✨ What a journey! She STARTS brought together 15 young female founders from Krakow, Lviv, and Frankfurt to transform bold ideas into real business models, strengthen entrepreneurial skills, and build cross-border networks.
With a focus on sustainable innovation, entrepreneurship, and smart urban development, the program combined workshops, mentoring, and networking – supported by the city administrations of Krakow, Frankfurt, and Lviv, and funded by the German Federal Foreign Office and the German-Polish Youth Office (DPJW) as part of TRIYOU.
🎤 Pitch Day Highlights (September 26, VHS Frankfurt):
The energy was palpable as each founder pitched on stage, presenting her idea to an impressive jury.
The City of Frankfurt awarded a total of €5,000 in prize money to the two best pitches – congratulations to Polina Ziniukha and Paulina Kaczmarczyk!
Beyond the prizes, all participants gained new contacts, valuable feedback, and the confidence to perform on a professional stage.
🙏 A big thank you to all supporters and jury members: Department 5 of the City of Frankfurt, Eileen O’Sullivan, Ina Hauck, Kate Allegue-Haywood, Dr. Anna Stepanenko, Andreas Küppers, and Florian Justus for his excellent pitch training.
Special thanks also to Pia Honerath and her team Bettina Volz and Julie Cazenave for their commitment to inclusive entrepreneurship, and to Laura Paloma for the energetic moderation.
Further thanks go to Julia Żylina-Chudzik and Justyna Olszanska, who brought the energy from Krakow to Frankfurt ✨, and to Svitlana Lebedynska for the impressive video and photo documentation.
🚀 And of course, to Marion Käfer and the entire Kompass Frankfurt team – for their organization, passion, and international impact.
We are incredibly proud of all the female founders from Krakow, Lviv, and Frankfurt – your passion ❤️, creativity, and courage are the foundation for tomorrow’s impact businesses.
👉 Let’s continue to build this international startup ecosystem together!
Conclusion
She STARTS impressively demonstrates how city partnerships can act as a driver of innovation. The close cooperation between Kompass Frankfurt and the Department for International Affairs strengthens Frankfurt’s international appeal as an open, future-oriented startup location – and opens up new perspectives for female founders across national borders.
The program also serves as a blueprint for integrating other partner cities into similar exchange and empowerment formats in the future. In doing so, She STARTS lays the groundwork for a growing network of international female founders, which will solidify Frankfurt’s role as a hub for female entrepreneurship in Europe in the long term.
