After a year of forced Corona break, young companies from Schleswig-Holstein can now again take part in the state-wide “high-flyer competition”. The organizers provide all interested parties with plenty of knowledge, and the three winners have the prospect of a trip to San Francisco and Silicon Valley. Together with representatives of the business associations “The Bay Areas”, “Marketing Club Schleswig-Holstein” and “Start-Up SH”, Economics Minister Bernd Buchholz called on young founders to participate. “This competition offers a unique stage for innovative concepts. And in Schleswig-Holstein there are many young start-ups whose ideas bring a breath of fresh air to established industries, ”said the minister.
Six start-ups are selected
Start-ups that were founded between January 1, 2018 and July 31, 2021 and have their headquarters in Schleswig-Holstein can apply. To do this, they must submit a letter of motivation and pitch deck by July 31, 2021 (all information on this is available on the Internet at: www.startupsh.de/überflieger2021). The jury then selects six start-ups from representatives of the sponsors, the three associations and the Ministry of Economic Affairs, who will compete for the coveted flight tickets to San Francisco in the final on September 2, 2021 in the guest house of the state government in Kiel.
Founder encourages participation
Jonas Stamm was one of the “high-flyer” finalists in 2018. With his start-up “Molteo”, the founder from Schleswig is digitizing the construction industry and ending the paperwork on many construction sites with his mobile software solution. “I encourage every start-up to take part in the competition. Networking is always important for entrepreneurs and the ‘Überflieger’ offers a great platform for this, ”advises the 29-year-old. He himself did not win a plane ticket to San Francisco at the time, but had previously studied at Stanford University in Silicon Valley for a year. His own company is growing. Today “Molteo” has more than 250 customers and a team of 15 employees who work all over the world.
Learn from Silicon Valley
Against this background, the StartUp-SH chairwoman Dr. Anke Rasmus: “In the start-up advice and support we see every day what great and innovative ideas start-ups from Schleswig-Holstein want to implement, and many would like to experience the spirit of Silicon Valley. With the ‘high-flyer’ competition, we give you the chance to travel there, present your business idea to a wide audience and establish new contacts. It couldn’t be better! ”Axel Schulz from the“ The Bay Areas ”association adds:“ What we can learn from Silicon Valley in particular is that start-ups develop particularly successfully if they not only have access to research and Have capital, but above all to experienced entrepreneurs and established companies. This is where the ‘high flyer’ comes in. ”
Final teams receive annual membership
An assessment shared by Börrje Schneider from the “Marketing Club Schleswig-Holstein”: “Good marketing means developing and marketing future-oriented products and services,” she emphasized, “that is why we want to make the ‘high-flyer’ fly together with others. “Both The Bay Areas and the Marketing Club Schleswig-Holstein are giving the six final teams an annual membership each to support the networking of the start-ups in the economy in Schleswig-Holstein and California in the long term.
The number of start-ups is increasing
Buchholz reminded that the number of start-ups in the real north has been rising steadily for years despite Corona: In the first quarter of this year alone, 1,174 companies were founded in Schleswig-Holstein – a fifth more than in the first quarter of 2020 and thus the highest quarterly value since 2012. The number of business start-ups significantly exceeded the number of operational tasks – by 238 business advertisements. “And our funding institutes are also seeing significantly more requests for funding in connection with start-ups,” said Buchholz. This is – not least in view of the falling pandemic numbers – an extremely positive development.
From LN
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