Embrace the Spin-Off Spirit! LIST Ventures Demystifies Entrepreneurship & Spin-Off Creation

From the very first moments, Jurgen Joossens, Deputy CEO of LIST, captured the spirit of the day in his opening speech: "Today, we really embraced the spin-off spirit! The stories shared show that ambitious ideas can become start-ups that make a real difference." He also emphasized the institute’s commitment to fostering innovation: “By building a strong spin-off and start-up community, we strengthen our entrepreneurial capacity and accelerate the transformation of scientific discoveries into real-world applications”. A collective ambition that resonated throughout the day, fueling inspiring conversations.

Alex Godlewski, Head of Ventures, explained how LIST Ventures supports the journey from lab discoveries to market-ready solutions, highlighting both internal and external support mechanisms for entrepreneurial projects.

The event demonstrated how everyone can adopt an entrepreneurial mindset and create a spin-off made in LIST through:

• passionate spin-off stories born in our labs with past and future founders reflecting on their journey (Fabrice Berroir, Barnik Mandal, Loise Wandera, German Castignani)
• inspiring masterclasses from our venture network – entrepreneurs, incubators, investors – sharing insights to aspiring technical founders on their road from lab to market (Marc Jacobs, Sébastien Wiertz, Jérôme Wittamer)
• first time pitches from our latest spin-off cases currently under development (TwiSCO, Delve, Motio, Spectrum, Peptidata)
• networking with our venture ecosystem shaping together with us the future of deep tech

What made this day unique was the mobilisation of the entire start-up ecosystem. Alongside LIST Ventures, key players from the Luxembourg venture scene: PULSE (Mikael Da Silva), House of Startups (Philipp Linster), Technoport (Diego De Biasio), Baker Tilly (Michael Duval), ILA (Diane Tea), and LBAN (Michel Rzonzef). A presence that illustrates that innovation is never built alone.

Beyond the programme content, it was the enthousiasm in the room that left a lasting impression — the quality of the questions asked, the curiosity of those who might, one day, take the leap themselves. By showcasing spin-off cases at various stages of maturity, sharing first-hand founder stories, and investor feebacks, this event demonstrated that an entrepreneurial mindset can — and should — be part of every researcher's daily work.