1. Please briefly introduce yourself and your current job.
My name is Eberhard Renz and I have been working at the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation Science (ENI) since March 2023 and in the Transfer Centre as a project manager in the EXI+ project since May. The aim of the project is to promote start-up projects, establish a start-up culture at the Vaihingen campus, and make the offer for people interested in starting a business visible under the umbrella of Startup Campus 0711. I am responsible for the finances of the project and I take care of networking with other actors at the Vaihingen Campus. These include the Fraunhofer and Max Planck Institutes or the Media University. Another focus of my work is to develop and design the homepage of the newly founded Transfer Centre. I am also involved in press and public relations work.
2. How did you get involved in entrepreneurship?
It all started when I was mentioned in a LinkedIn post by a later colleague. We met for a reunion coffee and she told me about entrepreneurship and EXI+. Apparently, my CV matched what the project was looking for. I had also resolved to only take on tasks that made sense - both in terms of content and for me personally. Taking care of start-ups was one of them for me. Before I started working here at the Transfer Centre, I was the managing director of a public school for children and young people in need of spiritual care. There I had to deal with project management, crisis management, press and public relations and finances, among other things. I am a journalist by training, I worked for the Stuttgarter Zeitung for more than 20 years. I was also press spokesman for Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG and I worked as head of the press and public relations department at the Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs in Baden-Württemberg.
3. 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?
Start up with your start-up! is all I can say. Get going is the key word. Don't spend too long thinking about perfection in theory, but start founding. Set your sights on the biggest goals without immediately thinking "Yes, but...". Exchange with other teams is also enormously important. Look for sparring partners for pitches or meetings with investors, and above all make use of the many offers from coaches. And in general: look and listen around the entire campus. We have noticed that many people are only partially aware of the start-up offers, or not at all.
Contact
Melanie Minderjahn
Research Associate, PR Manager