Promoting entrepreneurship at universities is an essential part of the modern educational landscape. Although FHNW already has many initiatives in place, it lacks a comprehensive strategy for the targeted support, funding, and labelling of startups. The School of Business recognised the need to explore the implementation of startup financing and label initiatives at FHNW. This effort may allow students to foster their entrepreneurial spirit and may contribute to the broader entrepreneurial ecosystem in Switzerland.

Primary and secondary data were collected using a combination of techniques, such as literature reviews, semi-structured expert interviews, and online questionnaires. This work summarised best practices from other universities, analysed current offerings from the School of Business FHNW, and evaluated its strengths and weaknesses. Eight semi-structured expert interviews with universities, entrepreneur,s and financial institutions were conducted. The research also surveyed 90 students and 30 alumni of FHNW to assess their willingness to invest in FHNW startups through crowdinvesting.

The study suggests that FHNW can enhance its startup ecosystem by establishing a central innovation hub with dedicated employees to support startups in different areas. The alumni community can also be involved as mentors, providing valuable advice and networking activities. Moreover, the university should focus on developing its reputation as an innovation-friendly institution through successful case studies and strong public-private partnerships before creating its own spin-off label. A spin-off label and the inherent affiliation with a respected university can signal commercial potential and may boost the reputation of a startup. However, it might not be as effective for universities of applied sciences or for ventures with less highly technological solutions. Therefore, a "Powered by FHNW" label is proposed as an alternative. The label could serve as a quality mark, indicating support and endorsement from FHNW without imposing too many strings on young businesses. Lastly, financing for startups should be secured through strong ties with the private sector, regional partnerships, or crowdinvesting initiatives.