Three minutes in the spotlight
At the Idea Cup on 24 October 2024 at the University of Konstanz, eight teams and individual contestants from the University of Konstanz and the HTWG Konstanz University of Applied Sciences (HTWG) each had exactly three minutes in the spotlight to present their start-up idea to a jury and the audience. The more complex the idea, the tougher this is to pull off. The first contestant was Peter Steiner from the University of Konstanz. He connected easily with the audience by asking "Who here likes maths?" It did not catch him off guard that, in the university audience, more than the usual number of hands went up: "Yeah, this many hands and more are what I want to see everywhere", he added and used his remaining time to explain how he wants to make this happen: "My app 'Gamified' is designed to explain mathematics in a fun way, not as a quiz like all of the other apps, but actually as part of a game".
Afterwards he, like all the other contestants, faced five minutes of questions from a jury consisting of Antje Freyth (UfG e.V.), Corinna Kämpfe (Social Innovation Lab, Grünhof e.V.), Joachim Plesch (GORFION Green Energy GmbH), Stephan Tögel (Crescere Stiftung Bodensee), Christina Ungerer (HTWG Konstanz) and Ralf Walther (cyberLAGO e.V.) During the question and answer period, the jury asked about financing, competitors and the founders' motivation.
© University of Konstanz, Philipp UricherThe winners light up the room (from left to right): Markus Moser (Tech Innovation Award and the public's favourite), Peter Steiner and Oleksandra Karykova (Overall Winner), Max Capelle and Peter Schmitt-Foerster (Impact Innovation Award).
When the timer sounded, it was time for the next startup ideas: Cartris, Mosquit, Momentum, Playground Earth, safezone and, finally, localture. While most of the projects focused on digital apps, Markus Moser was faced with the challenge of teaching the audience and the jury about something completely different: desoldering. When he asked how many people have soldered before, far fewer hands went up than when Peter Steiner had asked about loving maths. But this was no problem for Markus Moser. He soon pulled out a table with a soldering device to quickly show the audience, with plenty of humour, why his desoldering device is significantly faster and requires fewer hands than the existing method. Three minutes later, everyone understood how it works and why his device is so useful.
At the end of the evening, three winners beamed as they were presented with four prizes. Markus Moser not only won the Tech Innovation Award worth 500 euros for his desoldering device, but he was also the public's favourite. The Impact Innovation Award, also worth 500 euros, went to Max Capelle with his mosquito catcher "MosQuit". The Overall Winner, with a prize of 1,000 euros, was Peter Steiner with his maths app "Gamified". Funding for the Tech Innovation category of the Idea Cup 2024 was provided by the foundation Crescere Stiftung Bodensee. The category Impact Innovation was funded by KNIME.
Gamified
Team: Peter Steiner, Oleksandra Karykova and Sanket Datta (all University of Konstanz). An app that uses educational games to make learning maths in schools easier. Instead of using the usual quiz structure, "Gamified" aims to link game mechanics with learning content. The goal is to use mathematical functions to move a character through the game.
Tool for removing solder
Team: Markus Moser (HTWG Konstanz). Until now, it required larger desoldering tools, aids and several hands to desolder components or remove solder residue from circuit boards. The new, compact desoldering device will perform this task quickly and with very few hand movements.
MosQuit
Team: Max Capelle, Nadja Geiger, Peter Schmitt-Foerster (all University of Konstanz) and Stefan Immerzeel (Alumnus of Delft University of Technology). The mobile mosquito trap MosQuit helps limit the spread of the tiger mosquito that can carry the dengue virus. It emits heat to attract the insects and keep them away from people.
Momentum
Team: Pranav Kedia, Eduard Buss and Till Aust (all University of Konstanz). An app that changes the subjective perception of the passage of time. "Momentum" provides a stimulus, such as a regular vibration, to give users the impression that time passes more slowly in pleasant moments and more quickly in waiting situations.
Playground Earth
Team: Gerhard Goetz, Fabian Zeller, Leon Gerke and Annika Wernersbach (all HTWG Konstanz). An innovative app platform where users can plan leisure activities with others. Users can participate in others' activities as well as create activities of their own. A helpful drag-and-drop system can be used to create a variety of activities – from sporting challenges and creative workshops to social events such as murder mystery dinners or bar tours.
localture
Team: Lisa Brunzel (ZU Friedrichshafen) and Stanislava Schwalme. The aim is to build an innovative social ecosystem by linking individual people's skills with added social value. To this end, employees contribute their expertise to social or ecological projects during their working hours. Connecting the world of work with social engagement serves to increase employee loyalty in companies.
Cartris
Team: Carl-Constantin Bauer (HTWG Konstanz). The system uses robots and artificial intelligence to automatically park cars and thus use the space in parking garages optimally. "Cartris" can be installed in existing parking garages and does not require new construction.
safezone
Team: Jeudyl Robles, Leonard Röpcke (both HTWG Konstanz) and Luca Pomm (University of Konstanz). The app aims to warn people proactively about criminal behaviour in specific locations and thus protect them. Heat maps as well as app, email and SMS notifications warn users as soon as they enter potentially unsafe areas.
The jury
from left to right: Joachim Plesch (GORFION Green Energy GmbH), Antje Freyth (UfG e.V.), Stephan Tögel (Crescere Stiftung Bodensee), Ralf Walther (cyberLAGO e.V.), Corinna Kämpfe (Social Innovation Lab, Grünhof e.V.) and Christina Ungerer (HTWG Konstanz)
Event's organizers and moderators
Lisa Kuner (University of Konstanz) and Sibylle Koch (HTWG Konstanz) were in high spirits as they hosted the successful event.
Full house at the Idea Cup 2024
In addition to current and former contestants, many other people came to listen and engage in networking.
After the award ceremony, everyone present continued to build their networks over tasty food and drinks. Participants and winners from previous years joined this year's contestants in sharing their experiences and fostering a growing network of founders.
Next year, too, the Idea Cup 2025 will give founders the chance to spotlight their start-up ideas in three-minute presentations. The application period starts soon. The finalists can not only look forward to winning one of the prizes, but also an intensive preparation phase in which they continually improve upon their ideas with the assistance of a coach and take part in corresponding workshops. The Idea Cup competition is open to all students, doctoral and postdoctoral researchers at the University of Konstanz, the HTWG Konstanz, the universities in Albstadt-Sigmaringen and Ravensburg-Weingarten, as well as ZU Friedrichshafen.
Kilometer1 helps young start-ups
Started in 2020, Kilometer1 (in German) is the joint start-up initiative of the University of Konstanz and the HTWG Konstanz - University of Applied Sciences. In the context of the state-funded Kilometer1 Hub (in German), the collaboration recently expanded to include Albstadt-Sigmaringen University (HSAS) and Ravensburg-Weingarten University of Applied Sciences (RWU). The Kilometer1 Hub promotes cross-university exchange and the development of interdisciplinary teams of founders. At four universities (with approx. 21,000 students in all), the Kilometer1 Hub offers workshops, networking events, methodological advice and individual support for students and researchers interested in starting a business. Where sparring partners are required, the network provides contacts from among its partners. The goal is to support start-up teams throughout the entire process – from developing their initial idea to starting their new business.