It was one of the initial decisions taken by the newly elected Chemnitz city council, the Chemnitz University of Technology and the Chamber of Commerce: in the autumn of 1990, the construction of a technology and business start-up centre in Chemnitz was given the go-ahead. The technology and business start-up centres in south-west Saxony were some of the first visible signs of development, of hope and trust in personal power, all critical factors in a situation of fundamental structural change taking place in businesses, higher education and research institutes.
Young, technology-oriented companies are vital to the creation of a productive, innovation-oriented economy. They energise the regional industry with their new products and entrepreneurial ideas, focusing on both nationwide and international markets and thus constitute an important factor in fostering export-oriented small and medium-sized businesses. These companies create jobs for highly qualified workers, who are sought after and headhunted at an ever increasing rate all over the world. This alone is more than good reason to support the founding of new businesses and spin-off companies.
At the same time however, setting up a technology business is a highly complex undertaking involving a particularly high amount of risk. The often large investment required to found a technology company, the transformation of research results into saleable products and the linking of development and production are just three of the challenges faced by management. These challenges call for committed entrepreneurs who are prepared to take a leap of faith, as well as a supportive environment.