Andreas: “42 students are born startup founders”

With one laughing and one crying eye: Andreas Gebert, student and team member from the very beginning, leaves 42 Heilbronn - and founds his first own company. Spoiler: A first investor is already on board with a six-figure sum, success is, so to speak, pre-programmed.

One and a half years ago: Andreas' father calls. The self-employed management consultant is looking for a programmer. His idea: to develop standardized software for small and medium-sized companies to make price calculations easier. So far, the process has hardly been digitized. In order to determine sales prices, costs from various production phases, from material procurement to delivery, have to be compiled in detail. Andreas: “We spun the idea together during our first phone call. My background made it easy for me to imagine a project like this.”

Goal: to start up!

Andreas is a trained mechatronics engineer. Before studying at the 42, he worked for various medium-sized companies and had already made a career there, for example as head of department at the Swiss company for compact heating stations Eletherm GmbH. Andreas: “I already knew back then that I wanted to set up a company at some point. But not as an end in itself - but with the right people and a really good idea!” He hears from a friend about 42, which is just about to open. He was immediately impressed by the concept and the people. The promise: To meet others who are just as passionate about their topics and are passionate about coding.

Networking at the 42

Andreas applies for the very first Piscine at 42 Heilbronn and is accepted. Not only that: he was offered a job at the school even before he started his studies. First as a working student, later as Head of Admissions. He built up 42 from the ground up. At the same time, he became involved in a wide variety of projects and competitions. He also met Robin, also a student at 42, and they coded side by side through the night during a hackathon. Andreas: “At four o'clock in the morning, I realized at some point: ”Wow, you can work really well with him. We have to get something going together.” When Andreas' father called, he got Robin on board straight away.

Problem solver

Alongside work, projects and studies, Andreas and Robin spent several months programming the planned software solution. The skills of the 42 are enormously helpful.
At 42, students learn to independently tackle tasks that initially seem unsolvable. This not only helps with programming. Andreas: “Here you are trained to be a problem solver. That makes 42 students born startup founders!”

The software is now about to be launched in early 2024, and the signs are excellent: good digital solutions for SMEs are desperately sought after. A few weeks ago, the investor agreed to invest. Andreas: “We want to go straight for the market with the software - and the network of 42 Heilbronn will pay off enormously!”