auftakt. Das Gründerforum Ilmenau

What auftakt. Das Gründerforum Ilmenau does

auftakt. Das Gründerforum Ilmenau e.V. is a registered nonprofit association (eingetragener Verein) operating as an umbrella brand for entrepreneurship support at the Technische Universität Ilmenau. Founded as a private initiative of students, alumni, professors, and research staff of TU Ilmenau, the organization coordinates three constituent entities under a single Dachmarke: Gründerforum Ilmenau e.V. (the private association), TGZ GmbH (the technology and startup center hosting the physical infrastructure), and Ilmkubator (TU Ilmenau's university transfer pillar). Its stated mission is structured around three functions — sensibilisation (raising entrepreneurship awareness among school students, university students, researchers, and alumni), Beratung (advising prospective founders through a network of founders and scientists), and Verbindung (unifying the founders, investors, students, and alumni networks around TU Ilmenau).

The organization's product portfolio consists of interconnected community and infrastructure services rather than software products: auftakt.Alumni (an alumni network of more than 30 listed founders and ecosystem members at companies including YAZIO, einhorn, Otto Group, High-Tech Gründerfonds, Fastbill, Statista, and SpinLab), auftakt.Netzwerk (a networking platform for founders, investors, customers, and co-founders), auftakt.Basis (a physical coworking and infrastructure hub within the TGZ building on Ehrenbergstraße 11), auftakt.Beratung (advisory signposting for prospective founders), auftakt.Bildung (support for university courses on entrepreneurship), auftakt.Workshops (curated startup-themed workshop programming), and the annual VC CAMPUS event. Two further offerings — auftakt.Coworking and auftakt.Makerspace — are publicly listed as 'Coming soon.' The underlying 'technology' is fundamentally community infrastructure (a venue, a network, an event calendar, and a website) rather than a software platform; there is no proprietary API, SDK, or AI/ML capability disclosed.

Commercially, auftakt. operates as a non-profit. No revenue figures, pricing schedule, or paying-customer list is publicly disclosed. Revenue sources are described as membership contributions, institutional funding from TU Ilmenau, and likely public grants for startup promotion; services to students and researchers are delivered free or at subsidized rates. The organization is governed by a volunteer board — Uta Jennchen (Chair), Andreas Röhr (Deputy Chair), Katrin Meyer-Lohmann (Treasurer), and Prof. Dr. Jens Müller — with a headcount of 1–10. Its go-to-market motion is community-led and event-driven, reaching prospective founders through direct university channels, word-of-mouth, and flagship events such as VC CAMPUS, with no commercial sales motion.

Name

auftakt. Das Gründerforum Ilmenau

Legal name

Gründerforum Ilmenau e.V.

Website

https://auftakt.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

auftakt. Das Gründerforum Ilmenau e.V. is a registered non-profit umbrella organization that coordinates entrepreneurship support at TU Ilmenau — bundling Gründerforum Ilmenau e.V., TGZ GmbH, and the Ilmkubator to deliver alumni networking, coworking, advisory, workshops, and the VC CAMPUS event to students, researchers, and alumni.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Ilmenau

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Non-profit membership and support services: As a registered association (e.V.), auftakt. operates as a non-profit organization providing entrepreneurship support services. Revenue appears to come from membership contributions, institutional funding from TU Ilmenau, and potentially public grants for startup promotion. Services to students and researchers are provided free or at subsidized rates.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

auftakt. Das Gründerforum Ilmenau operates as a nonprofit umbrella organization that coordinates entrepreneurship support activities around TU Ilmenau. It bundles three entities—Gründerforum Ilmenau e.V., TGZ GmbH, and Ilmkubator—to provide coworking space (auftakt.Basis), advisory services (auftakt.Beratung), educational support (auftakt.Bildung), workshops, alumni networking, and the annual VC CAMPUS event for students, researchers, and alumni of TU Ilmenau.

Product overview

auftakt. is an umbrella brand that coordinates and supports entrepreneurship activities at TU Ilmenau. The organization offers a portfolio of interconnected services including: auftakt.Basis (coworking space and infrastructure), auftakt.Beratung (advisory consulting), auftakt.Bildung (educational support for university courses), auftakt.Workshops (startup-focused workshops), auftakt.Alumni (alumni network), auftakt.Netzwerk (investor/founder networking), and the annual VC CAMPUS event. Planned offerings include auftakt.Coworking and a Makerspace. The organization bundles the startup support activities of three entities: Gründerforum Ilmenau e.V., TGZ GmbH (technology and startup center), and the Ilmkubator of TU Ilmenau.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Gründerforum Ilmenau e.V. (GFI e.V.)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Gründerforum Ilmenau e.V. is a private initiative of students, alumni, professors, and current and former researchers at TU Ilmenau. It is the founding association that forms the core of the auftakt. umbrella organization.
• TGZ GmbH (Technologie- und Gründerzentrum Ilmenau)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Technology and Startup Center Ilmenau forms a location community of technology-oriented startups. TGZ hosts the auftakt.Basis coworking space and serves as a key infrastructure partner for the entrepreneurship ecosystem.
• Ilmkubator (TU Ilmenau)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Ilmkubator is the university transfer pillar that carries the 'Gründen' (Founding) column at TU Ilmenau, integrated under the auftakt. umbrella brand alongside GFI e.V. and TGZ GmbH.
• VC CAMPUSminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVC CAMPUS is a venture capital campus event organized in partnership, described as a festival of entrepreneurship bringing guests from across Germany to TU Ilmenau.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Hamburg Startups: Regional startup community organizer for the Hamburg ecosystem offering networking, events, and ecosystem data; comparable as a region-focused entrepreneurship community platform, though serving a different German city.

Direct peers

• Factory Berlin: Berlin innovation campus combining coworking, events, and corporate-startup programs; comparable as a community-led entrepreneurship infrastructure provider in Germany.
• Bundesverband Deutsche Startups: German startup association representing founders and ecosystem actors; comparable as a membership-based organization advancing the German entrepreneurship community through advocacy, networking, and events.
• Impact Hub Berlin: Part of a global network of entrepreneurship and impact hubs offering coworking, programming, and community; comparable business model combining physical space, events, and founder support.
• Startup Verband: Leading German startup association organizing events, policy work, and ecosystem services; closely comparable to auftakt. as a membership-driven entrepreneurship support body.
• betahaus: Berlin coworking and event space for entrepreneurs and creators; comparable in providing physical infrastructure, workshops, and community to early-stage founders.
• Social Impact gGmbH: German non-profit supporting social entrepreneurship and impact ventures through incubation and programs; comparable as a non-profit entrepreneurship support organization operating programs and infrastructure in Germany.
• SpinLab – The HHL Accelerator: Leipzig-based university-linked accelerator for early-stage startups; directly comparable as a German university-affiliated entrepreneurship support organization offering mentorship, infrastructure, and investor connections.
• Talent Garden: European network of coworking and innovation campuses targeting digital and entrepreneurial talent; comparable as a coworking-plus-education platform with strong community programming.

Others

• EXIST – Federal Startup Program: German federal ministry program funding entrepreneurship at universities (EXIST Gründerstipendium, EXIST Forschungstransfer); relevant adjacent enabler sharing the same university-anchored founder support mandate.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/auftakt.org
• Xx.com/auftakt_org

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about auftakt. Das Gründerforum Ilmenau