Company: Stadtgemüse UG (limited liability)

Founder: Thorsten Schmidt

Date of foundation: September 9, 2020

Industry and company: Cleantech & Agritech

What drives you? What is your motto?

Big changes start with a small root.

What is your start-up about and what is special about it?

Carrots without soil, peanuts without digging - with Stadtgemüse®, tubers and deep-rooted plants grow hydroponically for the first time! Thanks to the smart use of heat and a growing medium that is not disposed of or recycled, but simply cleaned, vegetable growers save valuable resources. In this way, they reduce tons of disposable waste - and only let their vegetables grow.

What are your initial successes?

Funded by the city of Wiesbaden, supported by the state of Hesse and networked with plant cultivation professionals - Stadtgemüse® is growing at all levels! The first pilot projects and our proof of concept are convincing. And 3rd place in the F.A.Z. Impact Startup Award 2025 shows that we can also hold our own against well-funded startups.

What is your professional background?

From wood as a material to the science of plant growth - my path was anything but straightforward. I worked as a carpenter for over 20 years, then did my A-levels and studied biology.

Back into employment? No, thank you! A part-time job as a gardener led me to aquaponics - my gateway drug to hydroponics. The rest? (Founding) history.

What prompted you to set up your own company?

Environmental protection had been on my mind for a long time, but it was only during my studies that it took on a concrete form. When my sister-in-law asked me if I could implement an aquaponics project with her primary school class, I was looking for a child-friendly, sustainable solution for the hydroponics part. I tinkered around, developed an initial growing medium - and recognized the potential. The school project fell victim to corona, but the idea stayed with me. I continued to optimize the system until it became a real innovation. And then I knew: now is the time to change agriculture with Stadtgemüse®.

Who advised you, who are your helpers and mentors?

Founding a start-up without the right environment is difficult. My wife Vera is my best medium for growth. With Heimathafen, I have found the perfect growing station for my idea here in Wiesbaden and with Michaela, who has been actively supporting Stadtgemüse® since last year, things are really green. Last but not least, the business development agency. They make a real effort and make life easier for founders.

How did you experience your first days as a founder?

Founding in the Corona era? It was like hydroponics without water - the essentials were simply missing. Online applications were still in their infancy and you needed a fax machine. Video conferencing was still a mess, and valuable information wasn't available over coffee, it wasn't available at all. Today, we take all this for granted - back then, it felt like flying blind through a thicket of bureaucracy.

What was your biggest challenge and how did you overcome it?

Finding a suitable test greenhouse for the proof of concept was a real test of patience. It had to be nearby, but suitable areas were in short supply. After countless setbacks and an almost desperate search, the Department of Economics and Employment finally helped - and in the end it worked out.

How do you draw attention to your company? What is your best marketing idea?

We are still in the process of making Stadtgemüse® known - with a lot of persuasion and a clear goal: to get people excited about sustainable agriculture without soil. Trade fairs, networks and direct discussions are our best fertilizer for visibility. Because if you want to plant the future, you have to sow it first.

How did you finance your start-up?

Stadtgemüse® has so far been financed with equity and public funding. Now that the project is growing, banks and investment companies are also coming into play. Now we don't just need good nutrients - we need financial watering cans.

What dream would you still like to realize?

A world in which enough food grows everywhere - grown smartly and sustainably, naturally with Stadtgemüse® technology

Please complete the following sentence: If I had more time, I would ...

...sprout new ideas - and do more sport again.

What is your special tip: What would you recommend to founders?

Not everything grows immediately - but with patience and persistence it works.