Score of the Cologne University of Applied Sciences should be able to identify successful start-ups

Enter key figures and calculate the potential success of your own company: This is what the 4T-Score of the Rheinische Fachhochschule Köln wants to be able to do, which has now also been verified internationally.

What makes a start-up successful? There is probably no recipe, but there is a score from the Rhenish University of Applied Sciences in Cologne, which aims to predict the possible success of start-ups according to the four criteria Team, Traction, Tech & Product and Timing. With the 4T-Startup-Score, VCs will be able to check whether a start-up is promising - or not.

According to the score, start-ups with a score of 70 or more have a 20 percent higher company growth rate than the average. The points timing and traction in particular apparently influence the growth of a start-up. Basically, however, all four categories have an impact on the success of the young companies.

To confirm the score internationally, 150 tech start-ups from Europe, China and the USA were examined. The showed that startups with a higher score really do have significantly higher growth. Already in 2019, the city of Cologne and the Cologne Chamber of Commerce and Industry conducted a study on the 4T Score, in which 120 tech startups participated. It is based on financial ratios, patents and other factors as well as the attitude of the founders or the team structure.

"I am pleased that the results are now also confirmed internationally and that we can provide startups with real orientation and argumentation for investors with our 4T Score," says Kai Bühler, who conducted the study. Startups can go through the score online and have their business model evaluated based on the four categories.