“Be bold — and encourage others to fail, too.”

Leonard Schenk is a Senior Analyst at SPRIND, Germany’s Federal Agency for Breakthrough Innovation - working right at the point where strong research can turn into real-world impact. Because between early scientific breakthroughs and a market-ready product, there is often a dangerous gap: technologies may be promising, but still too risky, too early, and too complex for many traditional funding and transfer mechanisms. This is the phase where it becomes clear whether an idea will turn into a company - or get stuck in the “valley of death.”

In the interview, Schenk explains why closing this gap takes more than money: it also requires more founder-friendly IP transfer models from universities, better conditions for start-ups and equity participation, and a culture that doesn’t punish risk and failure, but understands them as part of progress. At the RWTH Tech Impact Festival, he brings this perspective to the stage - with a simple message: Go for it. Ideas that are “crazy, but physically possible” shouldn’t stay hidden in the back of someone’s mind—they should make the leap into reality.

Photo: Schenk

The Federal Agency for Breakthrough Innovation SPRIND finances groundbreaking technologies and topics that have the potential to fundamentally improve our lives. That’s essentially what it says on SPRIND’s “cover blurb.” Why is SPRIND necessary—why don’t groundbreaking technologies and topics find their way to market and into our lives without support?

Many start-ups go through a so-called “Valley of Death.” That means: they’ve already moved beyond basic research, an area in which Germany and Europe are very strong. But they are still far from having a market-ready product, and the technological risk is high. At this stage, startups are often already too advanced for traditional research funding, but still too early for domestic venture capital investors, who are often less risk-tolerant than they claim to be. The result: the money runs out early, promising technologies are not further developed or migrate abroad. SPRIND supports founders early on with start-up assistance and brings private investors to the table to reduce the risk for everyone involved through joint co-investment.

In your view, what is needed for better transfer from science into business and society? It’s not just a question of money, is it?

No, money is important - especially in the very early phase and later during scaling up, for example for FOAK (first of a kind) facilities like the one by Black Semiconductor. But there are other crucial factors: entrepreneur-friendly IP transfer from universities and institutes - via virtual shares, for example - is essential. Promising spin-offs are often slowed down by complex, lengthy, and shortsighted contracts. That’s why SPRIND launched the IP Transfer 3.0 project, which brings best practices to research institutions. In addition, we need simpler paths to founding companies, better frameworks for employee equity programs, and a common European corporate form such as the EU-INC. And last but not least: a cultural shift. Scientists need to be willing to take more risks, our society needs to see failure as something positive, and our large corporations need to offer real exit opportunities for start-ups.

What disruptive innovations are you focusing on? In which areas does Germany have great potential that must be realized?

It’s hard to single out a favorite - we’re excited about the wildest, yet physically possible ideas from all fields. We see particularly great potential in the energy sector, for example in nuclear fusion and long-duration energy storage. Equally central is the topic of AI: here we’re focusing on more energy-efficient technologies in software and hardware, like those developed by Black Semiconductor. With our Next Frontier AI initiative, we are specifically looking for technologies that use true innovations to push the Pareto frontier of performance and efficiency forward and enable foundational models for relevant industries. We’re also looking into verticals like robotics, mechanical engineering, materials science, biotech. There is a strong industrial base there that needs these technologies to remain competitive.

The Tech Impact Festival states the goal of closing the innovation gap. What’s your SPRIND approach to this?

SPRIND closes the innovation gap by acting precisely where others don’t look: in the critical phase between research and the market. We identify promising early-stage start-ups, reduce the risk for private investors through co-investments, and thus create incentives for money and know-how to stay in Germany. For us, the festival is a platform to make these approaches visible and to encourage founders to take the leap.

What message are you bringing to Aachen, and what impulses do you hope to receive from the RWTH Tech Impact Festival?

Be bold! And encourage others to fail. My wish is to convince one person to finally tackle their crazy but brilliant idea that’s been sitting in a drawer.