From Lab to Market: Successful Sciencepreneurs Night 2025 at ARENA2036

The Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation Science (ENI) is committed to connecting entrepreneurship with research, teaching, and transfer in an interdisciplinary way – with the aim of linking technological innovations and science with sustainable entrepreneurship. Together with UnternehmerTUM XPRENEURS, ENI organized the event “Navigating Science-based Innovation: From Lab to Market” on November 26, 2025. The goal was to bring together (prospective) founders, researchers interested in founding a company, network partners, and alumni of the Elements4Founding and XPRENEURS programs – and thus build bridges between science and the market, between ideas and implementation.

Founders' Playbook workshop for aspiring sciencepreneurs

The afternoon began with a workshop led by Kathrin Lichius, founder of KInderleicht. In this compact crash course on starting a business, participants explored the question of how AI can be used as a “co-founder”: from mini market checks and fast-track business models to initial strategies. The workshop provided concrete ideas for the transition from idea to business and highlighted the potential of technology-based entrepreneurship.

Insights into the ARENA2036 research campus

This was followed by an exclusive tour of the ARENA2036 research campus led by Dr. David Reichert. Participants gained insights into current research projects and innovations — and experienced first-hand how a modern research and technology campus functions as an incubator for forward-looking ideas.

The event began with welcoming remarks from Helmut Schelling, co-founder of Vector Informatik and member of the Board of Trustees of the Vector Foundation, which supports both initiatives, and from Prof. Peter Middendorf, Rector of the University of Stuttgart, who has shaped the university's innovation agenda for many years. This underscored the great importance of the initiative for the university and the region. Project managers from Elements4Founding and XPRENEURS then took to the stage to provide insights into ongoing and completed initiatives. Particularly exciting: The Elements4Founding project was officially completed – with activities transitioning to the QCLUB-2 initiative (part of QSENS Cluster4Future). This means that the interdisciplinary program will continue and further formats are planned.

A key feature was the panel discussion with founders and investors: Moderated by Björn Brenner (ENI) and Barbara Mehner (UnternehmerTUM XPRENEURS), Kathrin Lichius (KInderleicht), Kai Przybysz-Herz (NAiSE GmbH), Timo Bertsch (High-tech Gründerfonds), and others discussed their experiences, challenges, and opportunities in spin-offs from science. Afterwards, Fanny Giannou (co-founder and CEO of Alithea Biotech) gave an insight into her start-up journey: with successes and setbacks, the balancing act between research and the market, and the challenges of winning first customers and reconciling private life with everyday start-up life. Networking, dinner, and themed tables The official part of the event was rounded off with dinner and themed tables—an opportunity for lively discussion, new contacts, and spontaneous exchanges of ideas between founders, researchers, and alumni.

With this event, ENI and UnternehmerTUM XPRENEURS once again underscored their role as catalytic platforms for science-based start-ups. Both initiatives, Elements4Founding and XPRENEURS, have been supported for several years by the Vector Foundation as a reliable funding partner, thus making a sustainable contribution to strengthening the start-up landscape. This long-term support forms a central basis for the successful implementation of the programs. The cooperation between the two initiatives impressively demonstrates how supraregional collaboration and interdisciplinary networking can effectively contribute to the further development of the innovation ecosystem.

Prof. Alexander Brem, Director of the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation Research (ENI) and Vice President for Transfer and International Affairs at the University of Stuttgart, also emphasized the significance of the evening: "I am very proud of our team's commitment and the way in which our mission is being lived out here: consistently combining research, entrepreneurship, and transfer, and accompanying people on their path to founding a company—even across institutional and regional boundaries." The event impressively demonstrated how effective this active cooperation is in promoting early-career researchers and founders.

ENI and UnternehmerTUM XPRENEURS are convinced that yesterday evening was just the beginning. They see “Navigating Science-based Innovation” as a catalyst for further collaborations, new start-up projects, and inspiration for anyone who wants to translate research into entrepreneurial impact.

We would like to thank everyone involved—hosts, speakers, guests, and network partners—for this successful and inspiring evening.