"15 percent of employees quit their new job within the first year because they find that it doesn't match their expectations or the team dynamics don't match their personality. There we set with our portal on," explain Carolin Brueske of career hero. The idea: applicants and employers find each other via the so-called TeamFit test, the SkillFit and the CulturalFit. Intelligent algorithms match skills, work experience and personality traits with job requirements and existing teams, and thus recommend candidates to the recruiters who are a perfect fit.
This innovative idea costs the team of programmers, marketing experts and psychologists a lot of time and money. A challenge that can also bring startups to their knees, as Cornelia Gretz, an adjunct professor at Biberach University of Applied Sciences (HBC), knows from her work for the Biberach Startup Initiative and StartupSÜD: "We support our teams from the development of ideas to the first business plan to early-stage financing. The financial scope is quite elementary in this process. That's why we're glad that there are scholarships that ensure our founders the necessary freedom so that they can continue to work on their business model."
Requirements for the EXIST start-up scholarship
In the case of Karriereheld, the scholarship in question is the EXIST-Gründerstipendium. The funding program of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy aims to improve the start-up climate at universities. The scholarship is awarded for twelve months at a time to enable potential founders to systematically prepare themselves for starting a business from within the university. The prerequisite is that the business idea must be an innovative, technology-oriented or knowledge-based product with good economic prospects and unique selling points. Students as well as alumni and scientists can apply for the funding. The participating university must - like HNU - be integrated into a start-up network and provide the founders with a mentor and workplaces.
What comes after EXIST?
In April 2022, the funding for the "Karriereheld" team will expire. "The AI will need more work and training before we are one hundred percent competitive in the market. We are therefore already starting to look for investors. However, our platform can already be used, which is why we are also considering a foundation in the near future," reports Brueske. The team of the HBC startup initiative and the StartupSÜD network will also continue to accompany this path.
