PREPARING FOR OPEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP CO-FOUNDER RUN AUTUMN 2025
Twice a year, Open Entrepreneurship facilitates a national co-founder run: The purpose is to match research-based pre-startup teams with experienced entrepreneurs and industry experts as co-founders.
The pre-startup teams get support from Open Entrepreneurship to promote their case and attract the right co-founder candidates across Denmark. The entrepreneurs and industry experts get the opportunity to join early stage research-based startups and turn science into business in collaboration with the pre-startup team.
Whether you represent a pre-startup team seeking to grow or a potential co-founder looking to contribute, this run offers you a unique pathway to transform research into real-world impact.
Are you a pre-startup and want to be part of the co-founder run?
Open Entrepreneurship invites pre-startups with a research-based case to apply for being part of the co-founder run in autumn of 2025.
Send in your details and case presentation via the form below:
[link to form will be updated]
Deadline: 18 September 2025
If you case is selected to be part of the run, Open Entrepreneurship will distribute your case presentation to its network of entrepreneurs and industry experts (E-corps) and also present it at the Open Entrepreneurship website and LinkedIn among others from Open Entrepreneurship, DTU Skylab and The Kitchen, AU.
The co-founder search will be launched on 7 October and the application round for potential co-founders ends on 16 November 2025 and then interviews with preferred candidates begins.
Each pre-startup will run individual hiring processes.
What we expect from you as a pre-startup:
That you are affiliated with at least one of the following:
-A university hub (AAU Innovate, The Kitchen, SDU Rio, KU Lighthouse, DTU Skylab etc.)
-A programme at a Danish university such as Open Entrepreneurship, Deep Green Innovators, Spin-Outs Denmark, Earthbound etc.
-A Danish science park
and
-That your pre-startup has reached a maturity level high enough to benefit from co-founder matching meaning that you have a clear project scope, some initial validation, and is ready to actively involve a co-founder in core activities.
Are you an entrepreneur or industry expert and want to be part of the co-founder run?
Open Entrepreneurship will have the selected pre-startup cases ready for you to explore from 7 October to 16 November 2025 and you can apply for a co-founder position. Subsequently preferred candidates will be invited for an interview with the pre-startup.
Follow Open Entrepreneurship on LinkedIn to get a heads up when the run opens.
What we expect from you as co-founder:
-You are able to work from the local university office 7 hours/week, as part of the team (some cases may specify higher expectations in case presentations)
-We do not expect you to invest in the case
-You will enter a 2-3 month trial period, if you mutually agree on a good match, you can start a co-founder agreement negotiation, earning ownership based on contribution (sweat equity)
IMPORTANT DATES FOR CO-FOUNDER RUN AUTUMN 2025
18 September 2025
Pre-startup application deadline.
7 October 2025
Co-founder search will be launched.
16 November 2025
Co-founder application round ends and interviews begin.
MORE INFORMATION
If you need more information, you are welcome to reach out to us:
Jens Friholm
DTU Skylab
M: +45 9392 8242
E: jefrih@dtu.dk
Otto Bjerg Hausgaard
The Kitchen, AU
M: +45 25590657
E: obh@au.dk
Nynne Budtz Christiansen
Open Entrepreneurship
M: +45 61300678
E: nmch@dtu.dk
CASE OVERVIEW (SPRING 2025 – THE SEARCH BELOW HAS ENDED)
New pre-startup cases and search for co-founders will be launched on 7 October 2025
We are proud to present the university startups that are looking for co-founders below.
The deadline for application as co-founder has expired.
What we expect from you as co-founder
- You are able to work from the local university office 7 hours/week, as part of the team (some cases may specify higher expectation in case presentations)
- We do not expect you to invest in the case
- You will enter a 2-3 month trial period, if you mutually agree on a good match, you will thereafter be invited to a co-founder agreement negotiation, earning ownership based on contribution (sweat equity)
Process
- Case presentations will be sent out to Open Entrepreneurship network (E-corps) and also presented at LinkedIn among others from Open Entrepreneurship and DTU Skylab
- Application period 17 to 24 March 2025 23:59 CET
- Interview invites will be sent out to preferred co-founder candidates
- Kickoff with selected co-founder candidate(s)
University startups looking for co-founders (this search has ended)
Precision Psychotherapy
Tracking mental health phenomena through a simple button press interface.
Click to open case presentation
Click to apply for co-founder position at Precision Psychotherapy
University (location of case): DTU (Lyngby)
Selene
Cyber threat intelligence.
Click to open case presentation
Click to apply for co-founder position at Selene
University (location of case): DTU and AAU (Lyngby)
Nanostic Technologies
Transforming health monitoring with advanced biosensor technology.
Click to open case presentation
Click to apply for co-founder position at Nanostic Technologies
University (location of case): DTU (Lyngby)
HEATED
A battery that charges itself using waste heat.
Click to open case presentation
Click to apply for co-founder position at HEATED
University (location of case): DTU (Lyngby)
GreenBeer
Minimized wort boiling by stripping hot wort with carbon dioxide.
Click to open case presentation
Click to apply for co-founder position at GreenBeer
University (location of case): DTU Science Park (Aarhus)
Fashion
Blockchain-based system that valorizes fashion.
Click to open case presentation
Click to apply for co-founder position at Fashion (name TBD)
University (location of case): CBS (Denmark and Italy)
ERLEtek
Technology company that develops mobile concrete 3D printers for the construction industry.
Click to open case presentation
Click to apply for co-founder position at ERLEtek
University (location of case): DTU (Lyngby)
DemensAI
Transforming healthcare through early detection of dementia.
Click to open case presentation
Click to apply for co-founder position at DemensAI
University (location of case): DTU (Lyngby)
Copenhagen Microsystems
Sustainable 3D printing at micro- and nanoscale with 3D ice lithography.
Click to open case presentation
Click to apply for co-founder position at Copenhagen Microsystems
University (location of case): DTU (Lyngby)
Adhesion Score
IVD cancer diagnostics.
Click to open case presentation
Click to apply for co-founder position at Adhesion Score
University (location of case): RUC (Trekroner)
Vegvisir Technologies
Freeing the burden of injection treatment for therapeutic peptide-based products.
Click to open case presentation
Click to apply for co-founder position at Vegvisir Technologies
University (location of case): DTU (Lyngby)
Sorption Booster
Empowering small-scale green ammonia production via sorption-based solutions.
Click to open case presentation
Click to apply for co-founder position at Sorption Booster
University (location of case): DTU (Lyngby)
SymbioMatch
Developing effective biostimulants tailored to crop and soil types.
Click to open case presentation
Click to apply for co-founder position at SymbioMatch
University (location of case): AU (Aarhus)