Munich Startup: Please briefly introduce yourself and the Wavelab.
Jule Schröder, Wavelab: Hello, we are the Wavelab and are located at the University of Music and Theatre as an innovation laboratory and startup center. In our incubator, we support tech startups in music, arts, and media with input, coaching, and access to customers in the cultural world and entertainment industry. Of course, we also have a coworking space in the heart of the art district.
We target startup teams from across Germany. Our program runs for six months, with a kick-off week and approximately one to two on-site days per month in Munich. Startups should have clearly identified and validated the problems and needs of their target audience, improve the cultural landscape with their solution, and present a working prototype. Our team currently consists of four people: Antonia manages the incubator, Teresa organizes events, Sascha handles social media marketing, and I handle networking and community building.
Munich Startup: So it's not about making it easier for painters, sculptors or musicians to start their own business?
Jule Schröder: No, because most art schools already offer something like that. At HMTM, for example, there's the Career Center, which offers advice and support on the path to self-employment. We're looking for the Spotifys and Netflixes of tomorrow—ideas that disrupt, complement, or support the cultural and creative industries. So perhaps an app that helps musicians organize and bill their performances, or a prediction tool that forecasts capacity for event organizers and adjusts content marketing accordingly.
The first batch in Wavelab
Munich Startup: Which startups made it into your first batch? What sets them apart?
Jule Schröder: The three startups we've been supporting in our first batch since March are Sirius, Farbe, and TimeleapVR. Sirius is a platform and video conferencing tool for digital music lessons with optimal sound quality and features like a tuner and metronome. Farbe enables galleries and artists to enter the crypto and NFT world by providing them with a platform for presenting and trading digital art. And TimeleapVR uses virtual reality to make artworks accessible and tangible, producing virtual tours for museums and galleries.
All three contribute to art and culture. Sirius enables music lessons across long distances; TimeLeapVR enables a completely new perception of artworks by walking through a painting, thereby intensifying the engagement with it and other paintings; and paint opens up entirely new monetization opportunities for galleries and artists with digital art.
Munich Startup: And what have you learned during this time?
Jule Schröder: We're essentially a startup ourselves, and the first batch was our proof of concept. The interest shown by over 20 teams in our incubator allowed us to validate the need for specific cultural entrepreneurship support. We learned that an incubator program can also work really well digitally if you maintain constant communication. With our first batch, we discovered that the needs of startups are diverse and varied, and that we're doing a lot right with our individually tailored program. But we also realized at which stage we can provide the most support, and therefore further refined our target group. In the future, we want to provide support during the validation phase, i.e., the six months surrounding market entry.
“Get the most out of the six months”
Munich Startup: The application phase for your next batch starts in July. What are your priorities when working with startups?
Jule Schröder: Before we start the program in November, it is important to us to learn a lot about our startups and get to know them well during the selection process and preliminary meetings in order to understand their individual needs and get the most out of the six months.
Our program input usually works in three steps. First, we offer expert input on one of the identified topics, let's say financing, for everyone. There, the startups get an overview of all relevant aspects of the topic, the associated tools, methods, and templates, and the specific skills of the experts. In a second step, they independently work on one of their specific topics, such as a financial plan, using templates and canvases. Third, they receive specific feedback on their questions in individual expert coaching based on the developed documents.
Another area we place great importance on is the team. We support founders in engaging with the different people and their individual goals within the team early on, and in communicating with them.
“Making all of our lives more beautiful, more colorful, or more resonant”
Munich Startup: A successful startup is for you…
Jule Schröder: ...a well-functioning team that combines all the core competencies to solve a real problem in the world of culture and music using technology. And thereby makes all of our lives more beautiful, more colorful, and more melodious.
Munich Startup: What is the biggest mistake a startup can make?
Jule Schröder: As a design thinker, I naturally say that developing the idea without constant customer feedback is a bad idea. Anyone who doesn't know and validate their target groups and their needs in detail will have a difficult time.
Munich Startup: Compared to other startup centers at Munich universities, the Wavelab startup center at the HMTM is somewhat of a latecomer. Are you in contact with the other centers? Or do you see them more as competition?
Jule Schröder: From the very beginning, we sought contact with the other major startup centers in Munich and have encountered a great deal of support and enthusiasm for our topic. We're extremely pleased about this. We don't see ourselves as competitors at all, as we all pursue the same goal of strengthening the Bavarian startup scene. We exchange information about coaches and mentors, share insights into our programs, and recommend startups to each other that might be better suited to another startup center or even complete our programs one after the other.
Apply by August 31st to Wavelab
Munich Startup: And what do you want to say to the Munich startup scene?
Jule Schröder: If you are a tech startup from Music, Arts & Media, there is now a place for you! Apply by August 31st.!
Munich Startup: Last but not least: Who do startups approach when they want to talk to you?
Jule Schröder: We're a small team, and you can contact us anytime using the contact information found on our website. A good way to tell us about an idea and get to know us is the "Idea Check," a one-hour consultation format in which aspiring entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to us, and we're available as sparring partners and for advice. Digitally or in person. simply make an appointment.
