A first for the IBG Startup Fight Club 2026: two winners in the overall rankings
Start-up from the Harz region wins over the audience
- 16 participating founders, including three teams from the Harz region
- Harz-based company Fravia, which is developing a calendar planning app in sync with the menstrual cycle, wins the audience award
- Pitch competition attracts more than 220 spectators despite the rain
Wernigerode – On 4 June 2026 , there were two premieres in one go on the market square in Wernigerode: the IBG Startup Fight Club made its first appearance in the Harz town for its ninth edition and attracted more than 220 spectators, more than ever before. Tobias Kascha, Mayor of Wernigerode and patron of the event, opened the Fight Club: “Wernigerode as a stage for start-ups, that’s something we’ve never seen before. I’m delighted that the Fight Club took place on our market square this year and inspired founders. Wernigerode is a very attractive business location and needs fresh formats. I wish all the courageous entrepreneurs every success and good luck, both at the event and beyond.”
At the Fight Club, aspiring or established founders stepped into a boxing ring and, without any technical aids, presented their business ideas in a maximum of three minutes to a jury of investors and entrepreneurs. Ywes Israel, founder of the Startup Fight Club, said: “By setting up a boxing ring in the heart of the city, we take the teams out of their comfort zone and straight into reality. And a competition held in unusual locations is a major draw.”
Following the preliminary round, in which 16 teams from across Germany – and, for the first time, a block of English pitches – competed and presented their ideas, the top ten teams progressed to the main round. Two teams stood out in particular and shared first place with 187 points each: Evovell and Enerbeat GmbH. Whilst sisters Rima and Nora Ostkirchen are developing a digital pet record for pet owners with their HealthTech start-up Evovell, Sebastian Sieloff and the team from CleanTech Enerbeat GmbH are improving the energy efficiency of existing ventilation systems through a modular platform. Both winning teams are each looking forward to a five-day workshop boot camp on the island of Rügen.
The Harz-based company Fravia won the audience award with great commitment and verve. Jana Meyer, Hannah Höpfner and Lene Böttcher are students at Harz University of Applied Sciences and, with Fravia, have developed a calendar app that intelligently combines personal scheduling with individual cycles. Their idea clearly won over the audience.
Alongside the pitches in the ring, networking events and workshops took place. Participants were able, for example, to ask a venture capitalist their questions or consult a lawyer on start-up topics. Beyond the prizes, the Startup Fight Club is primarily about one thing: networking and exchange. The event in Wernigerode demonstrated this once again impressively, as Ywes Israel also notes: “Personal contacts, joint discussions, fair competition: the concept has once again proven its worth in Wernigerode. Despite the adverse weather conditions, the event’s guests stayed for a long time.”
Since its foundation as Startup Safari Halle in 2018, the Startup Fight Club has established itself as a permanent fixture in Saxony-Anhalt’s start-up ecosystem. In recent years, the events have taken place in Magdeburg, Bernburg, Halle and Dessau, among other locations, attracting start-ups, interested parties, investors and business representatives on each occasion. The aim of the Fight Club is to make the spirit of innovation in Saxony-Anhalt visible across the region and to strengthen the growing start-up scene. On 3 June 2027, the Startup Fight Club will be visiting Halle an der Saale.
About Startup Fight Club
The Startup Fight Club is the event for entrepreneurial spirit in Saxony-Anhalt. Since 2020, start-ups have been competing against each other in the boxing ring – with ideas, courage and perseverance. With over 1,450 guests, 76 participating teams and more than 185 sessions, the event has established itself nationally as a central platform for aspiring entrepreneurs and founders.
Organised by Ywes Israel and Thai Bao Hoang and closely coordinated with regional stakeholders and universities, the Fight Club combines substance with spectacle and puts founders in the spotlight. Further information at www.startup-fightclub.de
Press Contact:
Startup Fight Club
Lars Kitzmann
+49 178 788 29 61
