When Your Studies Turn Into a Startup
Sven Wernert knows the ups and downs of starting a business all too well. His idea came to him at the dinner table. When a huge pile of packaging waste was left over after dinner, he decided he wanted to make a change. His vision: a reusable system for the food retail industry that could be scaled up for mass adoption.
While studying Wirtschaftsingenieurwesen at Hochschule Offenburg, he revisited the idea and knew: “I’m going to start a business.” He was even able to complete his practical semester as a self-employed entrepreneur and develop his concept to market readiness. The topic of his bachelor’s degree thesis? His business plan.
Sven further developed the idea into an online supermarket based on the “click & collect” principle. Here’s how it works: Customers order via an app from a selection of over 3,000 products. Everything is available, from zucchini to toothpaste. They then pick up their order at a pickup station. It’s packed in a sturdy cardboard box, which they simply return the next time they shop. So the concept of reusability has been preserved.
But before that, Sven and his team had to tackle many challenges: finding investors, securing suppliers, and developing the entire technology—from the box to the pickup station. Throughout this roller-coaster ride, he could count on the support of family, friends, fellow students, and the OGFLab. The Offenburg region turned out to be the perfect starting point for the startup. “We have excellent infrastructure, a perfect A5 connection to major cities like Karlsruhe and Freiburg, incredible economic development support, and networks like Black Forest Innovation and nectanet.”
Today, Sven and his team are on the verge of a breakthrough: the first pickup station will soon be up and running in Offenburg—and many more are set to follow. We wish them every success!
Sven Wernert’s story is just one of many success stories among our alumni. We’d love to share more of them and are looking for alumni who’d like to tell us how their journey continued after graduation and how they’re applying the experiences from their time at HSO today.
Please contact Carola Lasch (carola.lasch@hs-offenburg.de). We look forward to hearing from you