The ideas of tomorrow's start-up talents deserve a chance. Ideate by tech2b is the early stage program of the Upper Austrian incubator tech2b.
We help you to define your business idea and support you through exchange, trust, professionalism and honesty.
At tech2b, you also have access to a wide network of mentors and experts.
We accompany you on your adventurous journey to your startup.
Two of our tech2b startups from the Ideate program talk about their experiences: what to do with an idea, their motivation for founding and how we as tech2b were able to help.
The belt that is not a belt - Ursula Dürr
It always bothered Ursula that pants never fit 100%. Too short, too wide.
With her solution, she offers you the freedom to wear your pants the way that suits you.
What is the name of your product?
"The first question is a difficult one. At the moment I'm still looking for a name - the favorite at the moment is NoBelt. However, it's not fixed yet, it could possibly also be called waistband clasp or belt alternative."
How did you come up with your idea?
"The idea for [insertNiceBrandName] arose from a personal need. My trousers/jeans have always been either too wide at the waist, too short or both together. You can now get a grip on the issue of length with targeted online shopping. However, the fact that pants just fit everywhere - that hardly ever happens. "
As a non-belt wearer, I came up with the idea for my product one day.
What do you wish for as an entrepreneur?
Freedom - in both senses of the word.
On the one hand, the product itself embodies freedom, because it allows me to wear what I want, the way I want.
On the other hand, because by setting up a company I can create the kind of future I envision for myself.
So for me, freedom is primarily defined as being able to invest my time where I want.
How does tech2b help you on your journey?
Ideate helps me personally to structure my project and get quick, well-founded feedback. During the 6 months, you have the chance to "mold" all the approaches and ideas you have even more and to draw on the experience of the mentors where necessary. The great network you have access to also helps enormously!
Through various events and the opportunity to get a job at Tabakfabrik, for example, you can also expand your own network and immerse yourself in the Upper Austrian start-up scene.
Why buy when you can share - MyShare
As passionate sportsmen, Niklas and Matthäus have the problem of renting rental bikes. Whether from small dealers or private individuals. That's why the two former schoolmates developed the MyShare platform.
How did you come up with your idea?
Matthäus: Niklas and I are passionate athletes and have often been downhill biking. Niklas has a downhill bike. I don't.
We tried again and again to rent a bike or other items in the immediate vicinity and quickly realized that the small dealers are miles away from digitalization.
That's when we came up with the idea of creating a platform where small traders can rent out their items at low cost.
We took the idea further and thought it would be even more interesting to be able to rent something from people in the immediate vicinity, e.g. from a neighbor. That was the initial idea and we never let go of it.
Niklas: Putting objects in the corner fits in so well with today's world. Not everyone needs to buy a drill if you only need it once a year. My bike hangs in the garage all year round except for the five times I ride it to the bike park and use it.
What happened after the initial idea?
M: We kept trying to expand the product ourselves. We started cold-calling retailers and were able to identify demand. As a result, we saw the huge potential behind it, but also the realization "But we won't be able to do it on our own. We don't have the experience."
That's why we were on the lookout for partners. At one point, we read the company history of Runtastic and saw in the business plan that there had been a collaboration with tech2b. As a result, we contacted tech2b and arranged an initial meeting with Wolfgang(note: Bauer, start-up consultant).
N: We felt very comfortable after talking to Wolfgang. Also because it is a familiar environment. Above all, the many years of experience, the network of experts and the Ideate offer were a perfect fit for our use case. That is very important for us.
M: We like the family environment at tech2b, it's incredibly pleasant. Thanks to the Ideate program, we used the coworking spaces and meeting rooms in the OIC. The whole environment has helped us to develop.
How does tech2b help you on your journey?
N: The sparring during product development or the information on the funding programs are fantastic, we wouldn't have got this far ourselves without help.
We are now a team of 5 people. Now it's time to expand further, develop the platform and app and enter the market in a timely manner.
M: I am very satisfied and grateful with how the Ideate program went. tech2b offered by far the greatest added value compared to other programs. We are convinced that we would not have received such a familiar and supportive welcome elsewhere.
N: We are young, so it can happen that such an idea is often attributed to carelessness. "Ah, they have an idea, nice."
But it was so pleasant at tech2. We and our idea were taken seriously. The fact that we can talk to each other directly as equals is a great quality of the whole team. tech2b is more than just "We support you", tech2b is like a big family.
About Ideate by tech2b
Innovative new paths always start with an idea. The ideas of tomorrow's start-up talents deserve a chance to become great. Ideate by tech2b encourages people on their way to shaping the future of our society through the innovations of tomorrow.
