Annika participated in an “Inside the Venture” project at contagt. “Inside the Venture”-projects are not only useful to the involved startups – they also offer student consultants great chances to evolve and get incomparable hands-on experiences! Here’s a personal report from Annika Wiecek, who conducted market analyses and PR measures for contagt together with Lisa Schellhorn:
"You want to know how theory relates to practice? You want to know what it is like to work in a real start-up? You want to apply your knowledge to a real business case? Then you should join “Inside the Venture” at the Mannheim Center for Entrepreneurship!
I had the great opportunity to spend a whole semester in a real start-up, named “contagt”. I was able to see how a start-up works, what it challenges and chances are. Every week I observed the progress of our project and took part in the daily work that a start-up entails. Finally, I could make use of all my knowledge and really lend a hand. I was treated as a full-fledged team member, I could bring in and realize my own ideas, I was involved in all major decisions and a lot of responsibility was placed upon me. Soon, I realized, that I really could influence the future of the start-up! It really has been an amazing time and I always enjoyed working with Johannes, Lisa and the other team members. Even though it has only been one semester, I can say that I learned so much, not only about starting-up but also about how to be a better organizer, how to think strategically, how to be a good team member – things that you do not learn by simply attending university. I do not want to miss this time by any means! It really is different to see for yourself how a start-up works, to get involved and exert influence. In a start-up, YOU can have a real impact! Everyone who plays with the idea of starting-up or those who want to work with start-ups or as a consultant should definitely take this chance and join the “Inside the Venture Project”. I can promise you, that you will have a great time! You will not only learn things that cannot be taught and get hands-on experiences but you will also become friends with very inspirational and warm-hearted people."
We thank Annika for her support and sharing her thoughts on the project with us!
About contagt
The award-winning startup is focused on developing a unique solution to indoor-navigation with smartphones, which is the first of its kind worldwide. The technology is based on Quick Response Codes (QR) and Near Field Communication Chips (NFC) technologies. Through an app, users can import codes to detect their current position within a building. Hence, the app offers a solution which may be compared to a 'Google Maps within buildings’, which then navigates users through the building to a desired destination. contagt has won the Hohenzollern Innovation Prize and a prize by the MRN Foundation for innovative projects.