Funded Founder Program
Twelve weeks from voucher to launch.
One coach, start to finish. From the first customer conversation to the day you launch, with the paperwork done on the way, and a finished result after every module.
- Format
- 1:1 · live online · in English or German
- Hours
- Set by the Arbeitsagentur on your voucher · How many to ask for →
- Rhythm
- Sessions on at least two days a week
- First result
- Within 24 hours of the Fit Call: your hours and the sentence for your caseworker, in writing
- Cost
- Nothing. The Arbeitsagentur pays the certified partner provider directly.
- Coach
- Alexander Hecking, founder coach
What we work on
Nine modules, a finished result after each.
In the order they happen: the business plan needs the numbers, the viability statement needs the plan, the grant must be applied for before you start. How much time each module gets follows your voucher and your situation.
Kick-off and roadmap. Goals, your start date planned backwards, the 150-day calculation, the permit questions collected. You take away: a personal twelve-week roadmap with your deadlines
Validation with real customers. Target customer, interview guide, ten conversations between the sessions, evaluation. You take away: a validation record with quotes and willingness to pay
Business model and pricing. Offer, positioning, price logic, competition. You take away: a one-page offer with a price, and a first real offer sent
Financial plan. Profitability, liquidity, capital need, cost of living, health insurance, the grant included. You take away: a finished financial model that holds up in the review
Business plan. Written for the expert body that issues the Tragfähigkeitsbescheinigungthe viability statement for the grant application, structured and reviewed. You take away: a submission-ready business plan
Gründungszuschussthe start-up grant: your benefit plus €300 a month while you launch and the agency. The application prepared, the documents, the caseworker conversation rehearsed. You take away: a complete application, filed before your start date
Admin set-up. Tax registration, health insurance, invoicing, voluntary unemployment insurance; the questions for a lawyer, a tax adviser, the Ausländerbehörde. You take away: the admin checklist ticked, and a question list for the experts
90-day launch plan. Channels, acquisition routine, weekly targets. You take away: a 90-day plan with weekly numbers
Close and handover. Review, risks, next steps, the alumni circle. You take away: a closing document
What's included
Templates, scripts and a plan for the gap.
- Templates for the business plan and the financial model
- Preparation for the conversation with your caseworker, in plain English and in German
- The questions to clarify about your visa, with a referral to an immigration lawyer
- A survive-the-gap plan for the weeks while you wait for approval
How many hours to ask for
Ask for what your situation needs, and say why.
The Arbeitsagenturthe employment agency sets the number of units on each voucher. One unit, a Unterrichtseinheitteaching unit, is 45 minutes. There is no standard figure; vouchers for founder coaching often carry 40 to 60 units, sometimes more, sometimes less. Most people ask for too little or do not know what to say.
Your caseworker will ask you, and the partner provider, how many units you think you need. Answer four questions for a starting point and a sentence for that conversation. The Fit Call ends with a written recommendation and a one-paragraph justification for the provider's offer.
Your starting point
If your caseworker asks how many you need
· copied
The number on the partner provider's offer is the one the Arbeitsagentur works with. In the Fit Call we settle it together, so you and the offer say the same thing.
A starting point, not a promise. The Arbeitsagentur decides the hours on your voucher. In the Fit Call we check the number with you.
Guarantee
Capacity, and after the program
Two founders a month, and a circle afterwards.
From Alex
I take on at most two new founders a month. Twelve weeks of real attention do not scale.
After the program you join the alumni circle, which is free. If you want someone to hold you to your plan, monthly accountability sessions are an optional paid extra: the model I used myself after my own grant.
How this is funded
The Arbeitsagentur pays. You pay nothing.
The Arbeitsagentur pays an AZAV-certified partner provider directly through your voucher. You pay nothing, and nothing is for sale during the coaching. It is the unemployment insurance you paid into, used for what it is for.
After the program, monthly accountability sessions are an optional paid extra; nobody needs them to finish.
See if the program fits your situation.
A few questions, no email needed. You get one of three answers and the next step for each.