Our Entrepreneurs in Residence bid farewell: Viona, Vita and Shivam say goodbye

The temperatures have long promised what is finally arriving for our Entrepreneurs in Residence: it is now time for summer break! Since fall 2021, the six students have been working at ENI to (further) develop their business ideas. With the summer, the project is now coming to a close and there is the opportunity to sum up the career of the Entrepreneurs in Residence.

At the beginning of the project, neither of them had a convincing business idea. However, it was clear from the beginning that plastic packaging, overconsumption and the not easy accessibility of sustainable products are social problems.

Viona and Vita were able to narrow down their problem in an initial market research and find a solution to offer sustainable product alternatives on a large scale. The idea is based on turning supermarkets into partial unpacked stores. By summer, the two were working to see if their idea would resonate with their target audience. To that end, they are currently developing a survey geared to their target group.

Vita says, "It was cool to see from the others that you can work on a business idea while studying. Everyone was always available to us, as were the ENI coaches. That helped us to move forward."

Andreas Wahl, head of the project, is enthusiastic about the drive and thirst for knowledge of the two: "Both showed a clear focus on goals throughout the project and were able to gain a lot of insights into the ways of entrepreneurship. I hope they will continue on their path and take up one or two more of ENI's offers and continue their journey as entrepreneurs."

"Shivam came to me with a clear idea: for him, it was about getting around one of the key problems that came with the business of "cleaning": the time that has to be invested to drop off one's things and pick them up," Marcel Werle recalls of his initial meeting. In the end, however, it became clear that the idea was hardly profitable.

Unlike others, however, Shivam didn't let this mishap get to him and came right back from vacation at our Summer Kick-Off with another idea: this time, the idea was to turn the banking system upside down and further establish and revolutionize cashless payment. However, this also fell through for the time being due to its unfeasibility (also because of some legal problems): another pivot was necessary.

Shivam has now decided to leverage his expertise gathered in his studies and look for potential in his thematic area. "He will go his way as an entrepreneur, I am convinced of that. He has so many ideas and has a wide range of interests. I am really excited to see what Shivam comes up with next," said Andreas Wahl.