„Introduction to Business Start-ups“ &
„Business Model Developement“
Seminar on creating a business plan
Welcome to the seminars „Introduction to Business Start-ups / Business Plan“ (Bachelor’s) and „Business Model Development: Idea, Concept, Value Proposition, Market“ (Master’s) at the European University Viadrina.
In this course, you will learn how to create a business plan. The seminar combines online self-study phases with interactive elements and occasional in-person sessions. This allows you a largely flexible schedule. Please note that two mandatory workshops (one of which will be held in person in Frankfurt/Oder) will take place in cooperation with the Viadrina Entrepreneurship Center.
In this online area, you will now find learning materials, explanatory videos, and templates. Please work through the content carefully and review everything thoroughly. You will find all the information you need on these pages.
We offer a WhatsApp group throughout the semester (link below) as well as a weekly open online Q&A session (participation is optional; see „Schedule“ for details).
This course is based on the content of the Berlin/Brandenburg Business Plan Competition (BPW). You will find a wealth of resources in the download area there. In particular, you will find the BPW Handbook (German) and the BPW Handbook (English).
Please ensure that you follow the structure of the BPW when developing your business idea.
Important: The BPW (Business Plan Competition Berlin/Brandenburg) is—as the name suggests—a competition. It proceeds in three consecutive phases. Participants in this competition, organized by the state of Berlin/Brandenburg, submit all documents for „Phase 1“ in November. For the submission deadline in February, the document is expanded to include „Phase 2,“ and a complete business plan is expected by the submission deadline in May. This procedure applies only to participation in the Berlin/Brandenburg Business Plan Competition.
In our seminar, you must work directly on all three phases and develop all chapters. For the final presentation and the submission of your business plan at the end of the semester, we expect a complete business plan containing all chapters. Please do not divide your business plan according to the phases mentioned in the BPW.
Here is an overview of the other content of this seminar:
Kick-off webinar (recording)
The recording of the kick-off webinar from April 21, 2026 can be found here:
Accompaniment
You can ask us any questions that arise while watching the videos or regarding the writing of the business plan at any time via email (sandy.bittner@benjamin-michels.de) or you can participate in one of the open online Q&A sessions.
In addition, we offer a companion WhatsApp group where questions can also be asked:
https://chat.whatsapp.com/LFjwTa7ke0bBRj79y01j68
Please be sure to join the WhatsApp group, as we will use it to announce things like the dates for the final presentation.