Three questions for Christina Ungerer

January 25, 2022

"Three questions for..." is a format of the regularly published newsletter for Startup & Entrepreneurship at the University of Stuttgart. Here, people from the ecosystem of the University of Stuttgart introduce themselves, report on their experiences with the topic of "startup and entrepreneurship" and reveal tips for people interested in founding a company.

  1. Please briefly introduce yourself and your current job.

I have been responsible for setting up a research and teaching platform on entrepreneurship at the ENI Institute since September 2021 as part of the Gründermotor initiative. We collect data on knowledge- and technology-based start-ups in Baden-Württemberg that can be used for research projects. I recently completed my Ph.D. at the University of Münster, which mainly focused on quantitative research as to indicators for the survival of technology-based start-ups. I would like to continue working on these and related topics. Parallel to my work at the ENI Institute, I continue to be active in start-up support at the HTWG Konstanz, as I have been since 2015, and am associated with the IST Institute there.

 

  1. How did you get involved in entrepreneurship?

Start-ups and innovative business concepts have fascinated me for a long time. Parallel to my studies, I worked for some time in a start-up that developed a new kind of safety product for the diving sector. Since then, I have remained in the field and have become involved in start-up promotion. I helped to establish the start-up initiative Kilometer 1 of the Constance universities and, most recently, provided funding advice (e.g. EXIST applications and Young Innovators funding).

 

  1. What tip would you give to students who are enthusiastic about founding a company, or who have already taken the first steps towards self-employment?

Don't hesitate. Get your ideas out there and talk about them as much as possible with other founders - don't be afraid of imitation, but get feedback from potential customers. Experience shows that not only product development but also sales are more challenging than initially expected. Therefore: find out what the market wants, develop a good sales concept, and plan sufficient capacities and financial resources for marketing.

Contact

This image shows Melanie Minderjahn

Melanie Minderjahn

 

Research Associate, PR Manager

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