An unusual “co-production” took place on Wednesday, April 9, 2014, at the TFU’s Gründerzentrum “
.” Together with theater ulm, the start-up accellonet, and artist Heiko Klohn, TFU staged an event on innovation: “Start-ups and Art – The Art of Founding a Company.”
Seated on a beer crate behind the bar, host Ulrike Hudelmaier held up a coffee bean: “What does this have to do with innovation?”
The answer: Innovation happens when people come together. When coffeehouses became popular in the 18th century, innovation accelerated.
Coincidence? Give coincidence a chance!
Unusual encounters give rise to new ideas. Today, the Internet
brings people together around innovative ideas—but it’s still important for people who wouldn’t necessarily know each other otherwise to meet.
Felix Wiederspahn of the network service provider accellonet shared this idea as he recounted the “drama in several acts” that was the story of his company’s founding. Keynote speaker and artistic director of the theater ulm, Andreas von Studnitz, discussed the unusual combination—as well as the commonalities—between theater and entrepreneurship, between innovative ideas and the art of starting a business.
Structure and chaos are opposites and must be balanced. Anyone who ventures out in front of an audience—or into the market—must recognize opportunities and learn to deal with setbacks. At the same time, sometimes something works that you never would have believed possible.
Burghard Solle (violin) and Alfredo Miglionico (piano) perform salon music, providing a stylish backdrop for the co-production.
The “stage design” was created by Heiko Klohn. His paintings are currently on display at the TFU. They place scenes from well-known films in new contexts and once again illustrate the evening’s theme: “Innovations arise from unusual combinations.”
The guests at the packed TFU restaurant LaCantera—even the very youngest ones—took the speakers’ words to heart at the “
.” They eagerly used the cards provided to showcase their own work and forged new, innovative connections.
