New ETA program: This is how you can now acquire medium-sized companies
Want to learn how to be a boss? Want to join a company – right at the top? In Munich, they teach people how to do just that. At the newly established ETA Hub of UnternehmerTUM .
ETA stands for Entrepreneurship through Acquisition, an approach in which individuals (or teams) seek out, acquire, and then manage an existing company themselves.
And how to do that, how to buy an existing company and then lead it – hopefully – into a better future, is what aspiring bosses of medium-sized businesses who want to skip the traditional founding process learn at the ETA Hub, through various learning formats and networks. And more than that: UnternehmerTUM also connects people they believe have the potential to lead a company with businesses with open succession plans and investors looking to acquire them.
The Munich-based startup center UnternehmerTUM is renowned and admired far beyond the borders of the Bavarian capital. With over 100 startups founded annually, it is the largest startup center in Europe. Entrepreneur Susanne Klatten initiated the hub in 2002. Closely linked to the Technical University of Munich (TU Munich), UnternehmerTUM has fostered the growth of companies such as Isar Aerospace, Flix, Quantum Diamonds, Fernride, and Pro Glove.
Since its founding, UnternehmerTUM has supported around 1,000 startups. The hub now also includes a maker space and a VC fund, UnternehmerTUM Venture Capital Partners.
The Bits and Pretzels conference made it clear to him once again just how relevant the topic is. He was approached numerous times by people interested in taking over a company, Christian Mohr, Chief Customer Officer of UnternehmerTUM and co-initiator of the new ETA Hub, told Gründerszene. They had organized two masterclasses on the topic of business succession – both completely full. And around 100 people attended the ETA Dinner.
We wanted to know from Mohr what aspiring bosses can learn in the ETA program.
Startup Scene: With UnternehmerTUM, you actually support "real" founders, meaning those who create and grow their own startups. Why did you launch the ETA Hub, a program for so-called searchers?
Christian Mohr: This step is strategic: Since our founding, our goal has been to empower the next generation of entrepreneurs. It's true that we are strong in the startup sector. But we've also been working with established companies and medium-sized businesses for over ten years. And that inevitably leads to the question of succession. Up to now, we've developed programs for internal successors – now we're also addressing the issue of external succession. Because of demographic change, there are simply too few internal successors to fill the gap.
What skills and qualifications are required for the ETA program? Is prior work experience necessary?
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