Gründergeist@Münsterland

The Gründergeist@Münsterland initiative was financially supported by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the EU as a development project until February 2019. With this start-up funding, it continues to mobilise and support people throughout Münsterland who are willing to start a business, from the initial brainstorming to a fully developed business plan. In the last three years, the initiative has facilitated the path to self-employment for many founders. After all, in the early stages of setting up a business, team, network and infrastructure are essential factors for success.

Founding successfully together

The core of the project is formed by five start-up incubators in the four districts of Münsterland and the city of Münster. Those willing to start a business are professionally accompanied and supported in working on their project idea. The participants deal with questions such as how a vague idea can become a concrete business idea or what it means to be self-employed. What steps does a person interested in starting a business have to take, when and how?

Among other things, the founders' workshops are about specifying the problems, accelerating the brainstorming and the flow of ideas by individuals or groups, broadening the direction of the search and dissolving mental blocks. With the application of creativity techniques, the "Business Model Canvas" and other methods, the business ideas are concretised and developed into a promising business model.

On 18 January 2019, the project culminated in the first regional GRÜNDERGEIST COMPETITION, which awarded the best business plan in Münsterland. Participants of the Gründerschmieden as well as all other potential founders from Münsterland were able to take part. It is planned to continue the competition every two years.