idw – Informationsdienst Wissenschaft
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Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
idw - Informationsdienst
Wissenschaft
World Book Day (April 23): SpinLab – The HHL Accelerator Recommends Start-up Literature
Matthias Freysoldt, founder of the start-up Sensape (http://sensape.com/de) recommends the title "The Hard Thing About Hard Things”
Won’t be long now until book stores, publishing houses, libraries, schools and avid readers celebrate the UNESCO World Book Day on April 23, 2016 with a great reading festival. In this context, people from the start-ups in the founders' platform SpinLab – The HHL Accelerator recommend books focusing on entrepreneurship.
Financing guidebook
SpinLab CEO Eric Weber recommends the book "Venture Deals: Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist" as funding for a start-up through venture capital often represents a deciding factor for founders in the technological field. The authors Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson detail the practice of venture capital funds, entrepreneurs and lawyers in their book, which was first published in 2011. According to Eric Weber, the explanations relating to economic questions, which eventually define the return on investment for the venture capitalists on a long-term basis, and the control rights, which determine the operative cooperation between founder and venture capitalist, are of particular value. "The authors succeed in explaining a complex topic to beginners, which is often subject to high costs for legal and tax consulting, while shedding light on aspects of this field that are new even to experienced experts. Therefore, the book is a valuable guide for all start-up founders, helping them to initiate contact with investors, present their start-up in manner that is relevant to the respective target group, negotiate financing conditions as well as conclude fair contracts," comments Eric Weber (http://www.spinlab.co).
Start-up roller coaster guide
Matthias Freysoldt, founder of the start-up Sensape (http://sensape.com/de), which is developing a new technology for interactive infotainment systems, recommends the title "The Hard Thing About Hard Things” by Ben Horowitz. "The special thing about this book is that Ben Horowitz lists the unpleasant challenges when establishing a start-up. I have gained a lot of insight from his experience and stories, which helps me with Sensape. He does not offer a magic formula for founding businesses – there is none – but instead, valuable tips for the more difficult moments which you will encounter on the start-up roller coaster," says Matthias Freysoldt.
Helpful for maintaining authenticity during the founding process
"Every founder should read the book 'Wunder muss man selber machen' ('You Have to Create Your Own Miracles') by Sina Trinkwalder," says Martin Cirillo-Schmidt. The co-founder of Laviu (www.laviu.de), a start-up developing esthetic and stylish love toys for women, continues, "The title has encouraged me to follow my own path, stick to my values and listen to my gut instincts more often. I believe that this, combined with a high level of perseverance and patience, is the only way in which you can maintain the authenticity required for starting your business."
Inspiration for core principles of a start-up
Jerry Cheambe, CEO of the start-up qlipay (http://www.qlipay.io) recommends the book "ReWork" by Jason Fried and David Hansson. "The book has been very influential on my journey as a company founder," says the executive of the young company which allows migrants to quickly and inexpensively settle bills for African products and services through international payment service providers. Jerry Cheambe explains, "After working for over eight years at one of the big five technology consulting companies, I decided it was time to realize my own ideas. A colleague of mine gave me the book as a farewell present. Fried and Hansson come across as very authentic in the way they share their insights. They use a certainly controversial approach in tackling everyday business situations in a multi-polar world, juggling 16 employees in eight different cities while building a profitable company with millions of customers. Their business model is based on products that really solved problems. I have to admit at that time most of the ideas were contrary to my previous eight years. However, the authenticity and short precise messages of "ReWork" sparked my interest in the book. It became a source of inspiration as we adapted the ideas it conveyed to form some of the core principles of what we do today at qlipay. Some of these principles include: We solve problems I have experienced as a migrant in Europe. We focus on serving our customers and not on a possible exit with our start-up. Outside money represents plan Z and not plan A to us. We hire employees who are managers of 'one'."
Jerry Cheambe concludes, "'ReWork' is a good read for anyone leading a business independent of size or stage.
Insight of dealing with business partners
"The Deadline" by Tom DeMarco is very high up on vizzlo founder Hendrik Schulz's list. The CEO of the start-up specializing in preparing customized business graphics (https://vizzlo.com) says, "A book about project management in the form of a novel. Not considering the waterfall model, it is a brilliant work about how to deal with people in everyday business life."
About the SpinLab – The HHL Accelerator
SpinLab – The HHL Accelerator supports innovative founding projects in their implementation and growth. In addition to intensive coaching, the founding teams will also benefit from a high-caliber mentoring program as well as numerous contacts to investors, established companies and other founders. They can use a co-working office with state-of-the art equipment on the premises of Spinnerei, an old cotton mill now serving as a center for creativity, and will gain access to various technologies offered by the partners. Even after completing the program, the startups receive support with recruitment, may plan their expansion through an international exchange program and have the opportunity to rent office space right next to SpinLab. The founders will be able to use all offers free of charge when accepted into the six-month program.
SpinLab – The HHL Accelerator is funded through contributions from investors and established companies such as Deutsche Postbank, E.ON Connecting Energies, CMS Hasche Sigle, Deutsche Bank, Doberman Ventures, DZ Bank, ergo Versicherungen, Grazia Equity, Heinz Dürr Invest, High-Tech Gründerfonds, KPMG, Madsack Mediengruppe, Mittelständische Beteiligungsgesellschaft Sachsen, Porsche, Quarton International and taskforce – Management on Demand. http://www.spinlab.co
HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management as a hotbed for entrepreneurs
With over 165 start-ups established by HHL alumni over the past 18 years, HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management has developed into an incubator for company creation. The founders' entrepreneurial commitment has created more than 2,800 jobs already. In 2013 and 2014, HHL reached one out of the three first places for the best entrepreneurial universities in Germany cited in the Start-Up Radar ranking published by Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft (Founders' Association of German Science) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BWMi). According to the Financial Times, HHL ranks first in Germany and fifth globally for its entrepreneurship focus within the M.Sc. and EMBA programs. http://www.hhl.de/EntrepreneurialGraduateSchool
http://www.spinlab.co
http://sensape.com/de
http://www.qlipay.io
https://vizzlo.com
http://www.hhl.de/EntrepreneurialGraduateSchool
Matthias Freysoldt, founder of the start-up Sensape (
Source: Photo credit: SpinLab.
Jerry Cheambe, CEO of the start-up qlipay (
Source: Photo credit: SpinLab.
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