Startups@ISH digital – matchmaking for startups and companies
In an interview with Christoph Baier from Ambivation, Kerstin Vogt reports on this year’s ISH. As the world’s leading trade fair for water, heat and air conditioning, it is usually held in Frankfurt, but this year it will be digital. Today we talk about opportunities for startups and companies to get to know each other at the trade fair, future prospects and the potential of startups in the construction and energy industry.
Christoph: Welcome to the interview with Kerstin Vogt, who is talking to us today about the ISH. Kerstin, welcome.
Kerstin: Hello Chris, thank you for the invitation!
Christoph: Kerstin, maybe to start, introduce yourself briefly. Who are you? What do you do?
Kerstin: I am Kerstin Vogt, managing director at VdZ. We are the umbrella organization for building technology here in Berlin and we have also been one of the sponsors of the ISH for over 60 years. I’m here today to talk to you a little bit about ISH and what we have to offer for startups in two weeks.
Christoph: Perfect! And what is ISH and why shouldn’t I miss it as a startup and company?
Kerstin: ISH is the world’s leading international trade fair for water, heat and air conditioning. Normally, it is so the big industry meeting point every two years in Frankfurt am Main. This year, like so many other trade fairs, ISH is being translated into digital and will take place on a digital platform from March 22 to 26. At ISH, exhibitors from the building technology sector will present their technology and solution concepts. Actually, the focus has always been the ISH on the careful use of water but also energy. And this has certainly become increasingly important in recent years. We set important impulses, to sustainable environmentally friendly energy use of buildings. For startups that want to gain a foothold in the building industry, I think ISH is a must-attend event. You shouldn’t miss it, simply to get to know the market and to tap into new customer groups. Especially if you’re targeting planners or tradesmen, you’ll find them at ISH, and of course potential business partners. Only at the ISH can you really find this entire industry together in one place. Even if this can’t take place in Frankfurt, I believe that we can also manage this digitally quite well.
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And conversely, of course, also to companies in our industry, we have around thirty startups this year that will also be exhibiting at the ISH, showing their products and services from the areas of ventilation, air quality, digitalization of building technology, resource-saving use of water and from the large area of storage of renewable energies. Our concern, and this is also the concern of Ambivation, is to stimulate the cooperation of startups and SMEs and to work together on the great challenges of our time. First and foremost, of course, the two groups should get talking at the ISH. We set the framework for this with an exciting conference program, where we illuminate both the perspective and the potential of the startups for the programs.
Christoph: That’s great, I’m very excited about that and as you say, we share some things. What else would interest me is, what opportunities do the industries represented at ISH offer visitors and participants?
Kerstin: I would say that there is hardly any other industry in the field of water, heating and air conditioning technology that is working on so many important topics for the future of our time. We have of course topically as never over the Corona Pandemie now the topic air hygiene and also room climate, which has a very large focus on the ISH. In addition, this year’s ISH is all about the EU Green Year, the climate targets. Around 40% of all energy in Germany is consumed in buildings, and of this, another 80% is used for heating and water supply. We still have a long way to go before we want to be climate-neutral by 2050, and we really need a lot of innovation to get there. And the increasing number of green startups in recent years also shows that founders are really moving more than just starting the next big thing, but that they really want to make a lasting difference. If you combine all of this with the digitalization potential in the building technology sector, we certainly still have a lot of catching up to do. I can hardly think of a more exciting field where startups could be active. I would welcome anyone who wants to focus on sustainability in their startup, simply in building technology. ISH shows that quite strongly, both in the conference programs, but also in the companies that exhibit there.
Christoph: Great, thank you very much! I also find the topic of CleanTech, GreenTech, everything that has an influence there incredibly important. This is becoming more and more important. I would say that socially, I think it’s been like this for a long time, and now it’s also being driven politically, and economically there are also a few factors that are driving it forward. At the latest through politics.
Kerstin: Yes! In the beginning, there was a lot of talk about climate protection in the area of electricity and energy generation. Now the focus was also on mobility for a long time, and there are a lot of startups in that area. But when I came into the industry, there was always talk of the sleeping giant that is the heating market, and I think it helps when a few young people tickle the giant to wake up.
Christoph: Great. Is there a very specific offer for startups that you also provide to get into conversation with companies?
Kerstin: Yes, we have the “Startup@ISH digital” program at ISH. This is a fixed trade show format every day in the Top Topics channel, i.e. in the conference program of the trade show. On the one hand, there is a daily talk as a program of topics to look at, with which we want to direct the startup perspective to industry topics. We have the topics GreenTech, hydrogen, BlockChain, heat market and digitalization in the trade, which is also a very large area that is relevant in our industry. And we have twenty-six startups presenting their business models in pitches. As a company, I can of course see which startups are interesting for me as a company and where I might want to talk again afterwards. For companies for which startups are rather new territory, we have a format that we have called “How to Startup. This is more or less a crash course on the startup world, in which we explain the terms, the startup mentality, and the cooperation between startups and SMEs. And hopefully, after you’ve watched the format, you’ll want to get into the conversation. Exactly, to come to your question about talking to each other, on the one hand, the ISH platform already offers a matchmaking algorithm directly during registration, where we were able to assert ourselves, thankfully, and where you can also click directly that you are interested in cooperations with startups. Startups are then quickly displayed. And there are also two spontaneous matchmaking formats during the trade fair. These take place at two fixed times, once on Tuesday and Thursday. The pairs are matched, like at a speed dating event, and you can spontaneously get into conversation with completely new partners that you might not have come across otherwise. And then, of course, there is also the classic way, via the exhibitor search. As I said just now, we have thirty startups that are participating as exhibitors. Of course, they are also happy to receive direct offers for talks, which can also be done via the platform.
Christoph: Perfect, great. I’ve already registered for the startup pitches, which is very convenient with you digitally and I’m looking forward to it. Finally, Kerstin, why is the VdZ.e.V., as a building technology association, so committed to startups?
Kerstin: Yes, perhaps also because of the history, we used to be called the Association of the Central Heating Industry, we have really been around for a very long time. This then became the modern building technology association. For more than sixty years, we have represented the interests of the three-stage value chain of building and energy technology from industry, wholesale and trade. As I have already said to some extent, our industry is really moving at the pulse of various megatrends. Digitalization and climate change are the big buzzwords. To master this challenge, we need the impetus of young innovation drivers. We have set ourselves the goal of bringing together founders with established companies in the industry, promoting the exchange of ideas in all areas of heating, ventilation and building technology. And we also want to act as a knowledge broker on the subject of startups in the industry, in order to whet the appetite for the subject of startups. Our main goal is networking, as we always bring startups to where the industry also meets. That is of course the highlight now, the ISH digital, but also at other formats, we do speed dating, or when we do networking evenings here in Berlin, then we invite startups there as well.
Christoph: Great, that sounds very exciting. If startups want to join you, how do they get a ticket?
Kerstin: As VdZ we still have a lot of free visitor tickets, just contact me at startup@vdzev.de . Or, if that went too quickly, I think you can get a visitor voucher in a jiffy through both you and us.
Christoph: Exactly, we will gladly put you in touch with us. Great, from my side, thank you Kerstin for taking the time to present ISH digital and the startup activities there. I’m looking forward to participating.
Kerstin: Thank you, see you there!
Link to ISH digital: https://ish.messefrankfurt.com/frankfurt/de.html
Link to VdZ e.V. : https://www.vdzev.de
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About Ambivation
Ambivation connects innovative companies and startups for cooperation and innovation partnerships. As an innovation consultancy and matchmaker, Ambivation promotes cooperation between established companies and startups within the framework of concrete customer, supplier and research partnerships. We support companies in the identification of needs, startup identification, startup evaluation and cooperation initiation with startups. Formats such as research on relevant startups, startup monitoring, strategic cooperation consulting or event formats such as startup tours serve this purpose. Our monthly newsletter also provides information on current examples of cooperation and events.
