{"id":37008,"date":"2026-08-31T13:26:38","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T11:26:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/highest-darmstadt.de\/news\/uncategorized\/mit-dem-rad-zum-erfinder\/"},"modified":"2026-09-01T12:03:07","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T10:03:07","slug":"mit-dem-rad-zum-erfinder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/highest-darmstadt.de\/en\/news\/news-en\/mit-dem-rad-zum-erfinder\/","title":{"rendered":"Cycling to Meet an InventorMit dem Rad zum Erfinder"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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The HIGHEST Club gathered for its summer edition at Riese & M\u00fcller in M\u00fchltal. Company co-founder Heiko M\u00fcller hosted the event, while two startups received TU Darmstadt\u2019s SPIN OFF! label.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n <\/div>\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n

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More than 60 applications for the new Company Builder, a seasoned entrepreneur warning against investors, and two new recipients of TU Darmstadt\u2019s spin-off label: on Thursday evening, the HIGHEST Club met for its summer edition at Riese & M\u00fcller in M\u00fchltal.<\/p>\n

The event was hosted by Heiko M\u00fcller, who co-founded the company in 1993. Around 50 guests joined the evening. On stage, HIGHEST Managing Director Harald Holzer spoke with Inflabi co-founder Maximilian Klyk about his entrepreneurial journey. Two further teams pitched their startups: Aron Eiermann presented the protein search engine P2P Bio, while Christopher Helmke introduced the humanoid robot developed by Anyscrew GmbH \/ Pink Robotics. Both were awarded TU Darmstadt\u2019s SPIN OFF! label at the end of the evening.<\/p>\n

At 4:30 p.m., the first bicycles begin to gather outside the University and Media Centre on the Lichtwiese Campus. Half a dozen guests have arranged to cycle to M\u00fchltal together. Among them is Maximilian Klyk, founder of Inflabi, who will later take a seat on stage himself.<\/p>\n

After just under an hour, the group reaches the Riese & M\u00fcller site. Those who decided not to pedal arrive by car. By the end of the evening, around 50 guests have come together on the company campus.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n

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The host opens the doors<\/strong><\/p>\n

Heiko M\u00fcller is the first to take the floor, speaking on the premises of the company he founded together with fellow student Markus Riese in 1993.<\/p>\n

The two met while studying mechanical engineering at TU Darmstadt. Their first joint product was the Birdy, a full-suspension folding bike that won the Hessian Innovation Award in the same year the company was founded. Then, in 2012, came a decisive move: Riese & M\u00fcller switched its entire production to e-bikes. That clear focus helped establish the company as a premium manufacturer in the industry.<\/p>\n

Focus is also the advice M\u00fcller shares with the audience. Building a company, he says, means concentrating on one thing instead of trying to do too much at once.<\/p>\n

Above all, however, he recommends an approach that has become less common in the startup world: avoiding investors wherever possible. His preference is to take out a loan and grow through the company\u2019s own resources rather than focusing on an early exit, as many venture capital investors encourage. M\u00fcller and Riese built their company without a single investor \u2013 an approach that worked well for them.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n\n\n\n\n

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\n Mit dem Fahrrrad zum Erfinder – fuhren einige Teilnehmede vom Campus Lichtwiese aus. Foto: Cherilyn Hehl. <\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \n

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\n Der Erfinder: Heiko M\u00fcller, Gr\u00fcnder von Riese & M\u00fcller. <\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \n

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News from HIGHEST<\/strong><\/p>\n

HIGHEST Managing Director Harald Holzer uses his welcome remarks to provide a brief update. The State of Hesse aims to strengthen Darmstadt as a hub for deep-tech startups, while TU Darmstadt has revised its framework for spin-offs. Inventions and patents will in future be recognised as achievements in their own right, and university employees can take a leave of absence to start a company.<\/p>\n

One figure is a particular source of pride for Holzer: more than 60 teams applied for the new round of the Company Builder.<\/p>\n

The joint funding programme run by HIGHEST and FUTURY supports science-based deep-tech teams for six months, providing capital, mentoring and access to investors. The goal is to turn promising ideas into companies capable of attracting investment.<\/p>\n

FUTURY is more than a conventional startup incubator. It is one of ten Startup Factories recognised by the German federal government and is backed by four universities, including TU Darmstadt. Its investment arm has already mobilised EUR 80 million in funding.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n

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A conversation on stage<\/strong><\/p>\n

The evening\u2019s main keynote takes the form of a conversation. On stage, Harald Holzer speaks with Inflabi co-founder Maximilian Klyk about his entrepreneurial journey so far.<\/p>\n

Klyk and his team are developing an inflatable bicycle helmet that can be folded away for storage and inflated within seconds. Since founding the company in 2023, Inflabi has participated in several funding programmes: first the Hessen Ideen scholarship, followed by the German federal government\u2019s EXIST funding programme and, most recently, the first round of the HIGHEST and FUTURY Company Builder.<\/p>\n

Klyk sums up one of the most important lessons from this period in a single word: timing.<\/p>\n

Looking back, he says, he would no longer go public with an unfinished product quite so early and would time several other steps differently as well. The helmet is currently undergoing certification, with market launch approaching.<\/p>\n

Two pitches, one seal of quality<\/strong><\/p>\n

The stage then belongs to two more founders.<\/p>\n

Aron Eiermann presents P2P Bio, which he founded together with biotechnologist Johannes Kabisch. Their ax\u00ed\u014dma platform searches billions of known proteins and helps researchers identify suitable enzymes in minutes rather than months.<\/p>\n

Christopher Helmke follows with a pitch for P0, the humanoid robot developed by his startup Anyscrew GmbH under the Pink Robotics brand. The robot stands 1.75 metres tall, weighs 82 kilograms and has 32 movable joints.<\/p>\n

His proposition is ambitious: humanoid robots will transform the German economy in much the same way as the automobile once did.<\/p>\n

For both founders, the evening ends with TU Darmstadt\u2019s SPIN OFF! label \u2013 an award for companies with a strong scientific foundation that have successfully completed the university\u2019s selection process.<\/p>\n

Close to the pulse of science<\/strong><\/p>\n

What makes a HIGHEST Club evening valuable is not limited to what happens on stage. Much of its impact comes afterwards, through new connections and conversations between founders and business leaders from across the region.<\/p>\n

For customers, partners and investors, meeting a TU Darmstadt spin-off at a HIGHEST Club event can mean discovering a company before it becomes widely known.<\/p>\n

That is the promise of the HIGHEST Club: early access to science-based spin-offs and a direct connection to Darmstadt\u2019s startup ecosystem.<\/p>\n

By Heike J\u00fcngst<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n\n\n\n

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\n What is the HIGHEST Club? <\/h2>\n <\/div>\n \n
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The HIGHEST Club is the business network of HIGHEST, TU Darmstadt\u2019s Innovation and Startup Center. It connects companies from the region directly with founders and researchers from the TU Darmstadt ecosystem.<\/p>\n

Membership is open to companies looking to support research and innovation in Darmstadt and connect with the people behind new technologies and ventures at an early stage. The idea behind the Club is simple: business and science benefit most when they connect early \u2013 not only at conferences, but over a summer evening on campus.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n

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\n Bleib auf dem Laufenden mit dem HIGHEST-Newsletter <\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n

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