Behind the Scenes with Christina Mertsch

Meet our Entrepreneurship Manager!

At RWTH Innovation, Christina Mertsch supports researchers and students in turning their ideas into meaningful startups. From applying for early-stage funding to refining business ideas, getting investment-ready to getting in touch with investors and industry experts, Christina supports (aspiring) founders throughout their entrepreneurial journey.

What is your role as an Entrepreneurship Manager – and how do you support (future) founders?
Currently, I lead the Entrepreneurship team. We help potential founders from the university to validate their business idea and start their own company. 

What are the typical steps you guide entrepreneurs through when they come to you with a new business idea?
Usually, we have a first meeting where we discuss the idea and the potential support that either we or our network can offer. We have several structures for support in place: Our 3-day Founders' Bootcamp where the founder will get a quick overview of all important aspects of a startup (legal, fundraising, business model); our two coaching programs that last three months offer individual coaching sessions, workshops and networking opportunities. During the programs, we help the startup teams to validate their idea, build their pitch deck and potentially apply for funding (e.g., EXIST grants). 

Why is it important to attend events and join coaching programs in the innovation process?
The startup ecosystem is a closely knit group of people and institutions. There is always someone who can help. During our structured programs, we help the teams to set up the groundwork to become a successful company. We cover the basics because the foundation is important when building something new. 

Can you share an example of a team that turned their research into a successful startup?
It’s hard to pick just one startup, but for me, FibreCoat is a great example of how cutting-edge research becomes industry-changing technology. The founding team managed to turn years of research into a startup that creates lasting impact. And we had the pleasure to accompany their entrepreneurial journey from Day 1 – from patenting their breakthrough fibre technology to successfully applying for the EXIST Transfer of Research and getting investor-ready in our RWTH Incubation Program. Together with a growing team, the founders recently raised a series B round to advance the internationalization of their fibre technology. Yet, the former researchers are firmly rooted in the local ecosystem: Last year, FibreCoat opened their production and development site in Aachen. Looking at FibreCoat's journey, the startup is not just a role model for future generations. The team also continues to be an active member of our RWTH startup ecosystem, giving back to the community by mentoring new teams to follow in their footsteps. 

What’s one thing people often misunderstand about your role?
We are the team’s coaches; we are not part of the startup team. We only help from the sidelines. The real work still needs to be done by the founders themselves. They are the ones who want to run a company at some point, so a lot of independent work is required. 

What advice would you give to researchers thinking about founding a company?
Starting a business is risky! So, the less responsibilities you have as researcher/student, the better it is to start. You will never learn more about management, industry, markets, leadership etc. than as a founder of your own company. But please keep in mind to solve an actual problem in the market – don’t present a solution that “everybody needs”!  

When should researchers and students reach out to you?
We can already support in transferring research results into potential business cases. But as soon as researchers or students think about starting a business, we can start connecting them to our ecosystem and offer them guidance. 

What’s something people might be surprised to learn about you?
Next to my full-time job, I also have a full-time project where my partner and I renovate our old quarry stone farm from the core.

Fun fact about you?
I passionately watch GNTM. 😊

Thanks, Christina, for taking the time to talk to us today!