Start your vision. Now! But how?

Reutlingen University in the Neckar-Alb region of south-western Germany provides young entrepreneurs with ideal business implementation opportunities. They are supported by dedicated professors from various faculties who integrate entrepreneurship into teaching and therefore encourage students’ entrepreneurial spirit.

The Center for Entrepreneurship brings these activities together and is a one-stop shop for all questions about innovation, entrepreneurship and founding a company. With the wide range of opportunities available, we familiarise students with everything involved in founding a startup, teaching them to adopt an innovative mindset and to make entrepreneurial decisions.

  • … we provide food for thought and offer knowledge sharing through our entrepreneur events and ideas competitions

  • … we give information and advise on all questions concerning business startups, from understanding financing options to creating and implementing a business plan

  • … we regularly hold seminars and workshops on a range of topics as part of the “Studierenplus” interdisciplinary programme

  • … we offer rent-free workplaces in office-containers sponsored by the city of Reutlingen

  • … we have a vast network which extends far beyond the Neckar-Alb region and offer contacts with expert coaches and mentors who can use their expertise to assist with any question

  • … we actively support student initiatives , such as the ESB entrepreneurs from the ESB Business School and the mock-up company at the School of Textiles & Design

Have you got any questions?

The team at the Center for Entrepreneurship are happy to give you information about the opportunities provided by Reutlingen University and its partners. Just drop by (7-002a) or send us an e-mail!

Juergen Muench

Prof. Dr. Jürgen Münch

Head of Entrepreneurship at Reutlingen University

Professor for Software Engineering, Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Associated with the Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Studies at the University of Hohenheim. Former Professor at the University of Helsinki.

What motivates me

I’m passionate about making students excited about entrepreneurship and innovation and working with cool teams to make innovative businesses and products a real success.

Building 9, Room 9-026 | Tel. +49 (0) 7121 271 4107 07121/271-4107

Mail to Jürgen Münch
Thomas Rehmet

Thomas Rehmet

Head of Accelerator Project and Head of the Center for Entrepreneurship

There is (virtually) nothing that Thomas hasn’t done at Reutlingen University. He started as the alumni officer, before working in career advising and establishing the “TIC Career Day”. He has also organised the campus festival, edited the university magazine and, since 2015, he has been responsible for the entrepreneurs at the university’s Center for Entrepreneurship. Initially, this was just a casual role before he became a key team member in 2017, offering support to the entire team. His daily working life is still very varied. He advises the teams and those interested in founding a company and gives them an overview of the wide range of opportunities offered by Reutlingen University and its partners. A key part of his role is networking with partners, experts and other entrepreneurs.

What motivates me

Every day something new. and the business plans are just as varied as the university is. There are ever-present topics and absolutely exotic ideas. But the topic is not important – it depends on doing it! And that is his passion. Implementing things, to bring new project ideas on the way and just on the side to move sustainability forward. Start-up means to go through life with open eyes and a curious look.

Building 07 Room 002C | Tel. 07121/271-1082

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Carmen Bleile

Carmen Bleile

Finances & Events

At the Center for Entrepreneurship, I deal with all of the financial matters involved in business startups, including funding, business startup grants, applications, purchases and external funding management. I work as part of a team to organise our “Move your idea” competition, exciting entrepreneurship fairs, “Re-Startup Night”, “Startup Night” and many interesting talks by entrepreneurs. I am responsible for organising these events. In addition, I also collaborate with a colleague to expand our mentoring network. Alongside these tasks, I work on many, many other interesting projects.

What motivates me

I founded my label taschen taolili in 2011. I design items inspired by memories. I’m passionate about upcycling customers’ favourite items of clothing, which are full of memories, and transforming them into unique “taolili” products. I am very pleased to be able to share my experiences of founding a company and my creative ideas with young entrepreneurs.

Building 07, Room 002C | Tel. +49 (0) 7121 271 1114 07121/271-1114

Mail to Carmen
Lyubomyr Matsekh

Dr. Lyubomyr Matsekh

Social entrepreneurship

After living and working in Asia for several years, Dr. Lyubomyr is back in Europe, where in addition to his academic work, he helps companies to bring people together and find new opportunities for their businesses (see LinkedIn for references). In his academic roles, he teaches leadership, sustainability and social entrepreneurship. He also supports the Center for Entrepreneurship in innovation management and helps to expand its network of international partners. His research activities are tightly linked to his teaching and project work. In the field of social entrepreneurship, he examines the role of digital innovation in social change and explores the impact of measurement matrices for social startups. His second area of research focus is the gamification and study of engagement methods used in project- and challenge-based entrepreneurship education. In addition, he pursues research topics in the fields of theoretical linguistics and artificial intelligence, which are related to his PhD thesis. Based on the interdisciplinary approach used in his doctoral research, he strives to distinguish the algorithms of concept formation and evolution in human cognition, as well as the working principles of the coherent conceptual network that humans create. Furthermore, his research is directed towards the role of perceptual systems and cognitive processes in learning, e.g. the time-efficiency correlation in memorisation and unaware learning.

What motivates me

My motivation comes from contemplating ways of creating a space where change is possible and fun.

Building 07, Room 7-002A | Tel. +49 (0) 7121 271 1094 07121 – 271 1094

Mail to Lyubomyr
Laura Simons

Laura Simons

Entrepreneurship and textiles

I organise a lot of lectures and classes about founding companies and also lead some of them myself.

I’m always looking for new teaching staff from the field and new topics which may be of interest to our entrepreneurs and university students.

What motivates me

From starting my own business, I know only too well the pitfalls you may encounter and which tools, techniques and support you might need where, when and in what form.
I enjoy discovering new, useful methods, teaching them to the students and also applying them myself.

Building 07, Room 7-002A | Tel. +49 (0) 7121 271 1095 07121 – 271 1095

Mail to Laura
Ariane Storbeck

Ariane Storbeck

Project lead of “Stoff im Kopf”

Clothing engineer, many years of experience in purchasing and quality management at prestigious garment manufacturers. . Storbeck started in the School of Textiles & Design at Reutlingen University three years ago but now focuses on “Stoff im Kopf”.

What motivates me
The textile and clothing sector needs new ideas and people
who are brave enough to compete with the major players of the industry
and to make the textile world more sustainable. I’d like to support this commitment and help you on your way to becoming successful entrepreneurs.

Building 07, Room 7-002A | Tel. +49 (0) 7121 271 8078 07121 – 271 1093

Mail to Ariane
Alexandra Ticar

Alexandra Ticar

Marketing and communication

Business administrator with many years of international experience in marketing, project management and sales.

What motivates me
I’d like to encourage students and those interested in founding a company to put their ideas into practice. Not every idea can be implemented but they all open up new possibilities, both professionally and privately. Our team can help to make dreams a reality.

Building 07, Room 7-002C | Tel. +49 (0) 7121 271 1092 07121 – 271 1092

Mail to Alexandra
Dario Wahl

Dario Wahl

Entrepreneurship & Industry 4.0

M.Sc. International Business Development, entrepreneurial experience of founding his own company and has worked in positions at Mister Spex in Berlin and STARTUP AUTOBAHN in Stuttgart. Wahl has worked for the Center for Entrepreneurship’s team for Industry 4.0 since April 2020.

What motivates me

During my undergraduate degree, I intensively studied startups and implemented my own project. I’ve been on the startup scene ever since and would like to pass on my knowledge to students at Reutlingen University. Moreover, my doctoral studies will allow me to study questions in entrepreneurship even more intensively.

Building 07, Room 7-002A | Tel. +49 (0) 7121 271 1091 07121 – 271 1091

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Inga van Gessel

Inga van Gessel

Startup consulting and networking

Responsible for startup consulting and building a mentor network. She has an interdisciplinary academic background and has studied in the Netherlands, Ireland and the United Kingdom. She has completed advanced training in coaching, storytelling and communication. Her previous positions were at the University of Lichtenstein, Zeppelin University (Friedrichshafen) and Jacobs University (Bremen).

What motivates me

I’m impressed by the enthusiasm and courage of the student startup teams in fully throwing themselves into their business plans. I’d be delighted if my advice and support with networking can facilitate their path to success.

Building 07, Room 7-002C | Tel. +49 (0) 7121 271 1117 07121 – 271 1117

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Inga van Gessel

Oksana Hinka

“Studierenplus” programme manager

At the CfE, I work as the contact person for “ASAP_BW”, a regional competition for entrepreneurs. In addition, I coordinate the “Studierenplus” programme, an elective programme consisting of seminars and workshops about founding companies and startups.

What motivates me

In addition to a knowledge of methods and enthusiasm for your new business idea, I can say from my own experience how important professional guidance and support structures are to the success of a startup project. I’m therefore motivated to teach students how to adopt an entrepreneurial mindset, to encourage them to found companies and to create added value for society through innovation.

Building 07, Room 7-002A | Tel. +49 (0) 7121 271 1152 07121 – 271 1152

Mail to Oksana
Jeannette Klein

Jeannette Klein

Head of founding companies and startups at IHK Reutlingen (Reutlingen Chamber of Commerce and Industry)

Corporate Succession Facilitator
Qualified business psychologist, has entrepreneurial experience in distributing consultancy and seminar offers, has worked in startup consultancy for over ten years, has assisted entrepreneurs and startups at IHK Reutlingen since 2015 and provides support in the area of corporate succession.

What motivates me

“Coming together is the beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” I think this famous quote from Henry Ford hits the nail on the head about how challenging daily interactions between entrepreneurial partners, their business partners and their customers are. I help ensure that these interactions are successful.

Building 05, Room 5-004B | Tel. +49 (0) 7121 201 297 07121 – 201 297

Mail to Jeannette