As one of 20 teams, Science4Life invited us to their academy day in Frankfurt am Main. After a day of interesting workshops and discussions, our SURAG idea has been awarded as one of the best five among more than 80 submitted ideas.
Science4Life is a non-profit organization which was found in 1998 and offers free consulting, support and training to founding teams in the areas of life science, chemistry and energy. Once a year Science4Life hosts a business plan competition consisting of an idea, a concept and the final business plan phase. We have submitted a four-page summary of our SURAG-idea including a comprehensive description, introduction of our team and network as well as an analysis of the target market and competition. Our submission convinced the competent jury and we have been invited to the academy day, which took place in Frankfurt am Main on the 22nd of November.
After each team did a one-minute pitch to introduce their idea and team, the teams separated into subgroups of two teams for a twin-coaching session. In the following hours we discussed our idea with a competent coach who gave as a lot of helpful thoughts and a new perspective on our idea. In the afternoon, an “information marketplace” with patent attorneys, marketing and financing experts as well as the winners of last year’s competition provided us with another opportunity to ask questions and learn from the experts and other participants’ knowledge and experience.
Science4Life also provided very good snacks for dinner, where we established contact with other founding teams at different stages of the founding process. These conversations were a huge benefit of the event, since we learned about the experiences the other teams gathered facing critical challenges, which we will also face in the future.
The day concluded with the award ceremony, where our idea has been awarded as one of the best five ideas. We received a Science4Life certificate and 500 €, which we will most likely use for covering various minor expenses in the next months. We left the academy day with valuable learnings and contacts, which will help us in the upcoming months and years. Thank you very much to the organizers, contributors and other participants for the exciting and insightful day. We are already looking forward to the academy days of the Science4Life concept phase, which will take place in Berlin on the 16th and 17th of March.