Last week the Frankfurt School Entrepreneurship Centre (FSEC) hosted an impressive Demo Day, bringing together over 400 participants, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders. This highly anticipated event served as a vibrant celebration of innovation and entrepreneurship, providing a dynamic platform for startups to showcase their groundbreaking ideas to a room full of investors, professionals from the German startup ecosystem.

Thanks to the generous support of the Frankfurt School Foundation, this year’s Demo Day featured a €50,000 prize for the winning startups, further fueling their journey toward success. From inspiring keynote speeches to the electrifying startup pitches, Demo Day 2025 was packed with moments that highlighted the creative energy and entrepreneurial spirit that continue to thrive within the Frankfurt School community. “It was a great event and impressive line-up of startup pitches” commented one of the jury members.

Let’s take a closer look at the standout startups that captured the spotlight.

READO (Seed) – Social Network
The winner of the night, READO – All about books is a community-driven platform for book lovers, allowing users to share reviews, participate in discussions, and track their reading. With 65,000 reviews per month and €40K in MRR, READO is expanding internationally and seeking investors to fuel its growth. Founder Jonathan Mondorf accepted the prize money EUR 30.000 cheque on behalf of his team. They were also the crowd’s favourite.

Watt Wise (Pre-Seed) – Energy / SaaS
The runners-up Katharina Porenta & Florian Christian Prasky from wattwise received a EUR 20.000 cheque. The startup automates operations for private energy hubs, helping them save time and money. Currently working with 20+ hubs and 600+ households, the startup is expanding its reach and raising a pre-seed round to scale operations and monetize energy data across Europe.

Zephior AI (Pre-Seed) – AI, Enterprise Software
Zephior is an AI-powered platform that automates RFP completion for financial institutions, saving time and maintaining data privacy. Built on Swiss-hosted open-source software, it reduces days of manual work to minutes. Currently working with Swiss banks and FinTech leaders, Zephior is launching with design partners in Q1 2025 and engaging with strategic partners for early access.

CrisisFit (Seed) – RegTech
CrisisFit helps SMEs comply with EU crisis management regulations through a scalable, tech-driven automation platform. The MVP is ready, with initial revenues generated. The platform reduces customer costs by up to 85% and eliminates the need for specialist hires. CrisisFit is raising funds to expand its client base and infrastructure.

ENVIOTECH (Pre-Seed) – GreenTech
ENVIOTECH creates upgrade kits for streetlights, enabling up to 70% energy savings through motion-based dimming. They’re planning pilot projects with municipalities like Eschborn and are raising €250K to scale production and expand sustainable lighting solutions.

Alpenwuff (Seed) – Pet Food
Alpenwuff provides personalized dog food subscription services, ensuring better nutrition for pets. With an ARR growth plan to €1M, the startup is scaling operations and expanding its product offerings, aiming to continue growth and attract new customers.