ABOUT US

VENTURE BUILDING. DONE DIFFERENTLY.

We work alongside founders, bringing the resources, expertise and connections they need. Our support adapts to each founder and venture.

Portrait of the Zukunft.Gründen team

Method

HOW WE WORK

WE LISTEN FIRST

01

Before we recommend anything, we understand the founder, the idea, and the real obstacle. No assumptions.

WE LISTEN FIRST

01

Before we recommend anything, we understand the founder, the idea, and the real obstacle. No assumptions.

WE LISTEN FIRST

01

Before we recommend anything, we understand the founder, the idea, and the real obstacle. No assumptions.

WE LISTEN FIRST

01

Before we recommend anything, we understand the founder, the idea, and the real obstacle. No assumptions.

WE LISTEN FIRST

01

Before we recommend anything, we understand the founder, the idea, and the real obstacle. No assumptions.

WE LISTEN FIRST

01

Before we recommend anything, we understand the founder, the idea, and the real obstacle. No assumptions.

WE LISTEN FIRST

01

Before we recommend anything, we understand the founder, the idea, and the real obstacle. No assumptions.

WE LISTEN FIRST

01

Before we recommend anything, we understand the founder, the idea, and the real obstacle. No assumptions.

WE LISTEN FIRST

01

Before we recommend anything, we understand the founder, the idea, and the real obstacle. No assumptions.

WE LISTEN FIRST

01

Before we recommend anything, we understand the founder, the idea, and the real obstacle. No assumptions.

WE STAY ACCOUNTABLE

02

We don't disappear after demo day. We track, follow up, and show up when it matters most.

WE STAY ACCOUNTABLE

02

We don't disappear after demo day. We track, follow up, and show up when it matters most.

WE STAY ACCOUNTABLE

02

We don't disappear after demo day. We track, follow up, and show up when it matters most.

WE STAY ACCOUNTABLE

02

We don't disappear after demo day. We track, follow up, and show up when it matters most.

WE STAY ACCOUNTABLE

02

We don't disappear after demo day. We track, follow up, and show up when it matters most.

WE STAY ACCOUNTABLE

02

We don't disappear after demo day. We track, follow up, and show up when it matters most.

WE STAY ACCOUNTABLE

02

We don't disappear after demo day. We track, follow up, and show up when it matters most.

WE STAY ACCOUNTABLE

02

We don't disappear after demo day. We track, follow up, and show up when it matters most.

WE TAILOR EVERYTHING

03

No two founders get the same support. We match mentors, resources, and interventions to what's actually
needed.

WE TAILOR EVERYTHING

03

No two founders get the same support. We match mentors, resources, and interventions to what's actually
needed.

WE TAILOR EVERYTHING

03

No two founders get the same support. We match mentors, resources, and interventions to what's actually
needed.

WE TAILOR EVERYTHING

03

No two founders get the same support. We match mentors, resources, and interventions to what's actually
needed.

WE TAILOR EVERYTHING

03

No two founders get the same support. We match mentors, resources, and interventions to what's actually
needed.

WE TAILOR EVERYTHING

03

No two founders get the same support. We match mentors, resources, and interventions to what's actually
needed.

WE TAILOR EVERYTHING

03

No two founders get the same support. We match mentors, resources, and interventions to what's actually
needed.

WE TAILOR EVERYTHING

03

No two founders get the same support. We match mentors, resources, and interventions to what's actually
needed.

WE TAILOR EVERYTHING

03

No two founders get the same support. We match mentors, resources, and interventions to what's actually
needed.

WE TAILOR EVERYTHING

03

No two founders get the same support. We match mentors, resources, and interventions to what's actually
needed.

WE TAILOR EVERYTHING

03

No two founders get the same support. We match mentors, resources, and interventions to what's actually
needed.

WE TAILOR EVERYTHING

03

No two founders get the same support. We match mentors, resources, and interventions to what's actually
needed.

WE ASK FOR FEEDBACK

4

360 feedback is built into everything we do. We improve because we ask — and because we listen to the
answers.

WE ASK FOR FEEDBACK

4

360 feedback is built into everything we do. We improve because we ask — and because we listen to the
answers.

WE ASK FOR FEEDBACK

4

360 feedback is built into everything we do. We improve because we ask — and because we listen to the
answers.

WE ASK FOR FEEDBACK

4

360 feedback is built into everything we do. We improve because we ask — and because we listen to the
answers.

WE ASK FOR FEEDBACK

4

360 feedback is built into everything we do. We improve because we ask — and because we listen to the
answers.

WE ASK FOR FEEDBACK

4

360 feedback is built into everything we do. We improve because we ask — and because we listen to the
answers.

WE ASK FOR FEEDBACK

4

360 feedback is built into everything we do. We improve because we ask — and because we listen to the
answers.

WE ASK FOR FEEDBACK

4

360 feedback is built into everything we do. We improve because we ask — and because we listen to the
answers.

TEAM

MEET THE TEAM BEHIND IT ALL

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Mujib Bazhwal
CEO & Co-founder
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Genefer Baxter
Program Manager
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Maria Ida Palmieri
Director of Growth & Operations
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Sachin Gowda
Innovation Manager & Venture Builder
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Giorgia Mann
Assistant Program Manager
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Micaela Welpmann
Communications Manager
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Timo Collmer
Intern: Systems and Automations
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Timo.
Intern: Systems and Automations
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Genefer.
Program Manager
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Mary.
Director of Growth & Operations
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Mujib Bazhwal
CEO & Co-founder
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Genefer Baxter
Program Manager
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Maria Ida Palmieri
Director of Growth & Operations
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Sachin Gowda
Innovation Manager & Venture Builder
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Giorgia Mann
Assistant Program Manager
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Micaela Welpmann
Communications Manager
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Timo Collmer
Intern: Systems and Automations
ADVISORS

MEET THE ADVISORY BOARD

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Barbara Austel
Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board at TTS Tooltechnic Systems & Festool.
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Christian Mohr
CEO & CCO at UnternehmerTUM GmbH.
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Herbert Henzler
Ex-European Chairman of McKinsey & Company.
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Oliver Lesche
Partner at Novaterra VC.
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Sophia Tran
CEO at Spotlight Ventures.
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Tina Dreimann
Founder & Managing Director at Better Ventures.
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Prof. Dr. Christian Arndt
Founder Dean, Bachelor Program Future Economics at HfWU Nürtingen-Geislingen.
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Prof. Dr. Erskin Blunck
Program Director, MBA International Management at HfWU Nürtingen-Geislingen.
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Ann-Sophie Mönch
Product & Content Director (Executive Board Member) and Head of Software & Data Products at HellaGutmann Group.
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Florian Meßner-Schmitt
Head of Corporate Venturing at TRUMPF.
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Timo.
Intern: Systems and Automations
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Genefer.
Program Manager
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Mary.
Director of Growth & Operations
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Barbara Austel
Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board at TTS Tooltechnic Systems & Festool.
Team Image
Christian Mohr
CEO & CCO at UnternehmerTUM GmbH.
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Herbert Henzler
Ex-European Chairman of McKinsey & Company.
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Oliver Lesche
Partner at Novaterra VC.
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Sophia Tran
CEO at Spotlight Ventures.
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Tina Dreimann
Founder & Managing Director at Better Ventures.
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Prof. Dr. Christian Arndt
Founder Dean, Bachelor Program Future Economics at HfWU Nürtingen-Geislingen.
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Prof. Dr. Erskin Blunck
Program Director, MBA International Management at HfWU Nürtingen-Geislingen.
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Ann-Sophie Mönch
Product & Content Director (Executive Board Member) and Head of Software & Data Products at HellaGutmann Group.
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Florian Meßner-Schmitt
Head of Corporate Venturing at TRUMPF.

JOURNEY

BORN FROM A UNIVERSITY.BUILT FOR THE WORLD.

Zukunft.Gründen HfWU Startup Campus logo

Zukunft.Gründen (ZuG) started as a question inside the Hochschule für Wirtschaft und Umwelt Nürtingen-Geislingen (HfWU): what if a university didn't just teach entrepreneurship but actually practiced it? That question became a project funded by the Bundesminesterium für Wirstchaft und Klimaschutz. That project became the HfWU Startup Campus and as a spin off we were born: Zukunft.Gründen Venture Studio.

We became something none of us fully predicted: a full ecosystem backing founders, students, and the next generation of entrepreneurs across every level of society. Building what matters from the Neckar Valley region to Berlin and beyond.