The Incubator for Digital Engineers
Attention
The thirteen-week incubation program for digital engineers without costs and the opportunity to receive an initial investment. The industry-agnostic incubator is designed for every tech entrepreneur who strives to solve global challenges and create sustainable impact.
During this program, our team provides you with guidance, resources, and an outstanding community allowing you to focus on developing and growing your business idea into a successful startup.
Term(s)
14.04.2025 – 10.07.2025
Time investment
Full-time programm
(4 days a week, on campus experience and online events)
ECTS
No ECTS, but full experience
Module type
Module selection at HPI
Grades
Enrollment deadline
Examination date
Teaching format
Teaching language
English
Registration
Fee
Equity free, no costs
Team budget
2.000,- € (e.g. software licenses and necessary travel)
HPI Founder Scholarship
1.500,- € p.m. for 3 months, only for students (HPI and external), application necessary
Participants
Everyone, HPI students or external
Teams of 2–5 with a validated idea
Individuals with a validated idea
Individuals wanting to join a team
Maximum number of Participants
Room (Location)
Key dates
01.02.25 – 09.03.25
Application Period
01.03.25 – 14.03.25
Interview Process (Rolling Admission)
17.03.25
Announcement Participants
31.03.25 – 11.04.25
Informal Events (Virtual Kick-off, Co-Founder Matching, etc.)
14.04.25 – 19.04.25
Kick-off Week
04.05.25
Community Night
28.05.25
Challenger Day (Intermediate Presentation)
10.07.25
HPI Tomorrow Day (Final Presentation)
ongoing
Support and Founder Community Member
Learning and Teaching Methods
Thirteen-week incubation process with a clear structure and enough space for creativity
Venturing is a radically proactive and inclusive approach to build, establish and grow startups while consistently applying a clear roadmap during the entire development and growth process. In other words, it is about iterative ideation and validation of a business idea, ultimately leading to a real startup. The Incubator for Digital Engineers is designed to structure and support the creation of your business model at a very early stage so that your promising business idea can be developed and turned into a Minimum Viable Product (MVP).
Our program consists of customized workshops, expert input sessions, and mentorship from experienced entrepreneurs. Each week focuses on a specific entrepreneurial topic, helping you refine your business model and build your venture while we support you. We provide guidance and address your individual needs, challenges, and financing opportunities to help you succeed. The incubation program starts with a Kick-off event at an off-site location where you meet other participants and the support team. Midway through the program, you'll pitch to investors at "Challenger Day," receiving valuable feedback to prepare for fundraising. The incubator ends with the final "Tomorrow Day," where each team will present their venture idea and get another opportunity to connect with venture capitalists and business angels.
■ 01
Gain an Entrepreneurial Mindset
■ 02
Learn Venturing
■ 03
Leverage Competitive Advantages Through Resources
■ 04
Ecosystem Services
■ 05
■ 06
■ 07
■ 08
■ 09
■ 10
■ 11
■ 12
Preliminary schedule. All lecture topics are subject to change.
Week 1
Day 1
14.04.2025
Offsite Event
Kickoff & Team Building
Week 2
Day 2
22.04.2025
Problem, Solution & Hypothesis
Week 3
Day 3
28.04.2025
Customers, Market & Competition
Week 4
Day 4
05.05.2025
Marketing, Sales & Pricing
Week 5
Day 5
12.05.2025
Product Building & Management
Week 6
Day 6
19.05.2025
Pitch Training & Batch Challenging
Week 7
Day 7
26.05.2025
Tech Due Diligence & Challenger Day
Week 8
Day 8
28.05.2025
Finance-Workshop
Week 9
Day 9
10.06.2025
Fundraising & Investment Terms
Week 10
Day 10
16.06.2025
Go-To-Market Strategy
Week 11
Day 11
23.06.2025
Tax & Legal
Week 12
Day 12
30.06.2025
Pitch Preparation
Week 13
Day 13
07.07.2025
Week 14
Day 14
Week 15
Day 15
Week 16
Day 16
Week 17
Day 17
Week 18
Day 18
Week 19
Day 19
Week 20
Day 20
Week 1
Day 1
Week 2
Day 2
Week 3
Day 3
Week 4
Day 4
Week 5
Day 5
Week 6
Day 6
Week 7
Day 7
Week 8
Day 8
Week 9
Day 9
Week 10
Day 10
Week 11
Day 11
Week 12
Day 12
Week 13
Day 13
Week 14
Day 14
Week 15
Day 15
Week 16
Day 16
Week 17
Day 17
Week 18
Day 18
Week 19
Day 19
Week 20
Day 20
Unique funding opportunity
HPI Venture Builder - The Incubator for Digital Engineers offers participants through the HPI Seed and further investors the unique opportunity to obtain initial funding in an uncomplicated manner during the pre-seed phase to reach essential milestones on the way to further funding rounds.
Strong brand
HPI is one of the leading institutes for IT in Germany. We have a strong brand and are trusted by many tech entrepreneurs. We have gained credibility over the years, and our existing network of experts makes us a "Go-to Partner" for developing new startups and enables further collaborations with companies, universities, and venture capitalists.
Outstanding community
We already have a strong founders’ community, an existing entrepreneurship club with 80+ members, and a diverse portfolio of successful startups working in our co-working spaces. The exciting combination between the entrepreneurial university ecosystem and investment opportunities connects well-educated talents, provides an infrastructure for an innovative environment, and makes financial resources available. This vibrant community further ensures valuable networking opportunities and a supportive ecosystem for your startup journey.
Requirements
This is not an exclusion criterion if it's not a problem from your previous scholarship. We will evaluate the situation on an individual basis after applying.
This is not an exclusion criterion. We will decide on an individual basis depending on your stage and the fit for our program.
In that case, unfortunately, you will not be able to proceed with our incubation program. However, if you are a student at HPI with a valuable business idea, we can support you further through our services.
The idea is not only useful for you, but you investigated the problem space, potential competition and target market. Ideally, you have a pitch deck where you describe the problem-solution fit.
You don’t necessarily have to bring your own idea. You can also be accepted as an individual and use the events before the Kick-off to find a team with an idea. However, the chance to get accepted for the incubation program is much higher if you already have a (validated) business idea.
Program Structure
The program aims to empower young tech entrepreneurs in order to scale business models fast and quickly. The focus is therefore not on specific deliverables, but on the development of (disruptive) business models to create a positive impact for the most pressing global challenges.
Each team can receive a budget up to 2000€ to cover costs for the development of the business model. This includes for example software licenses or necessary business travels. After we have received the invoice for the booked service, we can transfer the amount for the respective service back to you. The teams are responsible to keep track of their budget.
Participants currently enrolled in a study program are eligible to apply for the HPI Founder Scholarship. The scholarship aims to support students in their entrepreneurial journey. Participants are usually awarded a scholarship of 1000€ for each month of the incubation program (November, December and January). The awarding and the amount of a grant within the scope of the HPI Founder Scholarship guideline are decided by the current director and committee. There is no legal claim to the allocation of scholarships or other financial support.
We expect that 75% of your team members work full-time on the project (~32 hours/week). The input sessions will be customised to your needs and we strongly advise you to attend.
We encourage teams to use our physical facilities in Potsdam for regular check-ins. The teams decide how they arrange coping with the workload and coaching sessions. If you are not in Potsdam at all during the three months, we cannot accept you for the program. Regular input sessions will be offered in a in-person format throughout the program.
Data Rights
While we will keep all information within our support team, we cannot guarantee complete confidentiality of information leaking to the outside world.
We do not anticipate any intellectual property created as a direct result of our program. Furthermore, HPI does not consider use of office space and infrastructure as constituting a significant use of HPI resources with regards to IP.
Apply via our application form from the start of the application period.
The incubation program welcomes and encourages participation from all interested entrepreneurs, regardless of their academic background, founding experience, or business idea. To increase the chance to participate in the program, the following requirements are nevertheless desirable.
We welcome applications from both individuals and teams, regardless of gender. You can apply with or without a business idea. If you don't have a team or an idea yet, don't worry! After the initial screening process, we will organize informal events to facilitate finding co-founders and/or refining your business idea.
Our incubation program prioritizes teams with a validated idea. These teams are required to upload a pitch deck explaining the details about:
Please Note: Every team member must submit an individual application!
The selection of suitable candidates and teams is carried out along four steps: