Employees in the Startup Garage

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More creativity from the staff to tease out, and give corporations and large family businesses recently, is not simply a premium for innovative products, but entrepreneurial freedom.

A place for creative minds at the company Trumpf

Colorful furniture and free space for creativity: In a former industrial area “Urban Harbor” in Ludwigsburg, Germany machine manufacturer Trumpf has rented rooms for a dozen of potential founders and two Coaches. Employees may pursue in the half of their working time to their own business ideas. “Inter-enterprise” is the name of the program, from the already two Spin-offs. “We want to promote the spirit of innovation in our workforce, but also new business for trump to develop,” says Christof Steffen Seibert, head of technology and innovation management.

Spin-offs there were in front of it. For example, Axoom: The daughter is recently on the market, trump a pilot customer. Axoom aggregated production data from machines, and provides Apps for the optimised use of the facilities. “Inter-enterprise” is now to standardize the development of ideas to business models and their validation using methods such as Lean Startup and Business model Canvas, explains press spokesman Manuel Thomae. An expert panel reviewed sketches of the project. The elect to a draw in the Urban Harbor and develop the first three months. Afterwards, the Jury gives either a green light, the Startup to continue, or the employee returns to its original Position.

Back in the Garage

The legendary Apple founder Steve Jobs is said to have referred to such intrapre your as people go back to a Garage, however, within a large company. Although only 22 percent of the companies work with more than 500 employees with this concept, and even less to SMEs, as a study from the digital Association Bitkom shows. But the unions fear that in the future, more small and agile units as fast boats in addition to the giant tankers, and the collective bond to fail. To prevent this, it could also Extras. As a pioneer of the new collective agreement of the metal workers for the unit Connected Mobility Solutions under the roof of Bosch. It allows for more flexibility in working time as well as at the time of payment, a training budget and a comprehensive health check-up. Things that would otherwise be reserved for management personnel.

Urban Harbor: Meeting of external start-UPS and potential internal spin-offs

Also, the “garage” seem quite luxurious. As Urban, Harbor or the “werk_39”. In the new laboratory of Innovation from the medical technology manufacturer B. Braun changing project teams come to work for several months on their topics and very early on, with the future users. Ideas, the have the makings of a spin-off, promotes the family-owned company in the company’s own Accelerator in addition to external start-UPS. Such a project is “at Home”: It wants to allow more kidney patients to the hemodialysis at home. This is my Home” various non-medical tasks around the blood wash”: the Installation of the equipment and the continuous supply of consumables to the data exchange with the treating doctor.

Early Feedback from the potential customers

A Jury will evaluate the submitted projects according to the customer interest, technical feasibility and the prospect to be able to make money, says Alexander Katzung, Vice President of Acceleration&Innovation at B. Braun. The employees, who want to implement these ideas, should have both technical skills as well as entrepreneurial spirit. “But you also need time and space to Think and Act”. The employer has to provide you with the resources available, as well as a Budget, visiting potential clients, or professional conferences. “We have no manual, how do we promote Innovation at its best,” says Katzung: “Every company goes their own way”. “Home” is not based on any case, but in the future, a new division of B. Braun.

“In chemistry, the method of ‘Trial and Error’ time is, time is less for everyday”, so Evoniks Chief Innovation Officer, Ulrich Küsthardt: “that’s Why we stigmatize the mistake on the path to success, but to do so effectively, and learning.” Creative employees are not driving primary a financial Bonus, but the possibility of their own creativity. In 2016, the ideas competition, a Global Ideation Jam was held for the first Time at the group level. From a three-digit number of ideas will be chosen in several rounds for the Entrepreneurship Award. The winner gets a year long time to develop and 200,000 Euro start-up capital. Different areas of the group support him when needed by staff and laboratory capacity.

The young physicist Marta cañas-Ventura was the winner, with the invention, an intelligent ink the first price. The ink shows through a color change whether a drug has been properly stored. For strategic reasons, Evonik will not pursue this idea further, reports spokeswoman Deborah Lippmann. “Nevertheless, The feedback from the market have shown that the idea has potential. The product might be realized outside of Evonik.” Canas-Ventura takes it sporty and is particularly the Lean Startup method: “Instead of developing an idea only in the laboratory, a piece that you have here with the idea to potential customers. One learns so very quickly, whether you have assessed the Problem correctly and the solution for the customer makes sense.”