From Silicon Valley to Heilbronn: How Oliver Hanisch Builds a Startup Ecosystem with the Campus Founders Team
"Happy Bootstrapping" Volume #37
Oliver Hanisch has been the Managing Director of Campus Founders in Heilbronn for over six years – and came there from Silicon Valley. What sounds like an unusual career move is logical to him: “I believe that something really special has been happening here in Heilbronn for several years now.”
Campus Founders supports 75 startup teams annually, has invested in 25 companies, and organizes Heilbronn Slush’d, Germany’s only official Slush festival. A story about ecosystem building, the right infrastructure, and why Heilbronn is more than just a traffic jam on the A6.
This is a summary of Episode 149 of the “Happy Bootstrapping” Podcast (German).
From California to Baden-Württemberg: The Story
Oliver constantly gets the question: How can you move from Silicon Valley to Heilbronn? His answer: “I didn’t have to – I wanted to.” After almost 15 years in California and several of his own startups, he saw something special emerging in Heilbronn.
“We are the startup and innovation ecosystem in Germany with the greatest dynamic,” Oliver says confidently. From education to research to entrepreneurship – a lot is happening simultaneously in Heilbronn. The Schwarz Group (Lidl, Kaufland) is investing massively in the region, new universities are emerging, and Campus Founders sits right in the middle.
The Platform: Programs, Community, and Capital
Campus Founders sees itself as a platform with multiple levels. The first: infrastructure. The new Gravity building offers workspaces and rooms for startups in various phases – a physical place where the startup community comes together.
The second level: community.
“We bring together not just researchers and students, but also startup teams, investors from business angels to VCs to corporate investors.”
Baden-Württemberg is home to the Mittelstand – and exactly this connection between startup innovation and Mittelstand power is a core objective.
The third level: programs. From idea programs to incubation and acceleration to growth and leadership programs, Campus Founders covers all phases. About 75 teams go through these programs annually.
The fourth level: financing. In the non-profit area, there are founder scholarships for up to one year. In the for-profit area, Campus Founders invests itself – usually as the first money when commercial investors aren’t ready yet. “Because we know the teams since they participate in our programs, we invest at a very early stage,” Oliver says. The portfolio now includes 25 startups.
Heilbronn Slush’d: Germany’s Only Slush Festival
A highlight of the community work is Heilbronn Slush’d. The startup scene knows Slush in Helsinki as one of Europe’s most important events with over 15,000 participants. Campus Founders won the exclusive Germany license four years ago.
“The Slush mother organization decided to award satellite festivals in various countries, and we were able to prevail”.
1,000 participants come to Heilbronn Slush’d, a third of them international.
The festival brings startups together with mid-sized companies and investors. “Whether they’re generating leads for potential customers, gaining partners, or finding investors,” Oliver describes the value. The side events range from a boat cruise on the Neckar to an investor dinner the evening before.
2025: A Year of Milestones
This year was particularly eventful. The biggest success: Campus Founders was designated as one of ten Startup Factories by the federal government. In a consortium with the University of Stuttgart, KIT, University of Ulm, Heidelberg, and the Innovation Park for Artificial Intelligence, Heilbronn prevailed in the competition.
The new Gravity building will be officially opened on December 3rd. That same evening, Demo Day takes place, where about 24 startups from the AI Founders Program and the Accelerator will pitch. On December 4th, Community Day follows – open to everyone, from students to investors.
What I Learned from the Interview:
Ecosystems need all levels: Infrastructure alone isn’t enough. It requires programs, community, and capital – everything together makes a functioning startup ecosystem.
Mittelstand + Startups = Power: In Baden-Württemberg, the connection between established mid-sized companies and young startups is a real competitive advantage.
Early investments build trust: Those who support startups through programs can invest earlier than traditional VCs – because they really know the teams.
Learnings for Founders:
Use local ecosystems: Campus Founders offers programs, scholarships, and investments. Such resources exist in many regions – you just have to use them.
Network beats location: Heilbronn isn’t Berlin, but the network of Mittelstand, investors, and startups makes the location valuable.
Events are door openers: Slush’d provides contacts in one day that would otherwise take months. Presence at such events is worthwhile.
Scholarships as seed capital: Up to one year of founder scholarship can make the difference between a side project and a real startup.
Join the community: Campus Founders has an active Slack channel. Such communities keep you informed and open doors.
Think bigger than your region: Oliver came from Silicon Valley because he believes Heilbronn can become relevant beyond German borders. This ambition is needed.
Happy Bootstrapping is a German podcast where I interview bootstrapped founders, indie hackers, and solopreneurs about their startup journeys.
Over the years, I’ve connected with many successful entrepreneurs who have built e-commerce shops, SaaS platforms, mobile apps, content businesses, or hybrid models.
Furthermore I am a bootstrapper myself and growing my DevOps-as-a-Sercice and Web Operations Company “We Manage”.