Promising business models in the leanlab in just 48 hours!

For an entire weekend, the former department store in Seilwinderstraße was the most productive place in Hanover: around 100 creative people and people interested in founding a company developed numerous promising business models from ideas in just 48 hours in the leanlab, the best of which were awarded prizes.

Do you know Dresslife, which has been using AI to conquer the fashion industry with tailored product recommendations since 2017? Or SMAVOO GmbH, which has been successful on the market with automatic replenishment control for production and logistics? Both company ideas were once developed in the leanlab, which has been held annually by hannoverimpuls , NEXSTER and starting business since 2014 - and was also part of the SMINT high-tech incubator for the first time this year.

The results of the 15 teams that came together here on the weekend of June 3-4 are impressive: From customizable acoustic room dividers (FLUKS) to a barrier-free fitness platform for people over 60 (Foreverfit), a smart flower pot that independently cares for and waters the plant (Lovely Pot) or an AI-controlled individual learning coach for pupils (Ed!) to an upcycling concept that turns old wind turbine rotors into stylish outdoor furniture (Upwind) or a rating and analysis tool that craftspeople can use to record and optimize the sustainability of their company (Hans). Including cost calculations, ideas for sales partners and more. "Every year, the leanlab generates great ideas that have what it takes to become start-ups," says Doris Petersen, Managing Director of hannoverimpuls GmbH , who is delighted with the success of this special format.

At leanlab 2023, students from tech, design and business once again met with startup coaches, entrepreneurs and supporting organizers to develop their own entrepreneurial ideas - some of which had been in their heads for years and became a convincing business model here with new impulses, while other teams only found each other on site. Inspiration was provided by experts who have already achieved a lot in the start-up scene. They included Ijad Madisch, CEO of ResearchGate, a network for scientists with over 25 million users, Christoph Sollich, alias "The Pitch Doctor" , who has already supported countless start-ups, and Startup-Impuls winners Stephanie Pfeil-Coenenen and Alina Eilers with the first vegan pregnancy test. In addition, numerous coaches provided professional support over the weekend.

It started late on Friday afternoon with the first performances and team compositions. On Saturday, ideas were fine-tuned from early in the morning until late at night with support, which were presented to a jury on Sunday evening. The main prize went to the Hier & Door team, who want to offer VR art therapy for mentally ill patients on prescription and already have a first interested party on board for a pilot project in the form of a clinic in Bremen. 2,500 in prize money from Hannover Re, support from the innovation experts at FUTUR X and a free membership at hafven in Hanover's Nordstadt district are intended to help launch the service on the market.

Three special prizes were also awarded: The MINT special prize with up to 7,500 euros in funding from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection went to the team from Upwind , which plans to build its first upcycling outdoor bar from former wind turbine rotors on the island of Sylt. The special prize from the Hanover Marketing Club with prize money of 1,000 euros went to the team from Hans , who want to make craftsmanship more sustainable with their new platform. The Ed! team won the special prize of two workstations in the V-Lab in the VentureVilla. With the help of AI, an individual learning coach is to be created for students, which will primarily help them to learn how to learn by generating individual learning plans and to-do lists tailored to exams.

The jury included multiple founder Fatime Cetinkaya, Marc Junker, who has sold many start-ups around the world, hafven Managing Director Karen Klauke and robotics expert Prof. Tobias Ortmaier.

leanlab 2023 was the first in three years to take place in Präsenz again - and at a special location: the former Kaufhof department store, the first floor of which has been a venue for meetings and events coordinated by hannoverimpuls under the title aufhof since June 1 until the end of the year.