Jun 11, 2026
Ideas Meet Co-Founders: Successful Launch of “Find Your Co-Founder” at TU Dresden
If you want to build a successful startup, you need more than just an idea. Often, the right team is the key. That’s exactly why the event “Find your Co-Founder,” held on May 27 in the Dülfer Hall at TU Dresden, focused on the question: Who do I actually want to start a business with?
As part of the dresden|exists network and within the framework of the Saxony-wide m3 matching initiative, the startup team at TUD|excite organized the first matching event in Dresden. The goal: to bring together people with startup ideas and a startup mindset so that new startup teams can form.
And the response was overwhelming: More than 100 participants from Dresden and all over Saxony took the opportunity to meet potential co-founders. Even during the first short break, the room filled with conversation. Amidst bar tables and rows of chairs, people discussed ideas, made connections, and exchanged LinkedIn profiles. New conversation groups formed constantly. Anyone who walked through the room would have been hard-pressed to find the same people in the same conversation twice.
In addition to open networking, participants were treated to a varied program featuring a panel of founders, startup pitches from across Saxony, and moderated matching sessions.
Founders share experiences in the search for co-founders
In the panel “How To (not) find a Co-Founder,” it quickly became clear: Finding the right team is often one of the most difficult parts of starting a business. Here, Arefeh Movahedi, Johannes Paul, Clemens Haist, and Sanchit Jain spoke openly about the often lengthy search and what really matters.
Clemens Haist, CEO of the TUD spin-off Flexora, explained that it took him about a year and a half to complete his team and that not every technically perfect combination works in the day-to-day reality of a startup. His conclusion: Collaboration requires a trial period during which you honestly assess whether it’s truly a good fit.
Arefeh Movahedi (founder of ReSelf Cosmetics) shared her long search for technical co-founders and offered a simple yet important tip: “Shout it out loud.” The more visible the search, the higher the chance of finding suitable matches. Another point on which everyone agreed: In the end, it’s not the perfect resume that counts, but shared goals and the question of how you really want to run a startup—for example, when it comes to growth or financing.
Eight startups looking for reinforcements
Following the panel, the event moved straight into the startup pitches: Eight teams from Dresden, Leipzig, and Chemnitz presented their ideas and highlighted which roles are currently open on their teams. For many participants, the presentations provided a direct entry point into conversations and new contacts. This was followed by matching rounds for business, tech & IT, and other departments, before the evening concluded with open networking.
Turning ideas into teams
The evening highlighted the significant need for formats that bring together people interested in starting a business. This is precisely where the m3 Matching initiative of Saxony’s university startup networks comes in, and it will continue to offer additional matching formats in the future.
Anyone looking for co-founders or wanting to join a startup team can already find suitable entry points via the Co-Founder Matching feature on the wisawi-vernetzt.de platform.
And if you have your own idea: The TUD|excite advisory team is happy to help you take the next step toward starting your own business.