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How can I get EXIST funding for my startup idea?

EXIST can fund up to 12 months of living costs, materials and coaching while you build your startup. Find out who is eligible, how Tomorrow University supports your application, and how to register your interest.

What is EXIST?

The EXIST Startup Grant (EXIST-Gründungsstipendium) is Germany's federal start-up grant for university founders. It funds you for 12 months while you turn an innovative idea into a business plan and a working product or service, before you found a company. Tomorrow University is a registered sponsoring university, so we can submit an application on your behalf.

Official programme page: exist.de: EXIST Startup Grant

What the grant covers

  • Personal stipend, per team member per month, based on each person's own qualification: €3,000 (PhD), €2,500 (university graduate), €2,000 (vocational qualification), €1,000 (student).
  • Child allowance: €150 per child per month.
  • Material costs: up to €30,000 for a team (up to €10,000 for a single founder). This covers things the project itself needs, such as prototyping equipment, not general items like laptops.
  • Coaching budget: €5,000 for a business coach or mentor of your choice.
  • Access to Tomorrow University's support during the funding period.

The stipend is a grant, not a salary, and does not have to be repaid. Whether you count as a student or a graduate depends on whether you already hold a bachelor's degree. For example, if you have a bachelor's and are now doing a master's with us, you are paid at the graduate rate.

Who is eligible

You (the applicant with the Tomorrow University connection) must be one of the following:

  • A current Tomorrow University learner who has completed at least half of your degree, which we measure as half of the ECTS required for your programme.
  • A Tomorrow University graduate within 5 years of graduating.

Your team must meet these rules:

  • 1 to 3 people. Single founders are now allowed, but applications with at least two people have noticeably better chances.
  • At least one member holds a university degree.
  • No more than one current student in the team.
  • No more than one member whose highest qualification is vocational, or whose degree is more than 5 years old.
  • Other team members do not need to be Tomorrow University learners or alumni.

Your company: must not be founded before the funding period starts. You may found it during the 12 months, but you don't have to. If your company is already founded and trading, you are not eligible.

What kind of idea qualifies

  • It must be innovative, with a clear unique selling point, and rooted in knowledge from your studies or research.
  • It does not have to be a technology innovation. Social entrepreneurship and ecological sustainability ideas are welcome.
  • Usually not eligible: improving a product that already exists, combining existing products where the combination itself isn't new, standard service businesses, or ideas without scientific or data grounding.

Full-time commitment

EXIST expects the project to be your main activity during the 12 months. Teams where everyone works on it part-time are unlikely to be funded, and a single applicant who is still studying will very likely be rejected. If you are only a few months from graduating, it usually makes sense to finish your degree and then apply. Preparing a strong application takes about that long anyway.

Location and language

  • You do not need to live in Germany to apply, and fully remote teams are fine.
  • Applications can now be submitted in English. Feedback from the funding body is given in German, and we help you with it.

Check yourself first: the official EXIST eligibility check takes a few minutes and shows what you already have and what is missing.

How Tomorrow University supports you

  • Triage: the VP Research reviews your registration and checks your eligibility.
  • EXIST advisor: our EXIST advisor works with you on the substance of the application: business idea, 12-month work plan and budget.
  • Academic supervisor: we assign one for you. You don't need to find a supervisor yourself.
  • Submission and administration: applications are submitted by the university, not by founders directly. We submit for you and handle the administration if you are funded.
  • Venturing Lab and thesis: you can develop your EXIST application alongside your Venturing Lab or thesis work.

How to apply

Step 1: Register your interest using this form.

→ Register your interest in EXIST

The form takes about 10 minutes. It asks about your connection to Tomorrow University, your team, whether a company has already been founded, and a short description of the problem, your solution and what makes it innovative. It doesn't need to be polished.

What happens next

  1. Triage, within 5 working days. We review your submission and check your eligibility.
  2. Booking link. If your project passes triage, you receive an email with a link to book a 30-minute consultation with our EXIST advisor. If it isn't a fit, we'll tell you why.
  3. Consultation with the EXIST advisor. Together you look at the feasibility of your project in more detail and agree on next steps.
  4. Preparing the application. You work with the advisor on your business idea, 12-month work plan and budget, and we assign your academic supervisor.
  5. Submission. Tomorrow University submits the application. There is no deadline, so we submit when it is ready.
  6. Decision. Expect first feedback about 4 weeks after submission. A revision request is the normal outcome at this stage, not a rejection. Plan on roughly 6 months from submission to the first payment.

Prepare for your consultation

Before you meet the EXIST advisor, have a short draft of:

  1. The problem and your solution
  2. What is innovative about it
  3. Your unique selling point (USP)
  4. Your team's background and expertise
  5. A first idea of your 12-month plan

Good to know

  • If you are rejected, you can reapply with a different project, but not with substantially the same one.
  • EXIST offers no follow-on funding after the 12 months. Plan early for how the business will be financed afterwards, for example through accelerators, investors or other programmes.
  • The university also receives funding if an application succeeds. This is not deducted from your stipend.
  • Tomorrow University is applying to EXIST for the first time this year, so you are among our first teams, and we will learn the process together.

Useful links

Questions? Contact Prof. Dr. Jonathan Costa, VP Research, at jonathan@tomorrow.university.