Impulse and networking evening on the topic of self-employment

On November 21, 2019, female students and academics had the opportunity to explore the idea of self-employment and share their start-up ideas with colleagues and experienced female entrepreneurs. Around 20 women came to the co-working space at the Center for Entrepreneurship and Transfer (CET). Some of them already had concrete start-up plans, others just wanted to find out more about self-employment in general.

In the introductory impulse workshop "Being my own boss", trainer Petra Sofia Hübers addressed the participants' personal questions and discussed with them the values and character traits that female founders should have in order to be successful. They also discussed gender-specific differences and the large underrepresentation of women in the start-up scene: according to a recent study by the Boston Consulting Group, only four percent of all start-ups in Germany are founded by all-female teams, ten percent of start-ups are mixed and in 86 percent of companies the founders are exclusively male. At the same time, studies show that female founders tend to be more successful: "In the USA, it has been shown that companies founded by women have generated ten percent more profit over a five-year period than companies founded by men," explained Petra Sofia Hübers in her input. This is despite the fact that there is a clear gender gap when it comes to investments in start-ups.

"Being a woman can't be an excuse for me not to take the plunge into self-employment."

The discussion with the participants focused on the overall social aspects of the topic as well as individual expectations and concerns about venturing into self-employment as a woman. One participant, who is in the process of setting up her own small service company, does not want to be irritated by discussions about the different status of women and men in the start-up scene: "The important thing is that we don't hide behind it. The fact that I'm a woman can't be an excuse for me not to take the plunge into self-employment. Otherwise nothing will ever change!" She was not only speaking from the heart of the other female students and scientists who were determined to start their own business. Sina Schmidt, project coordinator at the CET, also agreed with her. She took the opportunity to present the services with which the CET, as an Excellence Start-Up Center.NRW, supports members of TU Dortmund University in their start-up projects.

Role model entrepreneurs talk about their paths to self-employment

Two experienced female entrepreneurs, who are involved in the "FRAUEN unternehmen" initiative as role model companies, joined the panel of experts for the evening. Dr. Laura Faltz studied economics at TU Dortmund University and also completed her doctorate here. In 2005, she took over the advertising agency WDD Dr. Faltz und Partner GmbH in Dortmund, which was founded in 1948 and now employs 25 people. Elke Maria Alberts studied architecture and, together with a business partner, founded alberts.architekten BDA - Büro für Soziale Architektur in 2007, which carries out architectural, urban and village development and climate protection projects. Both entrepreneurs talked about their personal career paths and the day-to-day challenges of being self-employed. They answered questions on topics such as leadership, work-life balance and financial security. The evening ended in a relaxed atmosphere and some participants went home with a new dose of entrepreneurial courage.

female.2.enterprises aims to show female students and academics from various disciplines career development opportunities in the region and prepare them for a career outside academia. The topic of female entrepreneurship and support for women with start-up projects is also becoming increasingly important.

The Center for Entrepreneurship & Transfer (CET) at TU Dortmund University is an Excellence Start-up Center.NRW awarded by the NRW Ministry of Economic Affairs. The CET combines systematic transfer and start-up support with targeted research on entrepreneurial topics. The CET team supports scientists and students at TU Dortmund University in exploiting their ideas and research results, for example through innovative start-ups or SME projects.

The initiative "FRAUEN unternehmen" initiative of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy aims to encourage young women to become self-employed. To this end, more than 150 female entrepreneurs from various sectors across Germany have been selected to act as ambassadors for their profession. The "role model entrepreneurs" are brought into contact with young women, report on the opportunities and requirements of self-employment and provide realistic and very personal insights into everyday business life.