The Munich Entrepreneurial Ecosystem: A Deep Dive

An entrepreneurial ecosystem refers to the interconnected network of individuals, organizations, institutions, and resources that collectively support entrepreneurship and innovation within a specific geographic region or industry. These ecosystems provide an environment where entrepreneurs can start, grow, and sustain their ventures through access to various forms of support, including funding, mentorship, talent, infrastructure, and market opportunities. Understanding how entrepreneurial ecosystems function is vital for entrepreneurs, policymakers, investors, and other stakeholders as it facilitates opportunity recognition, resource mobilization, network building, innovation, collaboration, policy advocacy, and adaptation to change, ultimately fostering vibrant and sustainable entrepreneurial communities. In this course, students will learn what constitutes an entrepreneurial ecosystem and how entrepreneurial ecosystems contribute to supporting founders and founding teams. In various demonstrations, they will get to know different ecosystem participants such as VCs, business angels, industrial companies that work with start- ups, entrepreneurial support organizations such as incubators or accelerators or makerspaces. Students will gain an understanding of the interaction between the various participants in the start- up ecosystem and understand the entrepreneurial journey using Munich as an example.

After successful participation, students are able to: - understand how an entrepreneurial ecosystem is structured - understand and describe the perspectives and goals of individual participants in the ecosystem - understand what the entrepreneurial journey of a founder (team) through the ecosystem can look like Students learn to work together in a team, present convincingly, discuss and reflect.

The final exam of the module is an oral exam in the form of a group presentation (100%). In the final event, you will present one of the players in the Munich ecosystem, focusing on their goals, wishes and challenges. The presentation format can be freely chosen by your team. The presentations last approx. 10 minutes, followed by a 5-minute question and feedback session. Each team member must actively participate so that your individual contribution can be recognized and evaluated. The final group presentation should show that you have understood how an entrepreneurship ecosystem is structured, how the respective player contributes to the ecosystem, how the collaboration with founders works for the respective player, what the respective wishes, goals and backgrounds of the player are and what challenges there are to overcome.

English language skills (fluent); interest in the dynamics of entrepreneurship ecosystems; willingness to work in teams

The seminar consists of several sessions and uses different teaching methods: - Through lectures, the instructors show how entrepreneurial ecoysytems are structured and how the individual players interact within them. - Through guest lectures, students understand the perspectives and goals of the individual players in the ecosystem. - In group work, the students understand the challenges, goals and wishes of the individual ecosystem players. - In a final presentation, students demonstrate their presentation skills and present one ecosystem player in their group. The seminar consists of the following elements: 1. introduction to entrepreneurial ecosystems 2. Demonstration of an incubator/accelerator as a starting point of the Entrepreneurial Journey (e.g. TUM Incubator incl. pitch of a young start-up & makerspace) 3. Demonstration of another entrepreneurial support structure (e.g. TUM Venture Lab FAB) 4. Demonstration of an industrial company that works with start-ups (e.g. BMW Start-Up Garage, BayWa etc.) 5. Demonstration of a VC investor or business angel (e.g. UnternehmerTUM VC, earlybird etc.) 6. Demonstration of a successful start-up (e.g. Celonis, air up, Personio etc.) 7. Final presentations and feedback