An Open Entrepreneurship initiative:

Nationwide search for
research-based pre-startups looking for commercial co-founders

KICK-STARTING CO-FOUNDER RUN SPRING 2026

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.

Pre-startup teams receive targeted support from Open Entrepreneurship to attract relevant co-founder candidates.
Entrepreneurs and industry experts gain the opportunity to join early-stage, research-based ventures and help turn science into scalable businesses.

Whether you represent a pre-startup or a potential co-founder, this run offers you a unique pathway to transform research into real-world impact.

Do you want to join the Co-Founder Run as a researched-based pre-startup?

Open Entrepreneurship invites research-based pre-startups to apply to participate in Co-Founder Run in Spring 2026. If your pre-startup is selected, Open Entrepreneurship will promote your search to its community of entrepreneurs and industry experts and support you in finding potential co-founders. Your pre-startup will be featured on the Open Entrepreneurship website and on LinkedIn (Open Entrepreneurship. DTU Skylab, Kitchen (AU) and Copenhagen School of Entrepreneurship (CBS)).

Follow the steps below to apply. Application deadline: 16 March 2026.

Application guide for pre-startups

1. Obtain confirmation that your local university Business Developer will support you in the Co-Founder Run process.
2. Download the one-pager template here (guide is included)
3. Complete the template
4. Save it as a PDF-file
5. Submit the template along with your application via the form: Sign up as pre-startup for Co-Founder Run Spring 2026

What we expect from you as a pre-startup

Your pre-startup must meet the two following criteria:

must be affiliated with a Danish university hub, university programme, and/or Danish science park, and must have a Business Developer or equivalent committed to supporting the team throughout the Co-Founder Run.
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 you are ready to actively involve a co-founder in core activities.

If you have further questions, find answers in the FAQ or reach out to us below.

Would you like to join Co-Founder Run as an entrepreneur or expert?

Discover exciting, research-driven ventures and apply for a commercial co-founder role between 15 April and 6 May 2026. Selected candidates will advance to direct interviews with the founding teams. Follow Open Entrepreneurship on LinkedIn for launch updates and announcements.

Important note
This is not a traditional job opening. There is no predefined, salaried role. As a co-founder, you will join at an early stage, where building the venture and securing initial funding are core parts of the journey.

What we expect from you as a co-founder candidate

1. You can work from the local university office/the startup office 7 hours/week, as part of the team (some cases may specify higher expectations in their one-pagers).
2. However, we do not expect you to invest in the case.
3. You will enter a 2–3-month trial period, if you then mutually agree on a good match, you can then start formalizing with a co-founder agreement negotiation, earning ownership based on contribution (sweat equity).

Are you unsure, if you are ready to co-found?

The CBS-leg of Open Entrepreneurship, Copenhagen School of Entrepreneurship runs a Commercial Co-Founder Programme, designed for people with minimum 2 years of commercial or industry experience who want to explore how their skills translate into early-stage ventures.

We recommend applying, if you look to co-found and do not have previous experience with early-stage ventures. The programme runs over one month and consists of four evening workshops.

Programme dates and sign-up form: https://www.conferencemanager.dk/commercialco-founder

MORE INFORMATION AND FAQ

If you need more information, you are welcome to reach out to us – or perhaps you can find the answer in the FAQ:

Jens Friholm
DTU Skylab,
DTU
M: +45 9392 8242
E: jefrih@dtu.dk

Otto Bjerg Hausgaard
The Kitchen,
AU
M: +45 2559 0657
E: obh@au.dk

Rosanna Sundgaard
Copenhagen School of Entrepreneurship, CBS
M: +45 3815 3719
E: rs.cse@cbs.dk

Nynne Budtz Christiansen
Open Entrepreneurship
M: +45 6130 0678
E: nmch@dtu.dk

IMPORTANT DATES FOR CO-FOUNDER RUN AUTUMN 2026

16 March 2026 at 23:59
Deadline: Pre-startup applications – responses by 23 March 2026

09 April 2026
Co-Founder Nights – Get feedback to revise your pre-startups one-pager

12 April 2026 at 23:59
Deadline: Submit revised pre-startup one-pager

15 April 2026
Co-founder search campaign will be launched

06 May 2026 at 23:59
Deadline: Commercial co-founder applications

12 May 2026
Networking event between pre-startups and potential co-founders

CASE PRESENTATIONS FROM AUTUMN 2025 (SEARCH BELOW HAS ENDED)

Please note that the search for co-founders for the below cases has ended. The next search for co-founders will start on 15 April 2026 and will be posted above and at our LinkedIn.

CEREBRAL METRICS | Quantifying human brain images through AI-driven solutions for pharma
EVALYZ | Digital infrastructure for interpreting quality control in the AI era
SERENDO THERAPEUTICS AB | EA2-targeted medicines to achieve lasting remission in autoimmune disease
WORKDPLAYS | Mission-driven language learning rooted in cultural and contextual understanding
PUREON ENERGY | AI-powered energy optimization for industry
COBLER | MedTech device to help women suffering from severe urinary incontinence
QUALITY BY IMAGES | Apps for visual quality inspection of food products along the supply chain
SPIKENET | Delivers secure, cyber-resilient grid-edge communication for scalable control of energy assets
3D VOLT | Biomass-derived microsupercapacitors for sustainable energy storage in IoT systems
AMMISORB | Empowering small-scale green ammonia production via sorption-based solutions
GLYON | We commercialize the first CO₂-powered technology for textile recycling
NANODEX BIO | Leveraging dextran nanoparticles to expand high-quality potent CAR T cells
PARALLAX BIO | De novo design of cancer immunotherapy
PILLICAN APS | Helping sick children swallow pills easily
SELENE | A one-stop platform for cyber threat intelligence
STARTERFEED | The StarterFeed system provides natural fish food and raises profitability by ~15-20%
SUSTAINABLE SOFTWARE LABORATORIES | We measure and analyze IT energy use for reduction and reporting
TWINSPIRE | Performance and injury tracking for sports teams and athletes
VACCINOLOGICS | Technology for prophylactics and therapy

CASE PRESENTATIONS FROM SPRING 2025 (SEARCH BELOW HAS ENDED)