“It’s not the best technology that prevails”: Philipp Baaske, Vice President of Entrepreneurship at LMU

A clear statement from Dr. Philipp Baaske, Vice President of Entrepreneurship at Ludwig Maximilian University Munich:

“An innovation is only an innovation if customers use it.”

The physicist and co-founder of Nanotemper Technologies knows what he’s talking about – his company now has 215 employees, and 20 percent of all medications come into contact with a Nanotemper device at some point.

In the conversation, Baaske warns against a typical mistake made by many founders, especially those from academia: too much love for technology, too little focus on customers.

“It’s not the best technology that prevails, but the one that customers use and actually buy the most.”

What does that mean? Those who keep developing and never leave the lab will lose. Because success happens where technology meets real user problems – and through good storytelling, marketing, and sales.

“I was sometimes terrible”

Baaske also speaks openly about his early days as CEO at Nanotemper:

“I was sometimes terrible. I always felt I wasn’t being respected, so I backed people into corners.”

The founder honestly recounts those times: working 60 to 80 hours a week, dark rooms, constant time pressure, and constant fear that you might be bankrupt the next day:

“That was in no way romantic. […] And when the ninth person left, I realized that maybe it was me and not the employees.”

This moment of self-awareness marked a turning point. Today, Baaske sees leadership, among other things, as a responsibility to create spaces where people can work and grow “under good conditions.” He describes his company as a “small village” where diversity, trust, and cohesion matter. Fun fact: the Franconian village where he grew up has fewer residents than the startup he founded.

Growth with integrity

Instead of pursuing rapid growth at any cost, Baaske chose the “German medium-sized business model” for Nanotemper. What does that mean to him? Profitable, independent growth. It’s a slower but often more sustainable path that he advocates for. His analysis: of 16 competitors who received venture capital, hardly any still exist on the market today. And the founders who achieved an exit often regret the sale. Nanotemper, on the other hand, has stayed the course – and grown.

However, Baaske sees sustainable growth not only as an entrepreneurial but also as a social responsibility.

“We have paid 47 million euros in taxes with Nanotemper – the state invested 4 million.”

For him, this is proof that successful startups strengthen the state in the long term. Taxes are one thing, but there are also innovations that advance society and the economy, create jobs, and inspire employees who themselves become founders.

Courage to take risks and leave things undone

As Vice President of Entrepreneurship at LMU, Baaske wants to share this experience with others. The knowledge he gained through free state education can now be passed on to students and researchers, giving something back to society. How he will succeed in his new role? He calls for less fear, more courage:

“If I’m afraid of failing, I won’t do anything new. And if I don’t do anything new, others will – and then we’ve lost.”

His appeal to Munich’s startup scene is clear:

“We should be more ambitious, take more risks – we have the best conditions in Munich.”