#11 Nurturing Unicorns: How WHU Business School prepared the road for their six alumni-founded companies with $1bn+ valuations

A while back, WHU Business School earned recognition as one of Europe’s top "unicorn universities," a title that reflects its track record of producing successful entrepreneurs. 

With campuses in Vallendar and Düsseldorf, Germany, WHU boasts an impressive list of alumni, including founders of high-growth companies like Forto, FlixBus, and SumUp. In addition to six alumni-founded companies with $1 billion+ valuations, nine other startups led by WHU graduates are on track for future unicorn status.

In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Dries Faems, Chair of Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Technological Transformation at WHU Business School. Dr. Faems delves into the pivotal role that alumni networks play in fostering entrepreneurial success and sheds light on WHU’s strategic efforts to cultivate and support innovative minds.

Main topics covered:

• Effectiveness of the lean startup approach
• Essentiality of resilience and analytical skills in the entrepreneurial journey
• Insights into the current economic challenges faced by startups. 

Tune in as Dries shares valuable lessons on learning from failure and sets realistic expectations for aspiring entrepreneurs.

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