Startup Founded by University Students Wins ASAP Finals
For the 16th time, NXTGN—the central innovation platform in The Länd that connects academia, business, and the startup ecosystem, thereby laying the foundation for the next generation of small and medium-sized enterprises—hosted the ASAP finals. A total of 22 teams from 19 universities in Baden-Württemberg presented their startup ideas in 90 seconds on a virtual stage. The topics ranged from drones to Medizintechnik to the construction industry. The Pace Engineer team from Hochschule Offenburg was also among the participants.
During the 2025–26 winter semester, Betriebswirtschaft students Nico Kollmer and Paul Müller came up with the idea to develop a digital coaching program for sim racing as part of their required elective course in entrepreneurship. This virtual form of motorsports has seen a surge in popularity since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is now estimated that there are around 150,000 drivers in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland—ranging from beginners to semi-professionals. However, there aren’t enough coaches for these drivers and the visitors to the more than 100 sim-racing centers in Germany. So the 26- and 22-year-olds set to work and successfully presented their idea in February 2026 at the OGFLab Pitch at Hochschule Offenburg. In March 2026, they began developing their software, which analyzes telemetry data in real time while the driver is racing and provides the driver with the feedback they need right away. An initial prototype is expected to be ready by the end of the year. As a result, the two are currently in urgent need of staff in the areas of development and coding. The software will later be sold via a subscription model for less than one euro per day.
The jury—consisting of Andrea Spielvogel, professor of AI at HfWU Nürtingen-Geislingen; Antonia Dieterich, startup founder and CTO at marton.ai; Nicolai Droll, team lead for startup development at CyberForum/CyberLab; Jakob Lehner, startup manager at Campus Founders, and Lena Reichert, head of innovation management at Ritter Sport—was convinced, not least by the Instagram videos of Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen, that this idea has the potential for significant commercial impact. After all, they explained, sim racing isn’t just about someone sitting in front of a PlayStation—it involves extensive equipment, including multiple monitors, special seats, and real simulators, as well as a huge community. And so Nico Kollmer and Paul Müller received the Rocky Trophies—endowed with 1,000 euros by L-Bank—for the Overall Winner of the ASAP Finals. This also secured them a spot in a mentoring program run by the nonprofit educational organization The Venture Mentoring Team (The VMT) and two tickets to the Gründer*innen Wasen event at the Almhütte Royale on the Cannstatter Wasen in Stuttgart on October 7.
“Pace Engineer is setting an incredible pace. We congratulate them on this great success and look forward to seeing what comes next,” said Julia Reichwein, the startup advisor at Hochschule Offenburg, who had supported Nico Kollmer, Paul Müller, and Tarik Tashi. Marketing professor Achim Burkhardt also assisted them with brand strategy and ecosystem development.