Gründungszentrum FH Aachen

What Gründungszentrum FH Aachen does

Gründungszentrum FH Aachen is the official startup center of FH Aachen University of Applied Sciences, established in 2020 and operationally anchored by a managing director (Dr.-Ing. Johannes König), a core team of approximately 9–10 staff, and six supporting professors across economics, IT, manufacturing, and design. It supports students, researchers, alumni, and faculty of FH Aachen who seek to found sustainable, technology-oriented companies, structuring its coaching around a three-phase SPARK–START–RISE methodology that moves founders from ideation through business concept development to market-ready prototyping.

The core service stack comprises individualized coaching, funding advisory (including preparation for EXIST-Gründerstipendium up to 143,000 EUR and START-UP Transfer.NRW up to 240,000 EUR), IP and patent protection consulting via partnership with PROvendis GmbH, and a 450 sqm shared facility at Eupener Straße 70 combining coworking space with a Prototypenwerkstatt equipped for CNC milling, 3D printing, laser processing, VR lab work, and microcontroller development. Educational offerings include the InterPro interdisciplinary prototype module, the cross-university TRACE program co-run with RWTH Aachen, and curricular seminars such as the Ringveranstaltung 'Entrepreneurship in der Praxis'. Specialized funding vehicles include KICKSTART@FH Aachen (1,000 EUR prototype funding plus an optional 2,500 EUR boost) and the EXIST Women track.

The Gründungszentrum is institutionally funded through public programs — EXIST (Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action), BMBF, BMWE, the Start-Up Center NRW initiative, and EFRE/JTF — and operates as a department of a public-law corporation under the NRW Ministry of Culture and Science. All core services are provided free of charge to FH Aachen affiliates; the center does not generate commercial revenue and relies on grant disbursements routed through the university. Its go-to-market is community-led, driven by faculty referrals, university internal communications, and event marketing (Entrepreneurship Day, Founder Roundtables, Startup Week Aachen), with a dense partnership network spanning AC.E, digitalHUB Aachen, RWTH Innovation, GründerRegion Aachen, AGIT, Brainergy Park, NRW.BANK, and HAWtech.

Name

Gründungszentrum FH Aachen

Legal name

Fachhochschule Aachen

Website

https://gruendungszentrum.fh-aachen.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Gründungszentrum FH Aachen is the publicly funded startup center of FH Aachen University of Applied Sciences, providing free coaching, prototyping, funding advisory, and IP services to students, researchers, and alumni pursuing sustainable, technology-oriented ventures.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

University Startup Incubation Services

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (611310), Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Youth Business Incubators & Accelerators (EDAMAHAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Entrepreneurship Foundations & Startup Basics (EDAMAHAA), Makerspaces & Fab Labs (Open Build Studios) (EDAMADAC), Makerspace, Innovation Lab & Fab Lab Operations (Tools, Safety, Programming) (EDAEAGAI), Venture Studios / Company Builders (FSANAAAH)

Keywords

• Startup coaching services
• Entrepreneurship education programs
• Prototyping workshop access
• University business incubation
• Funding advisory services

Headquarters

HQ city

Aachen

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Institutional Funding: Publicly funded startup support center of FH Aachen University, supported by federal and state programs including EXIST, BMBF, BMWE, and NRW state funding. Services are free for FH Aachen affiliates.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Gründungszentrum FH Aachen is the official startup center of FH Aachen University of Applied Sciences, providing comprehensive entrepreneurship support to students, researchers, alumni, and faculty. Core offerings include individualized coaching through the SPARK-START-RISE methodology, access to a 450 sqm coworking and prototyping workshop equipped with CNC milling, 3D printing, laser cutting, and a VR lab, plus funding advisory, IP protection consulting, and interdisciplinary entrepreneurship programs.

Product overview

Gründungszentrum FH Aachen is an entrepreneurship center at FH Aachen University offering a comprehensive suite of startup support services. The portfolio includes coaching programs (Gründungscoaching with SPARK-START-RISE methodology), financing advisory, IP protection consulting, and physical infrastructure (Coworking & Prototypenwerkstatt). Educational offerings include seminars/workshops and two flagship programs: InterPro for interdisciplinary prototype development and TRACE for cross-university entrepreneurship training. Specialized funding programs like KICKSTART@FH Aachen and EXIST Women provide financial support for early-stage ventures.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• TRACE: A cross-university entrepreneurship program offered jointly with RWTH Aachen that develops entrepreneurial skills over two semesters.
• InterPro
• SPARK-START-RISE
• KICKSTART@FH Aachen

Products and services

• Gründungscoaching (Startup Coaching)
• Finanzierung (Financing Advisory)
• IP & Schutzrechte (IP & Protection Rights)
• Coworking & Prototypenwerkstatt
• Seminare & Workshops
• InterPro
• TRACE
• KICKSTART@FH Aachen
• EXIST Women

Quantifiable outcome

• Support for all founding phases from idea (SPARK) through market entry (RISE)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Start-Up Center NRWcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNRW state initiative supporting startup centers across North Rhine-Westphalia, providing funding and network access.
• PROvendis GmbHcoreTechnology or IntegrationOne of Europe's largest technology transfer and IP management service providers, specializing in rights transfer between universities, research institutions, and startups. Provides IP advisory services including free IP-Führerschein (IP driving license) training for FH Aachen affiliates.
• Innovationstransfer (IVT) der FH AachencoreTechnology or IntegrationInternal FH Aachen unit for innovation transfer, collaborating on IP and invention processes for startups emerging from research.
• AC.E (Aachen Center for Entrepreneurship)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCore partner in Aachen startup ecosystem, organizing joint events including Founders' Roundtables and Startup Week Aachen.
• RWTH InnovationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTechnology transfer office of RWTH Aachen University, collaborating on TRACE cross-university entrepreneurship program.
• digitalHUB AachencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDigital innovation hub in Aachen, hosting joint events and providing networking opportunities for startups.
• GründerRegion AachenmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerRegional startup support network covering Aachen, Düren, Euskirchen, and Heinsberg, providing co-marketing, events like AC² Start & Scale, and the 'pitch it!' online game.
• AGIT (Aachener Gesellschaft für Innovation und Technologietransfer)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInnovation and technology transfer organization supporting regional economic development and startup ecosystem.
• Brainergy ParkmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInnovation and startup park in the region, hosting events including InnovatorsWeek pitch competition.
• HAWtech (Hochschulallianz für den Mittelstand)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlliance of universities of applied sciences supporting SME innovation and entrepreneurship.
• SamsungminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSamsung Challenge competition for InterPro teams, providing opportunity for students to compete with their prototypes.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• UnternehmerTUM (TUM Entrepreneurship): Germany's largest university-affiliated entrepreneurship center at Technical University of Munich, offering coaching, makerspace, and funding programs comparable to Gründungszentrum FH Aachen but at significantly larger scale across all stages from ideation to growth.

Regional players

• digitalHUB Aachen: Regional digital innovation hub in Aachen hosting events and networking for digital startups. Comparable as a regional ecosystem player supporting Aachen-based founders, with overlapping startup community and joint event programming with the Gründungszentrum.
• Brainergy Park: Innovation and startup park in the Aachen region hosting events including InnovatorsWeek pitch competition. Comparable as a regional infrastructure player supporting startups with physical space and programming within the same NRW ecosystem.
• GründerRegion Aachen: Regional startup support network covering Aachen, Düren, Euskirchen, and Heinsberg. Comparable as a regional startup ecosystem coordinator with co-marketing programs and events like AC² Start & Scale that partially overlap with the Gründungszentrum's regional outreach.

Emerging players

• Founders Foundation: Bielefeld-based university-linked startup program supporting founders across NRW with education, community, and capital access. Comparable as a regional NRW university-affiliated founder support program with similar coaching and community-building offerings.

Others

• HAWtech (Hochschulallianz für den Mittelstand): Alliance of German universities of applied sciences supporting SME innovation and entrepreneurship. Comparable as a thematic peer enabling university-level cooperation across applied-sciences institutions, including a formal partnership with Gründungszentrum FH Aachen.
• AGIT (Aachener Gesellschaft für Innovation und Technologietransfer): Regional economic development and technology transfer organization in Aachen. Comparable as a regional enabling partner supporting startup ecosystem development and economic innovation policy, with a formal partnership relationship to the Gründungszentrum.
• PROvendis GmbH: One of Europe's largest IP and technology transfer service providers, partnered with Gründungszentrum to deliver IP advisory (IP-Führerschein). Comparable as an enabling ecosystem partner providing specialized services that complement rather than compete with the Gründungszentrum's offerings.

Direct peers

• RWTH Innovation: Startup and technology transfer office of RWTH Aachen University, the neighboring and larger university in Aachen. Directly comparable as a university-affiliated startup support center operating in the same ecosystem, with overlapping founder pipeline and formal TRACE program partnership.
• AC.E - Aachen Center for Entrepreneurship: Cross-university entrepreneurship center based in Aachen that organizes joint events like Founders' Roundtables and Startup Week Aachen. Directly comparable as a regional startup support entity serving Aachen-based founders with a similar university-anchored mission.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/fhaachen.gruendungszentrum
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gr%C3%BCndungszentrum-fh-aachen
• Instagraminstagram.com/fhaachen.gruendungszentrum

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles18 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 Gründungszentrum FH Aachen