For everyone facing their next step
Not just any next step. Yours.
For many capable, motivated people, the next step feels wrong. A “normal” job or going it alone as a freelancer may not be what you want to do until you retire. You are looking for work that truly fulfils you. Perhaps founding a company in the right team is exactly that – find out.
7 questions · about 3 minutes · instant result
Find out what suits you →
6
different profiles
0 €
cost – the quiz is completely free
300+
active start-ups in the NEXT Mannheim network
TEAMUP · a programme by innovating.work
Founding is not for everyone – but maybe for you.
Many people believe they are not cut out to found a company. But they are asking the wrong question. It is not you alone who should found, but you together, as a team. To find out whether founding could suit you and which team you need, we created TEAMUP – in partnership with NEXT MANNHEIM. We start with you.
[OPEN: TEAMUP currently runs in German. Add a note for English-speaking visitors?]
People before ideas. Values before growth. Together, not alone.
Our approach
Not: What is your idea? But: Who are you as a person?
Of course, founding is about building successful companies. That is why most start-up advice begins with the business idea. Yet most start-ups fail because of the team. So we start with you – because whether entrepreneurship suits you depends on who you have become along your path so far.
We start with one question: What work environment do you need to unfold your full potential? The answer later leads you to people who suit you – and perhaps to a solution we urgently need today.
The classic way in
What is your business idea?
How big is your market?
How fast can you grow?
When is the exit?
Our way in
→ What gives you energy at work?
→ In which role are you strongest?
→ Which problem matters so much to you that you want to solve it?
→ Who fits with you in a team to do this?
Six ways people create something new – one of them is yours.
Our quiz is based on six innovation paradigms: characteristic patterns of how people work, think and shape teams. The result does not show you what you should become – but who you already are.
Mystic
You trust where others doubt. At the center of its attention is trust.
Power
You protect what follows you. At the center of its attention is protection.
Process
With you, theory becomes practice. At the center of its attention is predictability.
Goal
You hit what others only aim at. At the center of its attention is success.
Values
Your compass lies within you — not in an external directive. At the center of its attention is commitment.
Vision
You see what others don't yet see. At the center of its attention is exploring the unseen.
What we offer
How it works – step by step.
Just you, seven unusual questions and a result meant to show you new options. You take the step that comes next for you.
01
The quiz
About 3 minutes · free
Answer 7 questions. No wrong answers.
You answer seven questions about how you work and think, with no obligation. At the end you know which of the six paradigms suits you – and what that means for your future work. You receive the result as a PDF.
02
The Journey
Understand what is in you
Your appointment right after the quiz.
In the TEAMUP Journey pilot, a two-day workshop over three sessions (half day / full day / half day), you find out, without obligation, what your quiz result means for you and which work environment gives you energy. We also clarify what to look out for in your next step – whether founding or a new job.
03
The Matching
Optional · your further path
Meet the right people for your journey.
Over three days you meet people who, like you, are searching. Together you clarify expectations and ground rules for working together – and find a topic worth getting up for in the morning.
04
ATELIER
From 2028
Looking ahead.
Not open yet. More as soon as it is.
Each step stands on its own. You don't have to take them all.
“In a way, [participating] felt a little like ‘coming home.’ Before I started it, I felt like my life was running me instead of me it. I had this nagging feeling like I had somehow gotten off track and needed to re-trace my steps. I felt ashamed about not being satisfied with my work and personal life since I had all the things that fit in to the conventional definition of success.”
Christine S., Stuttgart
The next step – for you
How do you find the work that makes your eyes light up?
This question has occupied the TEAMUP team for many years. Most people have not found it yet. If you want your eyes to light up, the quiz is the next concrete step.
Take the free quiz now →
Get involved
You can contribute something? Then join us.
Knowledge holders
You know a field well and pass on what you know.
Multipliers
You reach people who need something like this, and bring it to them.
Sponsors and investors later
Once the steps are in place, we will talk about it.
Want to found a company yourself? Then start with the quiz.
About us
Two founders, one purpose.
Photo to follow
Julia
Co-founder
[Placeholder: short introduction to follow]
Photo to follow
Steffen
Co-founder
[Placeholder: short introduction to follow]
And what research says about it.
[Placeholder: the science goes here. Julia's studies, in two or three sentences and with a source.]
Maybe it is not about the next job, but about work that fulfils you.
Start with yourself. The quiz takes about 3 minutes – and gives you a view of yourself that few people ever get.
TEAMUP is a programme by innovating.work, in partnership with NEXT MANNHEIM, the start-up centres of the City of Mannheim.
Take the free quiz now →