Achieve
more together.
Connect your company with Berlin’s startup ecosystem — as a partner, mentor or innovation driver.
The Startup Incubator Berlin is the startup center of HWR Berlin. This is where teams form that work on real problems and look for real doors to open. That is exactly where companies and partners come in: if you bring a concrete problem, access to users or relevant expertise, you gain in return access to talent, early insight into innovation and an active founding scene right in the middle of Berlin. A good partnership is not a sponsoring logo, but a collaboration that delivers something measurable for both sides.
We deliberately keep the cooperation formats clearly separate so you can quickly see what fits you. You can have your own products and prototypes tested by founding teams, pass on your knowledge as a business mentor, take a look at our startup portfolio, or directly request a partnership. No standard package, but a fitting point of connection.
Access to talent
Get to know founders and teams from HWR and the Berlin ecosystem before others have them on their radar.
Innovation first-hand
See early on what motivated teams are working on, and use their ideas, methods and speed as an impulse for your own business.
Visibility with substance
Show where you stand as a partner of a university founding scene, instead of just placing a logo, and become part of a credible network.
Find your way in.
Working together with Berlin's startup ecosystem.
What a collaboration looks like in practice
Partnership works with us when both sides clearly know what they bring in and what they get out. Companies usually bring one of three things: a real problem that a team can tackle, access to users and markets, or industry and methodological knowledge. In return, you get early contact with talent, a reality check for your own plans, and visibility in an active founding scene. What matters to us in this is protecting the teams from pure acquisition: we curate cooperations so that the benefit for founders stays at the center and partnerships do not become one-sided.
The concrete formats range from a one-off contribution to longer-term support. You can have a product or a prototype reviewed in UX-Testing with real users and receive structured feedback before you invest in development. You can pass on your knowledge regularly as a business mentor and move teams forward at decisive points. Or you can get an overview through our portfolio of the fields in which teams are currently growing here, from health and impact to AI-related products. What fits your organization is best clarified in a conversation.
- Choose a point of connection Think about what you can bring in: a problem to test, your knowledge as a mentor, or interest in specific teams from the portfolio. This sharpens the request and speeds up the routing internally.
- Make a request Send us a short note through the partnership request with your organization, your interest, your topic and a rough time frame. The more concrete it is, the faster we find the right contact person.
- Start together We discuss expectations, format and effort on both sides and connect you with the right teams or coaches. This creates a collaboration that holds up for teams and partners alike.
Frequently asked questions
Is this a sponsoring page?
Not primarily. Financial support can be part of a partnership, but the core is valuable collaboration that genuinely moves founding teams forward. A pure logo in exchange for money is not what we are looking for.
Which partners are a good fit for the SIB?
Organizations with a real problem, access to users or relevant expertise. These can be companies, public institutions or other actors from the ecosystem. What matters is that the collaboration has substance for both sides.
What concretely do I get out of it as a company?
Early access to talent and innovation, a reality check for your own plans through UX-Testing, and visibility in an active university founding scene. The exact benefit depends on the chosen format.
How much effort does a mentor role involve?
You set that yourself, depending on your availability. Some mentors support teams over a longer period, others contribute knowledge on a one-off basis. How it works is described on the Become a mentor page.
What happens after a request?
We look at your request, clarify any open points and connect you with the right contact person, a team or a coach. That keeps the collaboration curated and clear for both sides.
Let’s talk about your idea.
Whether it’s half an idea or a concrete plan — write to us, and together we’ll find the right way in for you.