Today, ten promising start-up projects received their tickets for the accelerator program of STIFT to bring them at full speed towards investment readiness within 6 months.
Today, the Foundation for Technology, Innovation and Research Thuringia (STIFT), launched the second edition of the Thuringian accelerator program TRIP which has successfully led young innovators´ and entrepreneurs´ business models to the next level since 2019. TRIP is funded by the Thuringian Ministry of Economics in the course of the project ThEx innovative and is accompanied by strong community partners. The accelerator program will drive the Thuringian Start-up landscape, accelerate innovations and create synergies and cooperation between stakeholders of the innovation landscape thanks to its open-innovation-approach.
Project manager of ThEx innovative/ STIFT Christiane Kilian opened the kick-off event “Start your TRIP” which was broadcasted live from the plenary hall of the Thuringian state parliament. Afterwards, Valentina Kerst, state secretary of the Thuringian Ministry of Economics, Science and Digital Society, welcomed all online participants.
In the course of the evening, 15 pre-selected projects presented themselves in a two-minute-pitch to the TRIP community. Ten out of them were persuasive and received their full ticket for this year´s TRIP class. One additional project from UK got the chance of associated participation in the program.
The selected teams prove high potential and are able to inspire transformation processes in the Free State of Thuringia. Their business models are a mix of all relevant future topics: From IoT, AI, GreenTech and solutions for synthetic materials to SpaceTech and health management. The awarding of tickets was followed by an online networking event. The guests discussed at digital tables and got to know the new TRIP class.
Due to TRIP, the newcomers are one step closer to implementing their business vision. Within the upcoming six months, they will enjoy the advantages of expertise, budget and networking. The teams will profit from individual coaching, ten workshops regarding relevant topics for start-ups and a budget of up to € 4,500 which can be used for developing prototypes or market research. TRIP connects the projects with industry experts, investors and SMEs in Germany as well as internationally and offers them exclusive access to start-up events. The major goal behind the program is bringing the teams within short time at full speed towards investment readiness and thus offering a sound basis for market entry.
For particularly scalable projects, a final 3-month TRIP class with focus on VC financing is planned. The participants in this final class will be chosen at the TRIP Demo Day on 17th March 2021. The final highlight of the accelerator program will be a pitch at the Investor Days Thuringia, one of Germany´s largest start-up events. This will be a unique opportunity for young entrepreneurs to present their business model to about 600 stakeholders of the international start-up landscape, investors and SMEs and to find strategical partners and funders.
The TRIP program provides a large community of innovators, investors and established businesses. It is supported by strong partners like EY, bm | t “Beteiligungsmanagement thüringen gmbh”, German Accelerator and the regionals university incubators. Due to these corporations, TRIP drives the Thuringian start-up landscape and accelerates innovation.
TRIP was initiated by the ThEx innovative project provided by STIFT. ThEx innovative is funded by the Thuringian Ministry of Economics with € 2,8 million from funds from the European Social Fund in Germany and state funds in the period 2014-2020.
Contact
Christiane Kilian
Head of start-up department
Foundation for Technology, Innovation and Research Thuringia (STIFT) / ThEx innovativ
+49 3 61 · 789 23-74
christiane.kilian@stift-thueringen.de
Foto: Thomas Müller
