Feb 10, 2025
510 meters of Velcro tape, 110 teams and a lot of creativity
Last year, the Global Entrepreneurship Week Germanytook place for the 14th time to inspire (young) people to think and act entrepreneurially. To this end, the Chair of Entrepreneurship and Innovation (LEI) organized a team competition in cooperation with dresden|exists as part of the course "Introduction to Technology-oriented Business Administration". In the winter semester 24/25, a total of 110 teams of Bachelor's, Master's and Diploma students from 23 different degree programs took up the challenge of creating as much monetary, social, cultural or ecological added value as possible within one week with a small amount of material start-up capital. The start-up capital must be at the center of the value creation. Last Monday, the nine best teams presented their ideas in the Audimax of the HSZ at TU Dresden.
The seed capital "Velcro tape"
Velcro tape? One thinks of Velcro fasteners on jackets, shoes or bags. But making an innovative and cool product out of it that also sells well? That could be a problem. But the students really proved the opposite here. Within a week, they designed, produced, marketed and sold a wide variety of products from around 510 meters of velcro tape. Some teams proved once again that it is worth giving free rein to creativity. And that entrepreneurship means so much more than just bringing an exciting product to the market. For example, the profits made were donated several times to charitable organizations.
The jury
In order to evaluate all nine ideas objectively, four jurors with different expertise were selected from the start-up network:
- Sebastian Baumgart, Startup Manager at OSD and SIB Innovations- und Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH
- Marco Wagner, Head of Unit Settlement and Real Estate Management in the Business Service Department at the Dresden Office for Economic Development
- Marco Rösler, Startup Manager at dresden|exists
- Prof. Dr. Michael Schefczyk, holder of the Chair of Entrepreneurship and Innovation
A big thank you to our jury.
And the winner is ...
1st place: InvisiPouch
This team has definitely hit the ravages of time. Their goal: to remove the taboo surrounding menstruation. They have achieved this by developing a practical and sustainable product. A mini bag for period products made from recycled materials. Tampons and sanitary towels can be quickly slipped into the bag and are safely stowed away without flying around. The team achieved by far the highest profit with €406.31 (turnover = €435). They quickly discovered that although their target group was more specific, it was also quite large and willing to pay. A well-deserved 1st place and therefore an additional profit of €250. A project that really paid off!
2nd place: Klettwelt
A team whose heart beats faster for Business Education and Management Training. They produced a small book with an interactive story using Velcro elements and beautiful illustrations. In terms of content, the young women address an important topic - the pollution of the oceans. The team sold a total of 16 copies, generating a turnover of €108.86 and a profit of €69.93. It was particularly challenging for the team to come up with the ideas, but also to actually convince the target group when selling them.
3rd place: Board2Go
The brainstorming on the idea was completed quite quickly by the boys. They like to play chess, but also travel a lot by bus and train. With the usual travel chess, they always have the problem that they can't remember the exact positions of the pieces when packing them up. Board2Go is different. The game pieces are firmly attached to the game board with Velcro tape and the box can be closed with the lid if necessary. The game pieces were produced using a 3D printer. Although there was no prior knowledge of this, the team got to grips with the production and produced a total of seven games. All of them were sold within two days. A turnover of €140 and a profit of €98.07 was achieved. A number that is really impressive. The team was also delighted to receive the audience award, in which the students were able to vote for their favorite.
The competition would not have been possible without our sponsors
We would therefore like to thank Velcro, who donated the Velcro straps, as well as Ostsächsische Sparkasse Dresden, Landeshauptstadt Dresden - Wirtschaftsservice and Dresdner Zentrum für Entrepreneurship und Transfer e.V., which also provided the prize money.
After the start-up week is before the start-up week
The next Start-up Week will take place in November 2025. If you also want or need to attend the introductory course "Introduction to Technology-oriented Business Administration (EBWL)" in winter semester 25/26, please register for the project week.
We are already looking forward to your creative ideas and products!