Discover. Join. Make an Impact.

8 startups. One live jury. €2,000 in prizes.
See what teams from Rhein-Main have built in just a few weeks, meet the founders and find out how you can get started yourself next year.
Free entry · Snacks & drinks · Limited seats

Health Growth Forum, an exclusive networking event for digital health start-ups and scale-ups.Join us for an evening of fresh perspectives, engaging insights, great food, and cool drinks. Look forward to firsthand experiences from successful scale-up founders—including leaders from Capar Health, Damedic, Exaris Solutions, and DoctorBox—followed by an interactive Q&A and plenty of time to connect with peers across the digital health community.

Over coffee, Prof. Manuel Kaulich (Goethe University, co-founder of Vivlion) shares how he turned a CRISPR method from his lab into a spin-off: Do you have to leave academia to start a company? Who owns your research? When is a method a business? One hour, 3–4 pm, plenty of room for your questions. No idea or business plan needed. A Futury x PROXIDRUGS event.

Over 32 hours, interdisciplinary teams tackle a real industry challenge and turn a first idea into a working prototype. You'll build something you can actually show, with mentors on hand whenever you get stuck, and pitch it to decision-makers at the end.

Founder Talk: Three founders, three paths

Have you always wanted to know how to become self-employed and when the right moment is to found a startup?

At the Founder Talk, LAUNCH Rhein-Main and the Founders Club Frankfurt bring together three founders who have found three completely different answers to that question.

Samuel Kutger (founder of emsbo, Forbes 30 Under 30) went to court at 13 to be allowed to start a company.

David Döbele (founder of pumpkincareers) founded directly after his bachelor’s degree to help thousands of students get into their dream jobs.

Dr. Tim Felten (founder of LIO Consulting) completed a PhD in theoretical plasma physics, consulted for six years at Roland Berger, and only then founded his company.

Straight from school, right after the bachelor’s, after a PhD and a consulting career: there is no single right time. But there are three honest stories about what it’s really like to get started.

Very early-stage founders pitch their startup ideas (1–2 minutes) and receive structured, honest feedback from the group and coach. The session combines practical input on user research and validation with live idea challenges, helping participants test assumptions, refine their concept, and define clear next steps before building.

Two-day bootcamp where researchers test their research against real market needs and build a first business model. With feedback from industry, founders and peers.

Special edition with focus on mechanical engineering and related fields. INNODAY26 included during the first day of the bootcamp.

At #INNODAY26 on 29 October 2026 in Darmstadt, entrepreneurial spirit and innovation meet business, science and politics. More than 100 exhibitors, inspiring keynotes and the Start-up Pitch Corner offer a diverse supporting programme with numerous networking formats and workshops.

The focus of "Match & Grow in RLP" is on innovative startup solutions to current economic and societal challenges. The event brings together startups from across Germany with established companies, investors, and innovation stakeholders.

Co-Founder Wanted 9.0 is a two-day startup matchmaking event by the Frankfurt School Entrepreneurship Centre. Meet ambitious founders, developers, business talents, and aspiring entrepreneurs, pitch ideas, form teams, and work with experienced mentors to turn promising concepts into startups. The event concludes with final pitches and a winning team announcement.

Pitch event challenging Life Science startup business models with expert feedback. Goal here: invite fitting corporates and investors also to create maximum impact!

Web Summit Conference

Over 32 hours, interdisciplinary teams tackle a real industry challenge and turn a first idea into a working prototype. You'll build something you can actually show, with mentors on hand whenever you get stuck, and pitch it to decision-makers at the end.

Are you keen to start your own company but still missing the right idea? Are you considering founding a venture based on your research? Or would you simply like to learn techniques for generating ideas? Then you’ve come to the right place!

In this workshop you’ll dive into the world of creativity techniques and learn methods that help you discover new perspectives and develop innovative ideas. Together we’ll try out different approaches and go through the entire process of idea generation and selection.

The workshop is for anyone who may want to become self‑employed with their own business idea but is still searching for the spark—whether you’re just getting started or already have initial thoughts.

The workshop takes place on 11 November in person on the JGU campus (location to be announced) from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Registration deadline is 9 November at 9:00 a.m.

Two-day bootcamp where researchers test their research against real market needs and build a first business model — with feedback from industry, founders and peers.

Very early-stage founders pitch their startup ideas (1–2 minutes) and receive structured, honest feedback from the group and coach. The session combines practical input on user research and validation with live idea challenges, helping participants test assumptions, refine their concept, and define clear next steps before building.

The foundersXchange is organized by HIGHEST, ATHENE Digital Hub Cybersecurity, hessian.AI, HUB31, cesah and YUBIZZ, the startup initiative of h_da.

GeneNovate® is entering its next round in the
Rhine-Main region!
The nationwide GeneNovate® Entrepreneurship Program
supports researchers and medical professionals working in gene and cell
therapy, biotech, and life sciences. The program’s aim is to support researchers
in turning scientific ideas into real-world impact, from exploring potential
applications to taking first steps toward translation and spin-off creation.
From January to June 2027, participants can look
forward to:
🚀 Workshops
on entrepreneurship and startup development

💡
Topics such as business models, IP, financing, regulatory affairs, and
go-to-market strategies

🤝
Individual mentoring and coaching

🌐
Access to a nationwide network of researchers, startups, industry experts, and
investors

🎤
Opportunities to develop, refine, and pitch their own ideas
The program is open to advanced students, doctoral
candidates, postdocs, experienced researchers, and medical professionals. And
you don’t need to have a fully developed startup idea to apply.
📍 The
Rhine-Main region, including Mainz and Frankfurt, is once again part of the
program.

💰
Participation is free of charge.

📅
Application deadline: November 13, 2026
👉
Apply here: GeneNovate® 2027
#GeneNovate #Entrepreneurship #LifeSciences #Biotech
#Innovation #ResearchTransfer #Startup #SpinOff #Research #RhineMain