OMR and Emotion to raise visibility of female founders

7 April 2022

Katharina Fegebank takes over patronage of new pitch event - deadline for applications April 11

The Hamburg-based media company Emotion Publishing and the Online Marketing Rockstars (OMR) have launched a new pitch event for female founders under the auspices of Katharina Fegebank, Deputy Mayor of Hamburg and Senator for Science, Research and Equality. Women founded just under 18 per cent of start-ups in 2021, according to the German Startup Monitor. Start-ups offering equal opportunities and founders with an impact business model now have until the deadline of April 11, 2022 to submit their applications. The five best start-ups will pitch during the OMR Festival on May 17-18, 2022.

Pitch contest for impact start-ups

"We have been fighting for years to encourage, support and bring founders into the public eye," said Dr. Katarzyna Mol-Wolf, founder of Emotion. "The pitch offers founders an important opportunity to network with potential mentors and investors, and gives them and their ideas visibility and access to capital," she noted. The top five teams will present themselves twice on a big stage beginning on May 17 at the OMR Festival and at the Emotion Women's Day on May 19. "Encouraging women to start a business is very close to my heart," said Fegebank who will attend the Emotion Women's Day when the winners share their experiences of founding their companies.

Criteria and eligibility

Start-ups that have been on the market for at least six months, have equal representation and pursue an impact business model are eligible to apply for the pitch event. In addition to financial return, other measurable goals e.g. social, diversity and ecology will also be considered. A jury consisting of potential investors and partners including Tina Müller, CEO of the Douglas Group, entrepreneur Verena Pausder and Alex Hofmann, editor-in-chief of Gründerszene will select the finalists.

Common goal

Emotion Publishing strives to increase the visibility of female founders through events such as Emotion Women's Day and the Emotion Award. The "5050 by OMR" initiative aims to achieve gender parity in business and at management levels in the digital sector. Both media companies have a long-standing partnership and have joined forces to pursue this common goal and even more activities.

mb/sb/pb

Sources and further information

Startup Unit Hamburg

Prospective entrepreneurs and new enterprises with knowledge- and technology-oriented business models are now provided with comprehensive information and support in one place: Hamburg Invest’s Startup Unit serves as the first port of call for any queries regarding municipal startup programmes, funding opportunities, as well as relevant events and networks in Hamburg.