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A helping hand for founders: from the initial idea to business success

We’ve made it our business to help your business get off to a successful start.

We can advise you on the start-up process and funding opportunities, open doors in the start-up community and provide you with state-of-the-art office infrastructure. The university supports start-ups with the Founders Lab, the Creative Pre-Incubator programme and the office facilities available for rent at the Open Innovation Lab.

Give your imagination free rein

Our start-up services are designed to create a secure environment in which you can try out your business ideas. 

It’s no coincidence that an above-average proportion of our graduates – between 6% and 8% – work as freelancers or are self-employed. Compared with the national average of 2%, this goes to show that with an IMC Krems education, you’ll be especially well prepared if you want to go freelance or start your own business.

Our services are aimed at both students and alumni of the university, who we support by providing consultation and support programmes. We have relationships with companies in a wide range of sectors which might be interested in your business idea. Let us put you in touch.

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A man is giving a lecture
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3 students show their business idea Stampowl

The Founders Lab: a playground for business ideas

Our students come up with some great ideas. Many of them have the potential to be developed into successful business models.

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The first step towards founding your start-up: Playground Ideation

Playground Ideation takes place twice a year and is an opportunity to workshop ideas (including business proposals) in collaboration with about 20 other students. It’s an exciting experience, especially if you don’t have a specific concept in mind at the start of the process – because during the weekend the ideas start to flow!

As a group, we home in on the best approaches, and you get valuable feedback from your peers and the IMC Career Service team. We work on the product and on defining the target groups for potential customers. The aim is to plan your start-up as effectively as possible on paper.

Afterwards, you continue the development work on your own. It goes without saying that you can call on us at any stage if you require additional support. On Demo Day you present your start-up idea to a larger audience and an independent panel, who’ll give you feedback.

Applying for Playground Ideation

We’re looking for students from all departments who

  • want to develop new ideas and businesses, and/or
  • continue working on an existing business idea

Send us your application, telling us in your own words why you’d like to participate.

Find out more and apply today

Creative Pre-Incubator: the next step for your start-up

Through this comprehensive programme, we offer support to people who want to see their business idea through to fruition. Let us provide you with the help you need to transform your project into a successful business.

Our experts know how it’s done and will be there to support you every step of the way – from obtaining funding and finding an accountant through to identifying companies that might be interested in your idea.

Advice and guidance

We let you know whether it makes sense to patent your idea, and offer business pitch training and coaching.

Support

You’ll learn how to put together financial and business plans specifically tailored to your idea.

Coaching

A selection of our workshops: Business modelling, market research, intellectual property rights, marketing or venture capital.

Creating a buzz

We’ll introduce you to the start-up scene as well as to our CPI teams so you can exchange notes and get to know potential investors and business angels.

Feedback

Regular meetings, update presentations and individual support help you to stay on track.

Networking

We introduce you to the people with the right expertise to support your start-up.

Open Innovation Lab

Space for creative and networked working

The Open Innovation Lab in Krems promotes innovation and start-ups. Moreover it is an open space for students, graduates, employees and researchers of IMC Krems, as well as for companies and the local economy.

University and business meet in an open, relaxed environment, where human error is acceptable and is a means to learn and develop innovations for society.

"Open Innovation entails establishing ties with our stakeholders which will extensively boost the innovation potential in research, teaching and organisations." Udo Brändle, the IMC Krems Managing Dircetor emphasized in his speech that the Open Innovation Lab provided the necessary space for it.

Contact us

The IMC Founders Lab is located at our IMC Gozzoburg site. Questions? Don't hesitate to contact us: founderslab(at)fh-krems.ac.at

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