A small founder team at a university has a research-based software idea and wants to turn it into a company. The members have recently left the university, have the technical depth, but lack the financial security to work on the start-up full time and to cover the basic costs of getting it off the ground.
The EXIST founder stipend, EXIST-Gruendungsstipendium, supports founders from universities and research institutions in the phase before and at the very start of an innovative start-up, especially while they build a viable business plan and develop a marketable product. It is theme- and technology-open. It covers the founders' living costs at a monthly rate that depends on qualification, up to EUR 3,000 per month for a founder with a doctorate, less for graduates and students, for up to three founders over up to twelve months, plus a budget for materials and for coaching. For a typical team the total can come to roughly EUR 115,000. It is a non-repayable grant administered through the institution, which provides a mentor and the use of its infrastructure, and applications can be filed at any time.
The idea is innovative and knowledge-based and grew out of the university environment, which is what the founder stipend supports. The institution applies on the team's behalf, signs the stipend agreement with the founders, and provides a mentor and workspace. The stipend covers the founders' living costs for the year, plus a materials budget and coaching, coming to about EUR 115,000 in total for the team. With that security, the founders can work full time on the product and the business plan.
The stipend is applied for through the founders' host institution rather than directly, and the institution provides a mentor and the use of its rooms and infrastructure for the duration. The monthly amount per founder depends on the highest qualification, up to EUR 3,000 for a founder with a doctorate, and up to three founders can be funded for up to twelve months, with a possible short extension. On top of the living costs come a materials budget and a coaching budget, and additional small allowances can apply, for example for a child or for a diverse founding team. Because applications can be submitted at any time, a team can start as soon as the idea and the host institution are in place.
A €115k EXIST award.
The team can focus entirely on building the product and the company for a year, with living costs covered and access to the university's infrastructure and coaching, instead of having to fund themselves while they get started. A research-based idea gets the runway to become a real business.
Gründungsstipendium · monthly stipend + budgetFor a research-based idea coming out of a university, the EXIST founder stipend covers the founders' living costs, materials and coaching for the critical first year, removing the financial barrier that often stops a promising idea from ever becoming a company. Because it is theme-open, it fits software and digital ideas as readily as deep-tech ones.
The questions we hear most. Short answer first, detail after.
The founders' living costs at a monthly rate that depends on qualification - up to EUR 3,000 per month for a founder with a doctorate - for up to three founders over up to twelve months, plus a budget for materials and for coaching. For a typical team the total can come to roughly EUR 115,000.
It is a non-repayable grant, administered through the founders' host institution, which provides a mentor and the use of its infrastructure.
No. The founder stipend is theme- and technology-open, supporting innovative, knowledge-based start-ups from universities and research institutions across fields.
Applications can be filed at any time, through the host institution and the Juelich project management agency.
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