Students Advise Startups

How can marketing concepts be developed not only on a solid theoretical foundation but also under real market conditions? In the winter semester 2025/26, international master’s students in the International Marketing module worked as consulting teams with startups from the Startup Incubator Berlin. The objective was to develop robust strategic recommendations for early-stage ventures – ranging from target group analysis to go-to-market strategies.

Interdisciplinary teams and real-world problems

The project ran from October 2025 to January 2026 and combined academic rigor with concrete entrepreneurial practice. Following a kick-off lecture providing the conceptual framework, students worked in interdisciplinary teams on real challenges faced by the participating startups. The process was supported through individualized group coaching sessions led by Prof. Dr. Sonja Klose, Professor of Marketing at HWR Berlin, who prior to her appointment held senior marketing roles in several Berlin-based startups for ten years.
The project focused on core strategic marketing areas: structured target group analyses, the development of differentiated brand positioning, the design of coherent pricing strategies, and the conception of integrated communication and market entry approaches. Students translated market and competitive analyses into actionable recommendations tailored to the founders’ specific business contexts.

A key milestone was participation in a UX testing event at the Startup Incubator Berlin as part of Venture Café Berlin. There, several founders presented their business ideas and prototypes to an external audience and received valuable feedback from practitioners. For the students, this provided an opportunity to reflect on and refine their analyses through direct exchange with founders and industry stakeholders.
 

Final presentations

The final presentations took place on 21 and 28 January 2026 at HWR Berlin. In a structured setting, the teams presented their strategic concepts and discussed them with the participating startups. The quality of the results was convincing not only in terms of analytical depth but also in their practical applicability. One founder described the collaboration as “like winning the lottery” and expressed a strong interest in continuing the format in the future.

Participating startups included Substanz (Lucy Clarke), CETZ Fensterschutz (Julia Noack), AMENTE (Joy Krupinski, Neele Möller), UniPassage (Berin Güler), MIYOL (Oxana Witmann, Sinan Gündoğdu), Healthea (Diana Baichurina, Daria K.), and Jouly AI (Tim Wiebelhaus, Sebastian Otzen).
Transfer und Praxisbezug.

Transfer and practical relevance

The project exemplifies HWR Berlin’s commitment to further strengthening the practical orientation of research and teaching by systematically integrating expertise and real-world needs into academic programs. Students assume responsibility early on, work on real entrepreneurial challenges, and develop competencies that go beyond traditional case studies: analytical depth, strategic thinking, professional communication, and the ability to formulate implementation-oriented recommendations.

Upon successful completion, students received a certificate documenting their substantial contribution to the development of market-oriented strategies. The project thus combines academic excellence with entrepreneurial relevance and creates sustainable value for all parties involved.