Three questions for Marcel Fortwingel

April 29, 2024

"Three questions for..." is a format of the regularly published newsletter for Startup & Entrepreneurship at the University of Stuttgart. Here, people from the ecosystem of the University of Stuttgart introduce themselves, report on their experiences with the topic of "startup and entrepreneurship" and reveal tips for people interested in founding a company.
[Picture: Marcel Fortwingel]

1. Please briefly introduce yourself and your current job.

Hi, I'm Marcel and I joined the Transfer Center team in mid-December. I have 2 main areas of work: On the one hand, I am in charge of strategic communication in the recently launched "Female Accelerator" - a funding program that is particularly geared towards female founders and aims to focus on the visibility of female start-ups and identify targeted support needs for female founders. On the other hand, I will be supporting the topic of start-up coaching at the University of Stuttgart in the future. This is a great fit, as I myself am a co-founder of the food start-up "kernique" and am passionate about supporting other female and male founders in pursuing their own start-up path with joy and authenticity.

2. Wie bist du zum Thema „Entrepreneurship“ gekommen?

I had the opportunity to deal with the topic of entrepreneurship several years ago: First while working at the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering, where I dealt with the topics of corporate start-ups and frugal innovation, and later at the Institute for Ergonomics and Technology Management at the University of Stuttgart. But things really took off when I founded my own food start-up for low-sugar snacks with a socio-ecological impact. I can't count how many ups and downs we've had and how many challenges there are to overcome right now. This mix of theory and practice is a great way to help other founders and provide the best possible support to the Transfer Center team and students at the University of Stuttgart.

3. Welchen Tipp würdest du gründungsbegeisterten Studierenden mitgeben, die sich im Moment überlegen zu gründen oder bereits erste Schritte in Richtung Selbstständigkeit unternommen haben?

Two important things come to mind that I would like to pass on to all start-up enthusiasts: Firstly, passion beats specialist knowledge!

By this I mean that anyone and everyone can acquire the necessary - external - specialist knowledge for an area with a little hard work. However, passion and motivation are found within us and carry us through the sometimes very stressful times. They are therefore much more crucial for long-term success. Therefore, my tip is not to be put off if you don't have a background in the subject you want to work on and just get started anyway. I myself studied sociology and don't come from the food sector. But that's not an obstacle, it's just an additional incentive!

And secondly, most founders don't fail because they make too many mistakes, but because they make too few!

In our society, failure is frowned upon and is often equated with failure. That is absolute nonsense! We can all lose our fear of making mistakes and recognize the valuable lessons we can learn from them. Making mistakes is an important and unavoidable step on the road to success and as the Buddhist saying goes: "A mistake is only a mistake if you make it a second time. So, don't be afraid to make mistakes, but look forward to them and be mindful of what they want to teach you.

Contact

This image shows Hanna Dewes

Hanna Dewes

 

Research Associate

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