More than 30 start-up teams looking for co-founders and around 130 people interested in joining a start-up met in Kiel City Hall's council chamber on 29 October. "Co-Founder Meet&Match meets Science Comes to Town" brought together people with business ideas and people with the skills to build them. Many of the ideas came straight out of research labs.

A good idea is only the beginning. To turn it into a company, most founders need a team: someone for the technology, someone for sales, and someone who knows how to raise money. On Thursday afternoon, the council chamber at Fleethörn 9 became a marketplace for exactly these people. From 4 to 7 p.m., founders, students, doctoral candidates and researchers met to find out who fits with whom.

The event was organised by Startup Port, the Center for Entrepreneurship (ZfE) at Kiel University and the EU-funded project Science Comes to Town. You did not need your own business idea or any start-up experience to take part, and entry was free.

From pitch training to the stage

The afternoon began with elevator pitch training. Founders practised presenting their idea and the kind of co-founder they need in just a few sentences. At 4 p.m., Kiel's Mayor Dr Samet Yilmaz officially opened the event. The pitches followed straight after. From 5 p.m. on, the "Wall of Ideas" took over. This poster exhibition showed all of the projects, and visitors could walk past at their own pace, ask questions and talk to the teams directly.

When research becomes a business

The Wall of Ideas covered a wide range of projects, from flight-sharing platforms to 3D room planners. A large share of them were based directly on scientific work.

Smart stents from cardiogenetics. One of the projects came from PD Dr Zouhair Aherrahrou. He is deputy director of the Institute for Cardiogenetics at the University of Lübeck and the University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein (UKSH), and a project leader at the German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK). His project, iSmartStent, is developing a new kind of stent coating that uses lipid nanoparticles to deliver siRNA. The goal is to switch off disease-causing genes directly at the vessel wall. This would stop arteries from narrowing again after a stent is placed, while still letting the vessel wall heal. Aherrahrou is looking for a co-founder with experience in medical technology, regulatory approval, business development and fundraising.

A home battery that trades electricity. Trader Battery comes out of the Chair of Power Electronics at Kiel University. Senior engineer Dr Hamzeh Beiranvand and doctoral candidate Johannes Diers are using artificial intelligence to turn home batteries into active players on the electricity market. They develop both the hardware and the battery management software. The team still needs someone to cover management, branding, fundraising, contracts and tax.

A joystick for the tongue. Industrial designer Meret Oppermann has spent several years developing ORMO, working closely with a speech therapy practice. ORMO is a wireless mouthpiece made of medical-grade silicone. It turns tongue movements into game controls and trains the muscles needed for speaking and swallowing. The device has been patented. Oppermann is looking for support in embedded electronics, app development or medical technology.

Support services on site

Anyone who wanted to know what happens after the first conversation could find answers at the information stands. Several support services from Kiel and Schleswig-Holstein presented their offers:

• ZfE and Technology Transfer at Kiel University: The Centre for Entrepreneurship advises members of the university free of charge in the phase before a company is founded. It also helps with applications for funding programmes such as the Schleswig-Holstein Start-up Scholarship, the EXIST Start-up Grant and EXIST Transfer of Research. The university's Technology Transfer office advises on patents and protecting inventions.

• IB.SH: The development bank of Schleswig-Holstein offers free, neutral advice on funding and financing through its "Förderlotsen" (funding guides). It also provides microloans and the Schleswig-Holstein Start-up Scholarship, a monthly living allowance for technology- or knowledge-based business ideas from universities.

• KielRegion: The KielRegion start-up portal brings together contacts, events and networks for every stage of founding. The region also runs the GründungsCup, a start-up competition with prize money, workshops and feedback.

• City of Kiel: The city's service desk for start-ups and founders guides people through City Hall. It finds the right contacts in the various departments and coordinates permit procedures.

• KiWi: The Kiel Economic Development Agency mainly supports start-ups in their build-up and growth phase. Its focus is on digitalisation, sustainability and Industry 4.0, and it helps with financing, networks and finding office space. Together with partners, it runs the accelerator programme KielRegion.Accelerates.

• opencampus.sh: The non-profit association offers free courses, workshops and mentoring. It runs the starterkitchen, a co-working space and start-up hub in the science park.