The Gründergeist startup competition turns 20: Apply now!
The Gründergeist startup competition, organised by the Wirtschaftsjunioren (young entrepreneurs) of the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce, is celebrating an anniversary: This year marks its 20th edition. Startups with innovative business ideas based in the Hamburg metropolitan region can apply until 1 July 2026.
How Gründergeist 2026 works
The competition is aimed at individuals or teams in the startup phase who wish to benefit from support and feedback from experts. Further conditions for participation are:
The company is already registered or is in the process of being founded.
Founding location is Hamburg.
The company pursues a commercial purpose and is not a non-profit organisation.
Once the application deadline has passed, all entries will be assessed by a panel of experts. Criteria include the degree of innovation of the business idea and its market potential. Seven startups will be selected through a multi-stage selection process. They will receive individual training and coaching to prepare for a presentation to a jury on 12 September, at which the top three places will be decided.
The awards ceremony will take place on 17 September following a public pitch, during which all seven startups will present their ideas to the audience. As last year, the venue is Xperion at MediaMarkt on Mönckebergstraße. Cash and non-cash prizes worth a total of over 20,000 euros are up for grabs, along with access to an attractive network. In 2025, the medical startup Aortex took first place with a technology for treating aneurysms.
