Building a complementary founding team is one of the most critical hurdles for early-stage ventures. Co-Founder Matchmaking is a regional matchmaking and team-building initiative co-hosted by KIT FORGE at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in partnership with the DeepTech Hub network. The service connects scientific founders, tech builders, and business talents across seven regional partner universities to assemble balanced, high-performance founding teams.
Utilizing a structured, speed-dating format, the event eliminates lengthy application barriers to enable direct, high-efficiency conversations between technical creators seeking business co-founders and entrepreneurial talents looking to join high-potential deep-tech ventures.
Event format & regional network
- Dynamics speed-dating matchmaking format: Rapid, structured 1-on-1 interaction rounds designed for immediate alignment on skill sets, vision, and working styles.
- Multi-university network access: Connects talent and founders across seven leading research and business universities in Northern Baden-Württemberg, including Karlsruhe, Heidelberg, and Mannheim.
- Rotating host locations: On-site events rotate regularly across partner university campuses to ensure equal access to regional talent pools.
- Complementary skill alignment: Matches technical researchers and engineers (product/IP leads) with business, commercial, and operational talents.
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