At the second StartupSÜD SUMMIT it became clear that supporting startups can be an exciting offer in the financial portfolio of investors. However, investor and former musical actress Katja Ruhnke emphasized that business angels really have two wings: not only financial support, but also personal and emotional support for the founders. The Head of Innovation at Peri, Frank Ilg, also showed in his keynote speech how useful it is to work with national and international startups and what fruits it can bear when you think outside the box.
On the evening of the event, Katrin Albsteiger, Mayor of Neu-Ulm, presented the "Fox of the Year" award to four selected startups from the StartupSÜD Hub. The winners included the team from Ulm Technical University, "Ultrasonic Cleaner," who earned the Tech Award for a technology they use to rid water pipes of legionella and germs. The second "Fox of the Year" in the "High Performance Team" category was earned by "the circle" from Biberach University. The founders want to develop a tool for builders that focuses on the needs of customers by gamifying the BIM process for designing living space. The University of Ulm presented the "Community Award" to the startup "QTX." The team is developing a novel regulator in the medical field to help people suffering from rare but life-threatening diseases. The fourth "Fox of the Year" in the market research category went to the startup "Sparrow Energy" from Neu-Ulm University. The team is active in many ways: they sell balcony power plants, are tinkering with mini-hotels for long-distance drivers that are self-sufficient and energy-efficient, and are developing a solar trailer as an alternative to power generators in remote locations.
The startup industry is growing, and with it the StartupSÜD startup hub, which supports founders from regional universities in particular. The StartupSÜD project, which is funded by the Ministry of Economics, has been in existence since 2020 and combines the expertise of the regional universities of Biberach, Ulm University of Technology, Neu-Ulm University of Applied Sciences and Ulm University. On May 3, StartupSÜD hosted a large summit for business, startup scene, politics and investors* for the second time. The event is a trade fair, congress and networking meeting in one.
