Incubator - digitalHUB Aachen

Get your product market fit!

You are a young start-up with an exciting business idea and are already working on its implementation? Then the digitalHUB Incubation Program is just right for you!

In our 4-month incubation program, we promote your digital product innovation and support you in achieving your product market fit.

Our focus is on supporting digital start-ups in the areas of Mobility, Green Tech, IndustrialTech, Digital Health, PropTech and FoodTech. In addition all future-oriented and innovative industries are welcome.

Through our collaboration with the European Digital Innovation Hub (EDIH) Rhineland, digital and AI-based start-up ideas are given easy access to the scientific and technical resources of RWTH Aachen University.

Application for batch #7 is closed

The program starts on 05 October 2023 and ends with DemoDay on 18 January 2024. *

Application for batch#8 starts June 2024

What you get

Preparation: eLearning course on “Lean Startup basics”.
free Startup Business membership
Bi-weekly feedback rounds in peer review format with all teams led by trainer Vidar Andersen
Bi-weekly goal-setting meetings and targeted KPI growth tracking with Vidar Andersen
Mentor feedback from Incubation Program alumni and experienced entrepreneurs
For the duration of the Incubator you will be assigned a personal digitalHUB Coach
Exclusive workshops and theme days such as FinanceDay and ConsultingDay (“Taxes” and “legal”)

Additional Benefits

Full media attention via our marketing campaigns
Access to the CoWorking incl. meeting rooms in the digitalCHURCH for the entire start-up team
A strong network:
- Exchange with over 160 established SMEs in the HUB community.
- Exchange with other Founders in the HUB community
- Access to the NRW-wide network of DWNRW hubs in Bonn, Düsseldorf, Cologne, Münsterland, the Ruhr region and the OWL region
- Euregio: access to co-working spaces in Hasselt, Belgium (Corda Campus) and the Netherlands (Brightlands and Qeske) and networking at joint events
- Investor contacts

AWS credits and Matlab license
A lot of remote work possible (e.g. through eLearning/ZOOM coaching sessions)

The best receive:

On demoDay on 18 January 2024, our sponsors IHK Aachen, Sparkasse Aachen, Fujitsu Deutschland, STAWAG, Bistum Aachen and NetAachen will award a HUB scholarship so that you can use the services of digitalHUB Aachen e.V. free of charge for another 12 months.

TechVision Fonds is sponsoring prize money totalling 3,000 euros.

Who you are:

An aspiring team with an exciting idea looking for start-up and scaling support.

What you’re bringing:

Ambition to take the next step within the framework of the program
Market knowledge and first customer contacts
Openness to discuss and further develop your idea with other participants of the program
Willingness to steady attendance during the entire program

Application

Our short and effective application process begins with a personal meeting with one of our coaches, in which we find out together whether your business idea and your team fit into our program. Your first short pitch is scheduled right at the beginning so that we can quickly get to know you better.

Let’s get started together!

*Application for batch 8# starts June 2024

About the past batches:

What the participants of the last batches say

Dr. Nele Stadtbäumer, CEO und Co-Founder, grievy GmbH

“The Incubator is perfect if you want to move from the idea to concrete implementation. The focus is especially on feedback from potential customers. Week after week we were challenged in new ways to realise the full potential of our start-up.”

More about grievy

Dr. Maik Schürmeyer, CEO & Founder, MANSIO GmbH

“In the digitalHUB incubation program, I learned how to implement the basics of a start-up, for example how a financing round works and how a pitch deck is structured. The program also helped me to conduct our first financing round in parallel. I received valuable support from investors and lawyers. In addition, the program gave me the opportunity to exchange ideas with other teams. Through the digitalHUB DemoDay, I then got in touch with an important pilot client – for that reason alone, participating in the program paid off a hundredfold “

More about MANSIO

Lucian Holtwiesche, CEO & Co-Founder, anny GmbH

“The time in the digitalHUB Aachen Incubation Program was very valuable for our startup. The exchange with other startups in similar phases was particularly helpful and gave us valuable perspectives on our own challenges. The theory on Lean Startup and the practical frameworks also gave us tools to validate and further develop our business model. In short, I recommend the program to any startup looking for practical knowledge and valuable exchange.”

More about anny

Roman Alberti, CEO & Co-Founder of Voltfang

“Participating in the digitalHUB incubation program has been more than worthwhile for Voltfang and me. Through the program, we were able to gain valuable entrepreneurial know-how and make valuable contacts that have helped us to further develop our innovative solutions in the field of battery storage.”

More about Voltfang

Sarah Nesti, Co-Founder & Managing Director, The Oater

“The digitalHUB Incubator has supported us significantly on the first steps of our startup journey. In workshops and in exchange with the other startups, we learned to build our first pitch deck and to talk to customers and investors. The program has given us the tools, the network contacts and a lot of confidence and courage to continue our startup journey. We are proud of where we are now – you too can achieve anything with the right motivation and support.”

More about The Oater

digitalHUB Aachen - facts and figures

digitalHUB community:more than 500 member companies:
more than 280 start-ups
more than 160 established companies SMEs
Over €115m funding in the HUB community since our launch in 2017.
More than 1,800 direct matches
More than 1,300 coaching sessions
96 start-up scholarships
5 additional DWNRW HUBs
100 (networking) events per year
Incubator Program: 58 alumni, Survival Rate: 81%

Our Incubation Program is realised in close cooperation with European Digital Innovation Hub Rheinland (EDIH) and RWTH-Innovation. It is funded by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Innovation, Climate Protection and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (DWNRW project and Excellenz-Startup Center) and the EU.