Founding counselling in Hamburg: Here’s where startups can find support
Anyone who is thinking about founding a startup or has just done so is faced with a lot of challenges. Good advice is then valuable, but not necessarily expensive, as there are several places in Hamburg that offer free or low-cost advice. This article gives you an overview of the most important contact points for startups looking for competent founding advice in Hamburg.
All-round advice for founders: the Startup-Unit of Hamburg Invest
Hamburg Invest's Startup-Unit is primarily aimed at those interested in founding a company with a focus on knowledge and technology-orientated business models. It offers an initial overview of the startup jungle, answers questions about the city's offerings and financing options for startups and provides individualised networking with the most important contacts. Those who prefer personal advice can make an appointment for the startup consultation hour, which takes place every Thursday by telephone. You can find a wealth of information about financing and startup support on this website and about hubs and workspaces here.
For startups from science and universities: Startup Port
The Startup Port pools the support services of ten universities and research institutions in the Hamburg metropolitan region. Accordingly, the target group consists primarily of students, university graduates and people working in research who are interested in founding a startup. The offer consists of counselling sessions, workshops, networking events and much more. Support is particularly helpful when applying for EXIST startup grants. The Startup Port network includes, for example, the HAW Start-ups Service and the startup consultancy of the TU Hamburg.
The IFB Business Advisory Centre
The IFB Business Advisory Centre serves as a central point of contact for startups, business founders and companies in Hamburg for public funding and financing in the areas of economy, innovation and the environment. The funding experts working there (foerderlotsen@ifbhh.de) offer comprehensive and independent funding advice on IFB Hamburg's programmes as well as other options at state and federal level. Membership of the Enterprise Europe Network Hamburg-Schleswig-Holstein (EEN) provides special expertise in EU funding issues.
You can find an overview of the IFB's funding programmes here.
Hamburg Kreativ Gesellschaft
The Hamburg Kreativ Gesellschaft is aimed at self-employed people and companies in the creative industries. It runs various funding programmes and regularly organises Q&A sessions on entrepreneurial topics. These can be explored in greater depth during an individual orientation consultation.
Startup counselling from the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce
The advice offered by the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce is also particularly comprehensive. It promises personalised support and tips on all steps towards self-employment for Hamburg startups, business founders and young entrepreneurs. An initial consultation takes place online; for more detailed advice, for example on the business plan or pitch deck, registration at the Unternehmenswerkstatt Hamburg is required. There, founders can get in touch with experts for all relevant startup topics, online, by phone or in person.
For company founders: hei. Hamburger ExistenzgründungsInitiative
The Hamburg initiative hei. for setting up businesses has existed since 1995 and is a joint project of the Ministry of Economics and Innovation of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce and the Hamburg Chamber of Crafts as well as associations, guilds, credit institutions and Bürgschaftsbank Hamburg GmbH. The target group is anyone who wants to become self-employed in Hamburg, which includes startups. The programme consists of four components: The hei.beratung serves as an introduction. The hei.ideenplan, which is taught in a workshop, helps to structure and concretise the business idea. The hei.programme is a series of paid seminars for which the City of Hamburg grants a subsidy of 500 euros. And the hei.gründer:innentreffen is a monthly networking event. Extremly helpful is the "Who's Who", a free reference book with numerous addresses.
Promotes knowledge transfer: Hamburg Innovation and Tutech Innovation
Hamburg Innovation GmbH is a privately organised knowledge and technology transfer institution of Hamburg's public universities. Its aim is to transfer technological innovations developed at universities and research institutions to industry. Specific support is provided in areas such as the creation of business plans, market analyses and the acquisition of funding. Hamburg Innovation offers office space in its incubator in the Harburg inland port innovation quarter and also organises the Hamburg Innovation Summit. Tutech Innovation GmbH is closely associated with Hamburg Innovation. Among other things, it offers advice on IP management and patents.
Support for technical innovations: IKS Hamburg
Connecting science and business is also the mission of the Innovation Contact Centre (IKS) Hamburg, financed by the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce and the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg. The free service includes the targeted placement and networking of suitable project partners, an analysis of the potential of technological innovations and the organisation and support of projects.
Advice for AI startups in Hamburg: AI.STARTUP.HUB
Artificial intelligence is becoming an increasingly important topic, especially for startups. The AI.STARTUP.HUB takes this into account. The initiative is formed by six project partners, including the aforementioned Hamburg Innovation GmbH, and since 2022 has been organising qualification and support programmes for AI startups before and after their foundation.
The DESY Start-up Office
The Deutsche Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY is a world-renowned scientific institution and provides ground-breaking insights in basic research and other areas. The DESY Start-up Office, which specialises in spin-offs from science, gives scientists advice on whether and how their findings can also be used commercially. The DESY Start-up School provides tools for planning business development, drawing up a budget, marketing strategies and raising funds for sciencepreneurs.
Gründer Kompetenz Zentrum
The Gründer Kompetenz Zentrum, which means Founder Competence Centre, is a kind of family business. It was founded in 1998 by Rita Mirliauntas and has since been taken over by her son Konstantin. Most of the counselling services are subject to a fee, although grants are available from the employment office under certain conditions. The seminars are part of the hei. programme.
Wirtschaftssenioren
The association was founded in Hamburg in 1983 under the motto "Seniors advise young entrepreneurs" to support young people in realising their dream of starting their own business. The official name is now WIRTSCHAFTS-SENIOREN-BERATEN e.V. or, for short, Wirtschaftssenioren, which means business seniors. It is an association of former entrepreneurs and managers who want to pass on their expertise.
Advice for founders from abroad
Hamburg is an international city. People from 185 nations live and work here, many of whom become entrepreneurs. The Hamburg Chamber of Commerce has put together a special counselling service that is available in English, Turkish and Farsi, among other languages.
With its StartHope@Home programme, the Social Impact Lab Hamburg, which opened in 2013, offers refugees and migrants coaching and advice as well as comprehensive support in setting up their own business.
The association Unternehmer ohne Grenzen (entrepreneurs without borders) promotes integration and participation in society in the areas of business, the labour market and education, particularly for people with a migration background.
Finally, the Arbeitsgemeinschaft selbstständiger Migranten (ASM) also supports companies run by people with a history of immigration. With the IQ project Servicestelle Migrantenökonomie, it strengthens access to skilled immigrant workers in order to fill vacancies more quickly.
