MPF Start-up Initiative
Start-up Library
Discover our comprehensive knowledge platform that will make it easier for you to start your own business. Learn from experienced entrepreneurs, use methods such as the Business Model Canvas and perfect your marketing and pitch techniques. Our content collection is designed to give you a quick and in-depth approach to entrepreneurship.
Grow, perfect and realize your ideas – with the help of the MPF Start-up Library.
Discover the Impact - Take your idea from research to application
Discover the Key Skills for Entrepreneurial Success
In this video, you will discover the six key skills that define successful entrepreneurs, grounded in Amy Wilkinson’s groundbreaking research and interviews with 200 highly successful entrepreneurs.
Learn how to optimize your mindset, develop critical entrepreneurial abilities, and thrive in today’s fast-paced business environment. Use this knowledge to achieve long-term success.
Develop an Entrepreneurial Mindset
In this video, learn how to cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset to achieve your goals and seize new opportunities. Learn the strategies to assess risks, overcome obstacles, and pave the way for success in your career or business.
This video is aimed at anyone who wants to advance their career or start their own business. Discover how an entrepreneurial mindset can boost your success!
Pay attention to your entrepreneurial DNA – with your strengths and weaknesses
Use this information as a guide to invest your time wisely to realize ambitious goals.
Elevate your journey as a founder
Cultivate resilience, embrace strategic risk-taking, and establish a sustainable work-life balance.
shaping ideas - turning concept to opportunity
Be inspired by Uira—Max Planck scientist, entrepreneur, and one of the first participant in the MPF Accelerator.
Lucid Genomics is a health tech start-up that aims to detect genetic diseases faster and more accurately using AI-supported DNA analysis. It was founded as a spin-off of the Max Planck Institute and Charité and combines state-of-the-art sequencing technologies with machine learning to decode the entire genome, including the “dark genome.” With pre-seed funding of €1.3 million, the company is continuing to develop its platform, particularly for rare genetic diseases and cancer diagnostics.
Basics of Business Administration and Entrepreneurship
The video features Drew Houston, founder and CEO of Dropbox, discussing his entrepreneurial journey and insights.
It covers how he moved from early interests in computing and gaming to building a major technology company; the evolution of Dropbox from an idea into a scalable business; key lessons about product-market fit, persistence, and team building; and reflections on innovation and leadership in a fast-growing tech environment.
Evaluate your Idea – Part I
You can learn how to find start-up ideas and do an initial evaluation through this video. It will also help you to improve your way of thinking about start-up ideas.
Who is your customer and how do you target them with the right product?
YC Partner and former Head of Growth at Airbnb, Gustaf Alströmer, shares practical, step-by-step advice for one of the biggest challenges of every start-up phase: getting your first customers.
Whether you’re building a B2B or B2C company, Gustaf breaks down proven strategies to help you start selling, validate your product, and grow from zero to traction. You’ll learn how to “do things that don’t scale,” develop your sales skills as a founder, and design your first repeatable sales funnel.
Business Model Development
Business Model is a fancy term of „how you make money“. there are only 9 business models – chose one!
YC Group Partner Aaron Epstein talks about different startup business models, how to monetize, and how to price your product.
First communication (to an investor)
YC Partner Kevin Hale goes over how to package up your idea and communicate it to an investor. He shares his tips on how to craft your pitch in a clear and concise way that effectively grabs your audience’s attention.
How to present a perfect pitch as a seed-stage start-up
In this video, Michael Seibel, CEO of Y Combinator, shares his experience and tips for creating a compelling early-stage start-up pitch. He discusses the key elements investors want to see and how to effectively communicate your story.
Building an MVP and getting your first users as a pre-launch start-up
Y Combinator Group Partner, Michael Seibel, explains how to build a minimum viable product (MVP) for your start-up idea. Using examples from real YC companies, Michael walks through how to determine your MVP feature set, build prototypes and demos for user testing, and present your MVP to early customers or investors.
validating your vision - building the foundations for success
Discover how to turn a group of strangers into a team
Business school professor Amy Edmondson studies „teaming,“ where people come together quickly (and often temporarily) to solve new, urgent or unusual problems.
Recalling stories of teamwork on the fly, such as the incredible rescue of 33 miners trapped half a mile underground in Chile in 2010, Edmondson shares the elements needed to turn a group of strangers into a quick-thinking team that can nimbly respond to challenges.
Networking is one of the most crucial skills needed for success
How can we each build a network of meaningful relationships to maximize our impact? How do I learn to network?
Elevate your journey as a founder
Cultivate resilience, embrace strategic risk-taking, and establish a sustainable work-life balance.
Admin and Legal – Practical Guide for Scientific Founders I
Find standard templates which are designed to be as simple and technically consistent as possible while balancing the interest of all parties fairly. Watch out: Standard documents may not replace individual legal and tax advice!
Admin and Legal – Practical Guide for Scientific Founders I
Access standardized legal templates tailored for start-ups which will help streamline essential legal processes. However, always consider seeking professional legal and tax advice for specific needs!
launch and beyond - take the leap and scale your venture
How to successfully sell anything
Why do we like what we like? Derek Thomson explains the psychology of Sales.
Branding & Marketing in the age of AI
Learn from legendary Setz Godin how AI is reshaping the future of branding and marketing.
Cash is as life blood. If you run out of cash, your business dies.
Get to know the most common mistakes startups make with their finances and how you can prevent them.
Calculate how much funding you need.
Caculate when your start-up will reach profitability and how much capital you´ll burn through before then.