability and GreenTech dominate 2024!”
Munich Startup: The trend of the year is…?
Belinda Büchner: Sustainability and GreenTech dominate 2024! Whether renewable energy, circular economy, or smart city solutions – the focus on environmental friendliness and sustainability across all possible domains is increasingly prevalent and has the potential to sustainably change many areas of the startup scene.
Munich Startup: What makes the Munich startup scene so special?
Belinda Büchner: Munich is fertile ground for new businesses. Comprehensive support and targeted funding enable many founding teams to establish and grow here. The Munich startup scene offers a variety of programs and support structures for founding teams in different development phases that interlock and thus specifically drive the founding of new businesses.
Proximity to global corporations and mid-sized companies, international investors, leading universities, and strong deep-tech orientation make Munich an ideal location for technology-driven companies. Moreover, there is a dynamic innovation climate here that fosters exchange and collaboration between different actors. Experienced founders actively engage in the ecosystem, sharing their knowledge and experience to pave the way for the next generation of founders.
Munich Startup: Last but not least: who do startups contact if they want to speak with you?
Belinda Büchner: We have an initial consultation form on our website that prospective founders can fill out. The prerequisite is that at least one team member has a TUM connection (at least one team member is a student, researcher, alumnus, or employee of TUM), the project is either technology-based or impact-oriented, and has not yet been spun out.
