innosabi and the Technische Universität München (TUM) have always been closely connected. All four founders were once students at this prestigious institution, which not only gave them a world-class education, but also vital support and guidance when founding the company. Even as an internationally recognized leader in its field, innosabi has always stayed true to its roots and maintained close ties with the TUM ecosystem. Over the years, in many guest lectures and mentoring programs, the innosabi team tried to pass on their first-hand lessons to TUM students and the next generation of entrepreneurs. In this history of fruitful knowledge exchange, we have now reached another exciting and significant milestone: The TUM School of Management is writing a case study about innosabi and its most recent history, with a focus on its evolution to become Questel’s dedicated innovation portfolio and business unit.
After a previous case study about innosabi and its path to becoming a SaaS business, this will be already the second case study written by TUM about important phases in the company’s history. With teaching cases like these, TUM professors and researchers pick relevant, real-life scenarios and shape them into problems to be solved and discussed by students in dedicated courses.
Prof. Dr. Oliver Alexy, Professor of Innovation and Organization Design at TUM, will write the case study together with his colleague Nicole Beaven. To him, it is now just about presenting a real-world example to his students. It is also about connecting students – and potential future entrepreneurs – with the greater TUM ecosystem:
„innosabi is a great example for the entrepreneurial spirit and mindset of the TUM ecosystem. It’s amazing to see success stories like theirs unfold and thrive, knowing that all four founders were once students here. But we don’t just want to watch – we want to stay connected and collaborate with these companies! They are an invaluable source of information for our own research and offer many first-hand lessons for the next generation of entrepreneurs and business professionals. That’s why we are working with innosabi to turn some of the defining decisions in their journey into teachable case studies for our courses. Soon, our students will discuss and try to solve exactly the same challenges that innosabi was facing just a couple of months ago.“
Catharina van Delden, co-founder of innosabi, is certain that the ecosystem of TUM and its focus on fostering entrepreneurial talent has helped to kickstart innosabi’s success story:
„innosabi surely wouldn’t be where it is today without the Technische Universität München. Not just because us four founders met there as students, but more importantly because of the amazing network and support it provided us as young entrepreneurs. We’ve always stayed in close contact over the years and love every opportunity to share some of our experiences with future entrepreneurs and leaders. The whole ecosystem of TUM and its close ties to innovative companies and startups makes it so exceptional – that’s why it’s a great honor to for us to contribute to the curriculum with yet another case study about innosabi’s expansion and evolution.“
The teaching case study will be drafted, tested, and refined throughout the upcoming semester. We are looking forward to seeing the final result and sharing it with you as soon as possible. And as always: We are very proud to be part of the TUM ecosystem and appreciate the chance to share some of our experiences with the next generation of innovators!