"We want to become a European center of excellence"

If Oliver Hanisch has his way, something really big is about to happen in Heilbronn. In this interview, he explains how the Campus Founders want to build a start-up ecosystem there.

Sitting at a large conference table, Oliver Hanisch looks into the camera on the wall and describes himself as someone who builds bridges. He did this for almost 15 years in Silicon Valley, primarily for German start-ups. He has been back in Germany since 2019, in Heilbronn. There he is working on a campus for start-ups. The ambitions are great: it is a project that is set to change the entire region in the long term.

Mr. Hanisch, you spent almost 15 years in Silicon Valley, where you launched the successful German Accelerator, among other things. Why did you suddenly lose interest in the USA?

Oliver Hanisch: It's not true that I didn't feel like it. On the contrary: it was actually no longer on my agenda to come to Germany.

And now you're in Heilbronn of all places. Why is that?

When German start-ups visit us in Silicon Valley, it's very inspiring for the founders. But it's very difficult to keep the fire burning for them from a distance. There were always opportunities to come back to Germany, for example to set up an accelerator. But I didn't want to do something that might only be funded by a federal state for two years and then slowly fizzle out again. Then I received an invitation from the Dieter Schwarz Foundation to come to Heilbronn. We want to set up an entrepreneurship and innovation center here. There is a vision for the city here. The entire region wants to develop proactively - and not out of necessity, but from a position of economic strength. The long-established companies here work with foresight, which I found exciting.

What exactly is the vision of Heilbronn that you would like to contribute to?

Simply working with founders is not enough. There are many levels of work here, from education to the region's many hidden champions. There are also investors and business angels who are involved. Heilbronn is an industrial, production-oriented region with many SMEs, mechanical engineering companies and automotive suppliers. However, many of these industries are facing an unclear future. What will happen to the suppliers, for example, if we have many more electric cars in the future? In Heilbronn, everyone then asked themselves: What do we need to ensure that the region continues to do so well? The resulting vision is to turn the industrial region into an education and research-oriented region. Investments are being made in educational facilities, in new universities and there is also a programming school. The smart minds are to come from Heilbronn in the future.

And you are now involved in this as head of Campus Founders.

We want to help people with ideas who recognize solutions to problems in the market and who do exciting research to start up and accompany them on their entrepreneurial journey. Commercialization should remain here on site. Start-ups then become new medium-sized companies that shape the region.

Why do you need someone with Silicon Valley experience for this?

Perhaps to break down mindsets. Silicon Valley is more a mindset than a place. In Germany, many people still think far too cerebrally. Too often, people look for reasons why something can't work. I want to make sure that we take a much more pragmatic approach, that we are more opportunity-oriented - and think big! In Silicon Valley, everything is organized much less hierarchically. People meet at eye level, regardless of where the other person comes from.

For a while, everyone and everything wanted to set up a second Silicon Valley somewhere - today, many people wave this off immediately.

I see it that way too! We don't want to build a second Silicon Valley here either, it's just about adopting the advantages of their way of thinking. We are relying on the industrial strength of our region with the aim of also being interesting for European start-ups in the medium term. Incidentally, the German start-up landscape also has its advantages compared to the USA: Employees are much more loyal and everyone acts in a more value-driven way.

In addition to the focus on B2B start-ups, the Campus Founders have initiated the Learntech Hub. What is it all about?

The Learntech Hub that has now been launched addresses topics in which we have a huge strength. The aim is to unite the most creative minds in Europe in a unique ecosystem for education and work of the future. If you're a start-up doing something with edtech, you've come to the right place, if only because of the proximity to eleven educational and scientific institutions here. On the other hand, we are looking for start-ups that have something to offer for the future of education and the working world of tomorrow. After all, companies in Heilbronn are also more interested in this and need more employees. We want to become a European center of excellence for these topics. 30 start-ups are already involved at the start. We are now supporting them directly with access to our corporate network, exclusive events, workshops and the opportunity to get in touch with renowned investors. By the end of the year, we want to have 100 start-ups in this field based here.

Personal details: Oliver Hanisch set up a small project consulting company in Munich in 2005. He then moved to the media company Red Herring in Silicon Valley. In 2010, he began to help set up the German Accelerator there. After almost 15 years, he moved to Heilbronn to join Campus Founders.