01 to 03 December 2025:
Quantum Business Bootcamp: From Quantum Networks to Your Own Company in Bad Honnef –
From 01 to 03 December 2025, a workshop on founding a company will take place at the Physikzentrum Bad Honnef (PBH). The workshop entitled “Quantum Business Bootcamp: From Quantum Networks to Your Own Business” is aimed at master’s students, doctoral candidates and postdocs from the technical and scientific field who would like to know how to develop a viable business model from a scientific idea – and which steps to consider on the way from research project to your own start-up. Topics covered include starting a business in the natural sciences, patents and intellectual property, experience reports, as well as funding and financial support.
Due to the high number of English-speaking participants, the workshop will be held in English, with the exception of the legal topics. Registration can be completed directly via the link below. It is open until 17 November 2025, 10:00 a.m.
The preliminary workshop agenda can be downloaded here.
Venue:
Physikzentrum Bad Honnef (PBH)
Hauptstraße 5
53604 Bad Honnef
About the Speakers
Imran Khan (KEEQuant GmbH)
Imran Khan is the Managing Director of the KEEQuant GmbH, which acts as a one-stop shop for Quantum Key Distribution (QKD), Key Management Systems (KMS), and hybridized Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) solutions. He studied Quantum Physics and spent over a decade at the Max-Planck-Institut für die Physik des Lichts (MPL) in Erlangen leading to numerous scientific publications and a leading role in German and European projects like OPENQKD, CiViQ, QCI4EU, SEQRET, and QuNET. Imran Khan is also active in various standardization committees and is a co-founder of Deutscher Industrieverbund für Quantensicherheit (DIVQSec), where he currently serves as one of its two spokespeople.
Linus Krieg (Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt)
Linus Krieg is a physicist and completed his doctorate at Technische Universität Braunschweig. He has been part of the Quantum Technology Competence Centre (QTZ) at the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) since 2023. His area of responsibility includes coordinating the BMFTR-funded umbrella project for Quantum Communication in Germany (Schirmprojekt Quantenkommunikation Deutschland, SQuaD), a joint project consisting of nine partners covering the entire innovation chain of Quantum Communication. SQuaD aims to strengthen the Quantum Communication Ecosystem in Germany. Areas of work include testbeds, standardization, networking meetings, technology transfer, and training.
Tilmann Lahann (Rechtsanwaltskanzlei Müller, Altmeyer & Partner, Rechtsanwälte, PartGmbH)
Tilmann Lahann of Tax & Legal Digital is a partner at the law firm Lahann, Pikolleck & Partner. He is an attorney and a certified specialist in commercial and corporate law. His main areas of expertise include advising universities, research institutions, start-ups, and investors on technology transfer and corporate law. For many years, he has been supporting deep-tech start-ups across Germany through all stages – from founding and financing rounds to exit. He is also a network partner at www.digitale-gruendung.de.
Martin Sommerfeldt (MS Beteiligungs- und Vermögensverwaltungs-GmbH)
Martin Sommerfeldt comes from the banking sector and has held various leadership positions at major German banks as well as regional financial institutions. Most of his career was spent in corporate banking management, but he also held leadership roles in retail banking, branch operations, and risk and credit management. He continues to advise medium-sized companies and has been active in the start-up ecosystem as an accredited business angel since 2019. His particular focus areas include FinTech, DeFi, Web3, blockchain technology, AI, VR, energy, biochemistry, and, most recently, Quantum Technology.
Christian Zimmermann (neQxt GmbH)
Christian Zimmermann studied Nanostructure Engineering at the Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg and subsequently completed an industrial PhD in Physics on semiconductor lasers at nanoplus Nanosystems and Technologies GmbH, where he also led process optimization and product development. He then worked at the global corporation Novartis/Alcon, where he was responsible for high-precision optical and mechanical mold making, related metrology, and logistics worldwide. As co-founder and COO of neQxt GmbH, he is now responsible not only for the business side (processes, structures, project management, facility planning, cash flow, etc.) but also for photonics.
