Dirk Lehmann

Studying at Tomorrow University of Applied Sciences: How we use the Master program as an academic incubator for our startup journey… 🚀 Sarah & I are currently on a mission to identify an idea for our climate tech startup. We also started a Master's program in Sustainability, Entrepreneurship and Technology at Tomorrow University in March. We did not start the program for the sake of an M.Sc. (we both already have a master's degree) but rather to help us on our journey. While we knew we had the skill set to build digital solutions, we also knew we had more to learn, especially in entrepreneurship. The program at ToU allows us to use our ideas in the courses, get feedback from a diverse group of students and extend our skill set. It's kinda like using the Master's program as an academic incubator for our startup journey ✨ Of all the courses (challenges) at ToU I did so far, three stood out for me: 1️⃣ Mission Identification with Dr. Thomas Funke This was the first challenge I've done and it really helped me to understand what drives me. I knew I wanted to work on solving the climate crisis, but I had never identified my why (purpose) and how (mission). This challenge with Thomas helped me accomplish that and also to build a support network for the future. 2️⃣ Finance for Entrepreneurs with Johannes Arning A few months ago, Sarah & I calculated a business case for an idea we had. It was alright, but after this challenge with Johannes, we had created a really sophisticated model that could easily be adapted for different business ideas. We had a clear overview of our profit & loss, cash flow and cost structure. This challenge gave us crucial new insights into our cases and helped us a lot in planning for 2025. 3️⃣ Getting Funding Ready with Christian Rebernik It is safe to say that funding from business angels or VCs is still way down the road, but nonetheless, I would say that this challenge was really eye-opening. Honestly, before this challenge, I would have always seen external funding as the second option and bootstrapping as the preferred choice. Learning about the different aspects, including shares, convertible notes, and dilution, was really eye-opening. Overall, it is safe to say that our pitch decks and business cases would not be as good without our studies at Tomorrow University. The vibrant community and discussions with fellow students are inspiring and broaden my horizons every time. I'm excited for my next year at Tomorrow University! 🚀 🦋

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🚀 Our first launch of 2025: Zeit (⚡https://readzeit.com) — a daily 2-minute digest that summarizes LLM-developer chatter into bite-sized stories. Why? Zeit actually started out as an internal project. As a team of engineers building in GenAI, we wanted to keep up with what other devs in the community are building, new trending models/projects, and the problems people are facing. But there’s so much noise around AI these days that we found ourselves either 1) missing cool/important developments or 2) going down endless anxiety-inducing rabbit holes of articles, startups, and funding announcements. So we built ⚡Zeit⚡—a fast, easy way to stay in the loop with the hottest topics, projects, and challenges shaping the AI landscape. Who is it for? Zeit is for developers, founders, and industry leaders working on GenAI. What you get with Zeit: 🔍 Quick, bite-sized reads to keep you focused on what really matters. 💡 No fluff. Just trends and developer problems that generate buzz. ❗Disclaimer: Zeit is generative. It scours the web for developer chatter and generates short stories sorted by social voting. 🔗 Sign up for your daily dose of the AI zeitgeist!

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𝗜𝘀 𝗔𝗜 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗵𝘆𝗽𝗲? What better way to know than to delve deep into it with founders who are actually building solutions with AI technologies! That's why 𝗜’𝗺 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗿 the top global #AI 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀 in the lablab.ai 𝗡𝗘𝗫𝗧 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺. They've already launched their Cohort 1 with these nine innovative teams: AUTODERM: Get quicker skin diagnosis on your phone, reducing wait times by 70%. Orbit8: AI career advisor connecting students, teachers, and employers. Maia Genomics : Rapid DNA analysis for actionable health insights. Perlon AI: 10x faster AI-powered email generation for better sales. Smabbler: Build more reliable AI and next-gen RAG with automated graph annotations. MindGraph: 90% improved document search and project mapping for construction. ShiftLeft AI: AI-driven software testing for efficient system integration. Brihaspati AI: Real-time AI astrology for stress relief. AIPTO: AI-enhanced lab tests for personalized cancer treatment plans. 🚀 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀! lablab NEXT is now accepting applications from startups for their upcoming cohort. Are you a founder who needs hands-on support and a soft commitment for your next fundraise? 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗻𝗼𝘄! 👉 [https://lnkd.in/dnadtrmt] hashtag #AIStartups #InnovationMentorship #TechFounders #AIInnovation

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📈 The latest startupdetector report couldn't have been better for me. - the number of newly founded German startups increased in Q1 2024 - a trend reversal we waited for some time new! - Leipzig and Dresden were the cities with the biggest increase of new startups (+41%, +36%), while Jena had the most financing rounds per capita - while many regions had a smaller number of new startups, Saxony increased most by 35% - the energy sector saw the strongest increase from all industries - our Smart Infrastructure Ventures ('SIVentures') portfolio company traide AI GmbH with their founder Leonie Althaus got featured next to SpinLab - The HHL Accelerator alumnus Dr. Jannik Lockl from inContAlert - our partners from TGFS Technologiegründerfonds Sachsen are ranked #5 in the most active VCs list. Smart Infrastructure Ventures ('SIVentures') among the top investors in AI All in all a great job Arnas Bräutigam & team

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Are you looking to elevate your e-commerce game with a new webshop? Look no further than Gambio GmbH! Trusted by over 25,000 businesses, our ECOMMERCE ONE portfolio company Gambio GmbH offers a robust, all-in-one webshop solution tailored to meet the needs of startups and established enterprises alike. Key Benefits: 🌐 Hosting in Germany: Enjoy the peace of mind that comes with hosting your online shop in Germany, coupled with exceptional German customer support. Our servers ensure top-notch performance and security. 🛠️ Ease of Use: No coding skills? No problem! Gambio's intuitive interface allows you to set up and customize your shop effortlessly. With our StyleEdit tool, you can design a professional-looking store without any technical know-how. 🔍 SEO Optimized: Enhance your online visibility with our built-in SEO tools. From search engine-friendly URLs to automatic sitemaps, Gambio helps your shop rank higher and attract more customers. 📊 Comprehensive Features: Benefit from extensive functionalities including multilingual support, SSL & data protection, automatic updates, and a wide range of free themes. Our platform supports unlimited articles and categories, making it scalable for your growing business. 👥 Community & Support: Join a vibrant community of merchants and get access to our customer portal for continuous support and updates. Set up your own shop in seconds at www.gambio.com

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🔸 🔶 🔸 AI is going vertical 🔸 🔶 🔸 In a new guest article for Gründerszene / Business Insider I talk about how vertical AI is revolutionizing the work environment: After genAI took the world by storm it has rapidly commoditized. To train an advanced LLM costs hundreds of millions of $$$. But the usage of LLMs has become commonplace. Now the AI world is turning vertical: How can genAI solutions successfully be deployed within industry verticals? Not on the surface but solving some of the tough industrial challenges in a substantially new way, driving an increase in productivity by a factor of 2-5? That has become a core area of interest for AI in 2024. Vertical AI is already making inroads into a number of core industries such as consulting, finance and healthcare but is also being used in less obvious sectors such as wind energy generation or sports. Over time it is likely to affect our work environment across all sectors. And - unlike earlier automatizations - it is going to affect mostly white collar rather than blue collar work. Welcome to a new and lasting technological disruption. Gründerszene, the leading online magazine for the startup scene in Germany (operated by Business Insider), got interested in the subject and has featured an article on the subject this week. Take a look at the online article following the link below (in German): https://lnkd.in/ecJcUwHK (the Gründerszene article as a pdf: https://lnkd.in/eimBKSQP)

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In less than 28 days, innovators, changemakers, disruptors, entrepreneurs, health influencers, thought leaders, and the healthcare ecosystem will meet in Munich for the health.tech conference 2024! I am humbled to be among the first 30 thoughtleaders. It looks like a diverse and inspiring crowd, so I can’t wait to discuss healthcare's most pressing challenges and brainstorm potential solutions together. I’d love to explore three main questions that are top of mind for me: 1. How can we put data to work for healthcare professionals and not vice versa? 2. How can we leverage existing technologies like cloud computing, big data, ambient AI, and others to make connected care a reality? 3. What steps can we take to enhance (digital) health literacy among patients? What’s on your mind? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments. Hope to see you in Minga in June! Feel free to reach out, I always value a good discussion about digital health;) Learn more about the conference and how to get involved here: https://lnkd.in/eW-8Ji2B #HT24 #healthcareinnovation #innovation #healthcare #digitalhealth

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Just came back from a workshop that I'm organizing together with the VDI Wissensforum GmbH. I had a great time, learned a lot and it made me realize (once again) how much has changed in AI over the last 5 years: When we started with the first workshop in 2019, the format 💠 targeted engineers who were able to code in Python 💠 focussed on the convolutional neural networks architecture 💠 involved building neural networks from scratch in Keras 💠 emphasized use cases that cost >100k to implement On Tuesday and Wednesday, we ✅ were a diverse group with little to no Python knowledge ✅ discussed Transformers (briefly) and RAG (in detail) ✅ used off-the shelve models and tools ✅ talked about use cases from 2k to 200k To me this is another testament to how much more accessible and ubiquitous AI has become. If you are interested in learning how to use retrieval augmented generation in industrial applications check out the workshop: https://lnkd.in/eTsG3x6h Thanks Nicolas Regiani for creating this together! #vdi #rag #industrialai

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Why Viktoria Schnaderbeck's Journey as an Athlete is a Big Inspiration for Me ⚽️💡 I love cross-disciplinary themes, and #LTST24 by Female Founders was the perfect place for that. It featured many inspiring speakers with diverse backgrounds. 🌍 One story stood out to me: Viktoria Schnaderbeck, a business founder and former athlete. As a highly successful football player, Viktoria faced many highs and significant lows, including eight severe injuries. The first one at just 17. Her view of success is remarkable. For her, success isn't just about winning trophies but seeing it as a journey. It requires hard work, especially when fighting to come back from injuries. 🚀💪🏆 As a techie and product person, I relate a lot to her story. Viktoria’s life revolves around dreams, ambitions, goals, relationships, fears, struggles, and setbacks. Her journey is an inspiring example of how I can achieve my goals, overcome setbacks, rally support, and create a positive environment with my teammates. 🌟🤝🏅 I resonate with the concept of "my personal success team," as Viktoria calls it. I also appreciate how Viktoria uses goal-setting techniques to stay on track. This mirrors my tech world, where setting goals is essential to achieving project objectives and realizing big ideas. 📈💡 Using milestones helps us evaluate progress, stay on track, and eventually achieve our goals. 🎯🥅 I’m passionate about football and often draw inspiration from the sport, its players, managers, and the incredible stories it writes, like Viktoria Schnaderbeck’s. Where do you draw your inspiration from? How do different domains influence your work and goals? Let’s discuss! 💬 #CrossDisciplinary #TechInspiration #SuccessJourney #GoalSetting #Resilience #AthleteMindset #PersonalGrowth ____ I’m Martin Frühwirt – passionate about transforming ideas into exceptional tech products. With extensive expertise in digital strategy and agile leadership, I’m here to help your business thrive.

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All Eyez on Thüringen & Sachsen If we were to shut down social media in Europe, we might rediscover our core values, rekindle our strength, and unleash a new wave of innovation. Disconnect to reconnect. #RethinkDigital #EuropeanValues

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Quick reminder: Tomorrow at 6 PM the next Vienna Notion meetup will take place 💥 So far we have more than 30 reservations. Secure your spot before it is too late! Join for learning: - About the latest Notion updates - Notion as a Second Brain - Notion for EPUs Register by clicking at the link in the comment below 👇

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Do your certification & assessment programs also lack #scale? 😣 I am beyond #excited to be invited to speak alongside my good friend and co-founder Bernhard Waglechner at the upcoming #webinar hosted by Constructor's wonderful Maria Mashkeeva on the topic of how to leverage AI to bring scale to #assessment & #certification programs. 🎉 Bring out your #notepads, and join us on June 10th, 3pm CEST for a great #conversation. 🗒 Sign up #link in the #comments. 💬 Like many others, the assessment and certification industry is facing massive #change, introduced by a changing landscape of customer #expectations and #technological #abilities. It is a huge challenge, and we are right at the beginning of this #transformation. 🤖 Together with many others, the team at Constructor and bizExaminer have been #working hard to provide #answers to the big #questions, and translate them into tangible #solutions for customers. 🙌 Why? Because every moment of change is a #chance to generate #value for our customers, the industry, and the #ecosystem at large. 💡 And we are planning to seize that #opportunity. Together. 🙏 So #join us for the webinar, where we will #share our #experience, provide #insights into the changing market trends, and also walk through a #concrete #example of a customer leading through this change with incredible flexibility. 👊 #assessment #AI #flexibility #education #learning #certification #webinar #experience #solution #transformation

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🚀- Thrilled to Announce GEMESYS’s €8.6 Million Pre-Seed Funding to Revolutionize Edge AI! 🚀 📣 - I'm excited to share that we have raised €8.6 million in a pre-seed funding round, led by APEX Ventures and Atlantic Labs, with strong backing from NRW.BANK, Sony Innovation Fund, Plug and Play Tech Center, and support from the German government through the EXIST - Existenzgründungen aus der Wissenschaft program. ✨ - At GEMESYS, our mission is clear: bring AI inference and training directly to the edge, making it faster, smarter, and greener, while reducing the model sizes needed. In a world where AI often depends on energy-hungry, centralized systems, GEMESYS is pioneering a new era with distributed, fully analog neural network processing. Our unique chip architecture enables efficient AI operations directly on mobile and IoT devices—right where the technology is needed most. A huge thank you to all our partners and investors for believing in our vision. This is just the beginning, and we’re excited to lead a paradigm shift in AI together! 🌍 Worldfactory Start-up Center (WSC) Stefan Kausch Katja Lehmann Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Startup-Verband KUER.NRW | Grüne Gründungen Nordrhein-Westfalen Cluster NanoMikroWerkstoffePhotonik.NRW HIGH-TECH.NRW ruhrHUB Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP Brian Frumberg startupdetector Charlotte Schröder Business Metropole Ruhr GmbH Stage Two RWTH Innovation Ruhr University Bochum

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Deeptech startups are the driving force behind some of the most innovative products the world has seen in recent years. But fundraising for a company with a grand vision and long R&D cycles is not without challenges in the current market environment. I am looking forward to discuss our recent learnings with two of biggest Infinite Roots‘ supporters and investors, European Investment Bank (EIB) and redalpine, at the TechBBQ in Copenhagen tomorrow. #Startup #VentureCapital #DeepTech #Fundraising

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🚀 Addressing the Funding Gap: Empowering Female Founders in the DACH Region 🚀 I recently came across an eye-opening article highlighting a significant issue in our startup ecosystem. The report, by Female Founders Fund and the Vienna Business Agency, reveals that in 2023, only 1.5% of funding in the DACH region (Austria, Switzerland, Germany) went to all-female founding teams. This is starkly below the European average of 3%, as Atomico’s State of European Tech reported. Even more concerning is that mixed-gender teams in DACH only secured 6.5% of total capital, compared to 15% across Europe. Meanwhile, all-male startup teams dominated, raising 92% of the capital in DACH and 82% across Europe. (thanks to my Sifted colleagues for bringing that up) 💡 It's time to rethink and act. 💡 This disparity is not just a statistic, it's a call to action. We need to explore and implement strategies to change this status quo. Here are some questions to spark the conversation: ❓ How can we create more inclusive funding opportunities for female founders? ❓ What role can early-stage VCs play in levelling the playing field? ❓ How can public funding initiatives be better tailored to support women entrepreneurs? ❓ What unique perspectives and innovations do female founders bring to the table that can benefit the entire investment landscape? Let's leverage the power of our network to share insights, strategies, and success stories that can inspire change. Your ideas and experiences are invaluable in shaping a more equitable future for all entrepreneurs. 🌟 Join the conversation and let's make a difference together! 🌟 #FemaleFounders #VentureCapital #GenderEquity #StartupEcosystem #DiversityAndInclusion #Investment #DACHStartups #Entrepreneurship I especially look forward to my colleagues: investors, entrepreneurs, and supporters of the startup ecosystem around the globe sharing your thoughts and suggestions on bridging this gap and creating a more inclusive and innovative startup environment. Ideas? Comments?

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There is an omnipresent deal killer in B2B sales, only 30% of founders & sales people see: Traveling by train to conduct a sales workshop for startup founders - hi there digitalHUB Aachen e.V. 👋- I overheard a loud phone conversation. A gentleman was discussing company succession and mentioned that he needed an 'argument' for a negotiation. Of course, I didn’t know the full story, but an internal alarm bell immediately went off. When negotiating with a prospect, I aim for agreement - not for arguments. I share this perspective with all my mentees too. Why? The words "arguments" and "arguing" are very close for a reason. It’s one person against the other. Why would you want to argue with your prospect? You want to agree with them, right? Agree on … their promised land. their challenge at hand. our mutual action plan. their needs, risks and mitigators. our impact, the price tag as well as their RoI. I always aim for a win/win situation—for my prospect and myself. If there’s an issue or my prospect is unsure about something, I simply ask questions: Why do you feel that way? How can we move around this? What can we do to find a good solution moving forward? Agreements > Arguments. What is your favorite question to ask in a tricky situation? - - - - - Hi, I am Florian, your tough love guy.  I mentor startups & corporate ventures to close their first 100 deals faster. Reach out if you want to know how! 🥷🏻 #sales #startups #gotomarket

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https://lnkd.in/djQb_9Hc "Startup Hacks for Impact Founders": the next Angel in Residence Meetup is here. It's great to have someone on board who I consider a "celebrity of impact" - Christian Röser, founder of Starkmacher e.V., the force behind the truly great Tumo Center for Creative Technologies in Mannheim. Join us on September 11! It's an old gripe of mine that #founders in #impact and #sustainability often inhabit their own, separate ecosystem. Separate co-working spaces, separate events, separate media, separate accelerators. Me, I've always believed that in order to be sustainable not only environmentally, but also commercially and professionally, the segment needs to run on proper startup (e-)fuel. Customer research and acquisition cost, business and stakeholder verification, cash flow planning, everything. Plus, of course, #GenAI. Let's tear down that wall and talk on eye level - because commercial startups need to become much more aware of the emerging Impact Measuring industry, too. 120 Million for Mannheim-based osapiens show that there's money in it! Rene Wienholtz Philipp von der Wippel Sebastian Stricker Thomas Baum Andreas Kuhlmann Lubomila Jordanova MAFINEX Technologiezentrum Aljoscha Kaplan Benjamin Schulz Darius Moeini Sebastian Daus Anna Alex Christian Kroll Leon Reiner

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