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Theses (M.Sc. & B.Sc.) Inside the Venture

Theses (M.Sc. & B.Sc.) Inside the Venture

 

For startups in need of support

A typical Inside the Venture Master's Thesis starts with a needs analysis and project definition. We discuss if and how your challenges are suitable for a student thesis project and then inform students about project opportunities on MCEI's website and also within our network and scout potential student candidates. Startups interested in hosting an Inside the Venture thesis project are being requested to contact us with a brief project description! Of course, students who already have established startup ties or work on their own project can approach us anytime with project suggestions as well. It is important to note here that we have a confidentiality clause for the Inside the Venture projects. 

 

 

For master students who want to conduct a startup project

The project tasks can range from developing a business plan with a pitch deck to market analyses, pricing analyses, competitor analyses or even dedicated analyses of the business model. Regardless of how you are tasked, the focus is always on an empirically grounded due diligence, pushing the envelope and deriving well-grounded implications.

This special type of Master Thesis consists of 2 parts (The two parts are seperate from each other with individual title but together form one thesis):

Part I: The startup project (Inside the Venture part)

  • fully dedicated to your client startup or your own startup
  • clear implications for business
  • well-grounded on due diligence and facts to the point
  • you usually work on site
  • internship certificate may be possible
  • final consulting report as 1 chapter of your thesis (usually spans between 50-100+ pages including all documented appendices)
  • the managerial report may contain theoretical background and academic papers if helpful to the startup
  • all sources (including data) must be referenced appropriately

Part II: An academic journal-style paper (Academic part)

  • usually qualitative research (about 5-10 interviews, etc.)
  • of about 25-30 pages with empirical focus
  • clear theoretical foundations and contribution to theory and practice (just like an academic journal paper)
  • in the "look & feel" aligned with the Academy of Management guidelines
  • paper structured like in the Academy of Management Journal
  • the topic of the academic (i.e. theory) paper is advised to be unrelated to the startup project, however it may be related if specifically desired

An example theses:
Inside the Venture part: Business model development and market analysis for Awesome Startup GmbH - Academic part: The impact of entrepreneurship education on venture creation 

Why do we have these two parts?

Our experiences in many highly successful projects show us that this is a scheme which produces highly productive outcomes at top-level, enabling students to grow their skills significally and really give our startups a significant boost in acceleration and growth. A combination of writing a theory paper with managerial reports would not meet any standard - neither from an academic evaluation perspective nor for the stakeholders in question. 

Please contact us, if you have further questions or need advice. Sample projects can be screened in the MCEI office upon request to gain a better impression on Inside the Venture Theses.

 

 

For interested bachelor students

Bachelor students have the opportunity to write an Inside the Venture Bachelor's Thesis. The requirement is that it is conducted for the student's own startup. Differently from the Inside the Venture Master's Thesis it consists of only one part and has a more limited project volume as it integrates both academic and practical insights. Please arrange an appointment to discuss project feasibility before your Bachelor's Thesis topic application. Also note that the Bachelor's Theses applications can only be made during the centrally scheduled date in FSS. Please keep an eye on the relevant websites to know the deadlines.

As part of his “Inside the Venture” Master Thesis, Massimo Zanesco further developed his startup idea Fido. Have you ever experienced anxiety about bad breath? Fido is a portable, compact device in the shape of an e-cigarette (vape) which one can use to check the breath quality anytime and anywhere. Fido grants immediate, unbiased feedback on halitosis.  As part of the…
As part of her “Inside the Venture” Master Thesis, Xueliu Chen became part of the ku.bus team. ku.bus is a hyperlocal personalized business news platform. Xueliu has addressed challenges that ku.bus is facing and performed substantial reseach on the relevant market and competition. Her project also includes customer development interviews that provide deep insights on how ku.bus can improve its offerings and…
As part of his “Inside the Venture” Master Thesis, Felix Brombacher, co-founder of Crashtest Security GmbH, advanced his startup. More specifically, he developed a go-to-market strategy for the new tech venture. Crashtest Security GmbH has developed the Crashtest Security Suite, which is a fully automated testing tool. It checks web applications regarding potential vulnerabilities. The solution is unique in its way, as it…
As part of his “Inside the Venture” Master Thesis, Lorenz Genen helped MIAMED GmbH internationalizing to the U.S. market and became part of the MIAMED team. The focus of his project centers on decision support and business planning in the formal visa application process. The successful completion of this project would allow MIAMED to apply for visas through the U.S. subsidiary for their staff…
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Sponsors

  • University of Mannheim
  • Institut für Mittelstandsforschung
  • Gründerverbund
  • ESF
  • Europäische Union
  • Baden-Württemberg - Ministerium für Finanzen und Wirtschaft
  • Absolventum