About us

As a non-profit association of the founding and startup scene in the northeast, we make inspiring people, ambitious ideas, scalable business models, and the highly motivated support network visible and unite them in our Hanseatic community.

Gründungswerft = Founder’s Shipyard

We are a supra-regional community network and are building a common founding scene that follows Hanseatic values. We, as a community, contribute to giving all types of company founders here on the coast a vibrant breeding ground and promote them with reach and experience exchange.

What exactly do we do?

  • We build and cultivate a supra-regional founding scene as a community network
  • We maintain many large digital groups for the online exchange of our members
  • We regularly organize events throughout the state and beyond
  • We maintain great cooperations with many institutions and companies
  • We implement a powerful and effective public relations work for us, the scene, and our members
  • We are the voice of the founding scene and work closely with politics and the ecosystem
  • We contribute to making entrepreneurship the center of our society again, as it was during the founding period and the Hanseatic League

We cultivate our North German homeland ties here on the coast with an innovative mindset and international outlook – just like the Hanseatic League did back then. We are cosmopolitan and politically neutral.

Since 2022, we have grown to over 400 members and thus form the largest startup and founding initiative in Northern Germany, which already generates millions of attention annually.

More about our scene and community

The non-profit association (Gründungswerft e.V.) is led by founders and is the voice of the local founding scene.

Our members organize around 50 events with our partners throughout Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and beyond every year. We maintain a constructive exchange with politics and represent the interests of the founders, who are now releasing noticeably positive impulses in society.

Our members meet daily and form new connections. Ideas are exchanged, business models are promoted, and investments are made.

We are convinced that the energy, innovative spirit, and mood of our founding scene contribute to the positive development of our region.

We are open to everyone.

Our community network thrives on diversity. Only when as many different ideas, individuals, approaches, mindsets, origins, and personalities come together can a creative environment emerge that can transform innovative ideas into sustainable business models. The basis for a future-proof and self-motivated founding scene.

For this reason, membership and our community are open to everyone.

Collaboration with the environment creates the future

In turbulent times, different rules apply: only together can the actors of a region positively influence trends and act sustainably. Therefore, membership in the Gründungswerft is a synergistic complement to all offers in our economy and society.

We are open to constructive partnerships, joint events, and loud communication.

With us, you will find founders, investors, artists, supporters, politicians, ministers, innovators, managing directors, and many others who are happy to contribute to a growing environment.

Board of Directors

Our board of directors consists of the location managers of our eight locations in Schwerin, Ludwigslust, Wismar, Rostock, Stralsund, Greifswald, Waren (Müritz), and Neubrandenburg. In addition, the Gründungswerft has state-wide departments, including finance, marketing, coworking, and management.