Type of Project: Funded project Scientific Work
DeafExist

Goal: The goal of DeafExist is the development and implementation of a start-up college for people with hearing disabilities. While there are numerous offers for people without disabilities that support them in the preparation of business plans, the evaluation of their start-up ideas and coaching around start-up relevant topics, people with hearing disabilities have so far mostly been denied these offers due to language and cultural barriers. The DeafExist team, consisting of hearing-impaired and hearing people, is interdisciplinary, experienced in start-ups, and offers hearing-impaired founders the opportunity to become self-employed through a range of services specially adapted to their needs. Opportunities and challenges: Until now, hearing-impaired founders have faced particular challenges due to language and social barriers. For example, low written language competence leads to problems in formulating the business plan, difficult spoken language communication blocks access to sponsors, support services and networks in the start-up and business world, and the small number of hearing-impaired entrepreneurs prevents contact with self-employed role models. Yet entrepreneurial self-employment offers exciting opportunities for hearing-impaired people. For example, deaf people have a special insight into their community, which on the one hand allows the identification of specific needs and on the other hand allows a special access to this market. In order to unfold this potential, hearing impaired people have to be enabled to participate successfully and sustainably in the start-up culture with a linguistically, culturally and didactically adapted offer. Measures: DeafExist is to be offered as a model at four locations in Cologne/Aachen, Hamburg, Berlin and Munich. There, potential founders will be mobilised, trained, coached and supported in the successful creation of their business plan. Initially, DeafExist cooperates with multipliers from various facilities, institutions and associations in which hearing-impaired people are organized in order to mobilise as many interested parties as possible for the start-up college. On site, close cooperation is maintained from the very beginning with consultants from various business development institutions such as IHK, HWK, business incubators and business plan competitions. In this way, these consultants can contribute to the successful conception of the DeafExist start-up training with their experience in supporting founders and can supplement and sustainably apply their own knowledge of the special needs of hearing-impaired founders. The founder training is modular and contains, in addition to basic knowledge and training modules adapted to the needs of the target group, special modules that also deal with the role of disability in the founding of a company. DeafExist relies on expert knowledge, e.g. from lawyers, tax consultants, financial advisors and also successful founders themselves. Their knowledge on topics such as marketing, law or financing is to be collected, processed and made available online in a way that is appropriate for the target group. In addition, techniques for raising awareness, dealing with one's own disability, accessible communication culture and techniques, self-efficacy and community networking are taught. Another concern of DeafExist is the networking of all participants. On the one hand, the experts, multipliers, consultants and the DeafExist team itself by building an expert network, as a contact for hearing-impaired founders also beyond the project funding on the other hand, the participating founders among themselves, to create an active community of hearing-impaired founders. Overall, DeafExist offers people with a hearing impairment through these measures: 1. the chance to improve their participation in working life 2. the chance to be perceived as equals 3. the chance to use contacts in the hearing impaired community positively when starting a business (Deaf Gain) 4. the chance to be in a leadership position themselves and to employ other people with a hearing impairment 5. the chance to freely choose a profession a self-confident handling of the disability