Following the interesting presentation of very different business models, the Bremen Senator commented: “These are good ideas, exciting and important for Bremen. We will continue to support them.” All three projects have either run through BRIDGE's various programs or are supported by BRUT, the Bremen development program of the Bremer Aufbau Bank.
Mechanical engineering, the spice trade, and marketing videos
“Sensosurf” was founded in 2016 by Jette and Dr. Cord Winkelmann as a spin off from the Chair for Microsensors, -Actuators and -Systems (IMSAS) at the University of Bremen.
The young company produces smart machine components. The bearings, guide rails and threaded rods are equipped with sensors. The subsequently embedded information technologies give the components abilities that go beyond their original purpose. Jette Winkelmann, Managing Director of “Sensosurf”, illustrated how this works on the example of conveyor belts or buildings. The parts installed there can provide important information about filling quantities or stability. But the young entrepreneur also said: “It took a long time to find an interested Bremen company, though.” www.sensosurf.de
Laura Brandt, an alumnus of the Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences, has launched a campaign for her company “Yummy Organics” with the aid of Schotterweg, the crowdfunding platform of the WFB Economic Development Agency Bremen and the Bremer Aufbau-Bank (BAB). The socially and ecologically committed advertising designer has set up a business dealing in spices. The start-up company supplies spices directly from small farmers to the customers. Her concept: It will be the first online shop where it is the customer who determines the price. Laura Brandt spent several months in Sri Lanka, helping farmers with the harvest and working as a cook in a restaurant. “I had the idea to bring fair-trade spices to Germany,” she says. The company has had to overcome many hurdles, from high import duties to expensive lab tests. In the cultural kitchen at the Teerhof in downtown Bremen, she now prepares her products in attractive packaging for online trading. www.yummy-organics.de
Advertising videos that the customer actually watches from start to finish without clicking them off: This is what the brothers Darius and Elias Schupp promise to interested companies. With “Eldar Deal”, they have developed a system that allows the users to be playfully interactive with the advertising messages. This guarantee is worth a lot to their customers. And users benefit, too, with attractive discount vouchers. The clever system developed by the brothers, both of them alumni of the Bremen City University of Applied Sciences and experienced in sales, is already attracting interest from several companies with big names. “The first place on the internet where users actually watch the advertising”, is the slogan for their online platform. Like the two other startups, they are impressed by the wide range of support provided by BRIDGE. “The combination of consulting services represents real added value,” says Elias Schupp. www.eldardeal.de
BRIDGE–a success story
At the start of the event, Professor Andreas Breiter, Vice President Research at the University of Bremen, emphasized the importance of transfer for the universities and thus for start-up activities. “Together with Bremer Aufbau-Bank, we live start-up support as a collaboration of all universities. This is not the case at every location,” added BRIDGE Managing Director Dr. Martin Heinlein. BRIDGE consultant Meike Goos summarized the results of the university initiative: “BRIDGE is able to look back over a successful history starting in 2002: the university initiative advises 160 start-ups every year, and systematically supports 40 projects each year with courses and workshops. On average, it boasts about 24 start-ups from Bremen's universities every year,” she said. This has earned the University of Bremen / BRIDGE several top rankings from the Donors' Association for the Promotion of Science and Humanities in Germany.
In the photo you can see: (from the left) start-up entrepreneur Jette Winkelmann, Dr. Martin Heinlein, BRIDGE Managing Director, the Bremen Senator for the Economy, Martin Günthner, Vice President Prof. Andreas Breiter, Hans-Georg Tschupke, start-up entrepreneur Laura Brandt, start-up entrepreneur Elias Schupp, BRIDGE employee Meike Goos, and start-up entrepreneur Darius Schupp.
