On our tour of the Gründer-Institut, we come across an alpaca. At least this cute little animal greets us on the company's website and draws our attention to the fact that Di.Ri is no "ordinary" social media agency. Behind it is Richard Dihen, an "old hand" at the start-up institute. While studying for his Master's degree in International Business Law at the SRH University of Applied Sciences in Heidelberg, he and two fellow students were among the first people at the university to focus on the topic of start-ups and spend their compulsory internship on their "own project" at the Gründer-Institut. He also wrote his Master's thesis at a start-up financed by the Gründer-Institut.

His company Di.Ri Social Media has been based at the Gründer-Institut since 2017. "We are actually already part of the inventory," says Richard, whose agency with three employees supports 10-15 companies every month - from content strategy and implementation to basic support and the display of adverts. Photos and videos also go "over the counter" for customers. "Corona acted as a catalyst in our area," reports the 32-year-old. "Social media has become much more appreciated, and we have benefited greatly from this." But the environment is also ideal, says Richard: "Everyone at the Gründer-Institut supports everyone else and the start-ups receive outstanding support from the management team. It's a perfect ecosystem for us."