Start-ups A Diverse Team for the Laser Revolution

“Our 2-μm-laser shines in a completely new color,” explains start-up founder Dr. Célia Millon at the first WSC Demo Day 2023. It is also the first time that the French entrepreneur stands on a stage to pitch her start-up idea. HoLa’s founding team came together just two months ago. By the end of the evening, HoLa’s innovative laser technology wins them first place and recognition as one of the most promising start-ups at Ruhr University Bochum. The secret to their success? An innovative idea and a diverse, international founding team.

The study “Warum gründen Deutschlands Forscher*innen nicht?” showed that university start-ups most often fail due to the composition of their team. In many start-up teams, only one nationality is represented, and the team consists of only male or only female members. In the field of cutting-edge technology, start-ups are heavily male-dominated.

In the start-up HoLa, three nations and three different academic horizons work side by side. According to Célia Millon, it is important to unite different perspectives under a shared vision – but that doesn’t happen overnight. “Finding a team was a long journey, and my co-founder Yicheng and I have learned a lot along the way”, points out the start-up-founder. “You always have to talk about whether everyone gets up in the morning for the same thing. In the case of HoLa, we want to develop a laser that is a real game changer for science and industry.”

A laser user with managing skills

Célia Millon obtained her doctorate from the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA). There, the physics graduate developed a prototype for laser ultrasound to control additive metal manufacturing processes. “The CEA operates at the intersection of science and industry, which allowed me to work with start-ups and large companies, such as Safran, during my doctoral studies,” says Millon. In her first postdoctoral position, she used lasers to study acoustic waves generated by plasma in water.

When she started to look for a postdoctoral position abroad, she said that, in addition to a suitable research topic, it was important to her to find a supportive working environment. This, she found at the Chair of Photonics and Ultrafast Laser Science (PULS) led by Professor Clara Saraceno at Ruhr University Bochum. “The group is known for its strong international cooperation. This is an ideal environment for exploring new approaches and developing joint ideas,” says Célia Millon. It was here in the PULS group, where she was using lasers to analyze water, that the start-up idea for the 2-μm laser was born.

A laser builder with innovative ideas

One morning, Célia Millon’s colleague Dr. Yicheng Wang knocked on her office door - with a surprising question. “Yicheng asked me if I’d like to be part of his start-up project, because he’d appreciate my perspective as a laser user.” Yicheng Wang himself is a “real laser builder”. In late 2023, he won the highly endowed international Optica Foundation Challenge Prize for his 2-μm research. He launched his career at Shandong University in China, where he worked on laser material characterization and crystal growth. Crystals are at the heart of lasers. In the PULS group, he focuses on high-power lasers for novel applications. “I’ve no idea what Yicheng’s work exactly looks like, but what I thought I could offer, was to help him with his EXIST application.”

Finding the roles in the team

While the technical development of the laser wasn’t a problem, it became clear that writing applications, addressing target groups, analyzing markets and organizing the team were more difficult. “I realized that I might be needed for other things than pure science. So, we decided that Yicheng would lead the product development and I would take over the executive part,” says Célia Millon. But this also meant that she had to leave pure science behind.

“That wasn’t easy for me, because I really loved my research. It was hard to tell myself that I wasn’t going back to the lab.” She realized that there were multiple paths to success during a lunch with a colleague on campus. “A colleague said to me: Célia, research is like endlessly drilling a hole in a table to penetrate a subject. But you want to work with others, develop creative ideas and explore the entire surface of the table, accept that. One is not better than the other.”

An engineer with a technical mind

In early 2024, a new member joined HoLa: Dr. Michael Müller. Yicheng Wang and Michael Müller struck up a conversation by chance at a conference. One morning, Yicheng Wang said to his co-founder: “You know what, Célia, maybe Michael would be happy to join our start-up team.” Michael Müller has been building lasers for almost ten years and has been thinking about developing a laser and founding a start-up for some time. During his doctorate in physics at Friedrich Schiller University in Jena, he developed the world’s most powerful ultrafast fibre lasers. A postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Neuchâtel in Switzerland deepened his knowledge of modern laser technology.

“When I met him, I immediately had the feeling that he would complement the existing team perfectly,” says Célia Millon. “Together, Yicheng and Michael make a really strong team. While Michael brings a technical engineering perspective to the table and can build all kinds of lasers, Yicheng has more of an academic approach orientated and is more into innovation. The two of them together make for a bomb of ideas for our laser.”

Founding a start-up is a roller coaster ride

The team experienced the start-up process as a real rollercoaster ride. In January 2023, after returning from vacation, they plunged into a marathon for EXIST. The application for the nationwide funding program was written within a few weeks and most of the work for the start-up was done in the evenings and on weekends. Then, in January 2024, the good news: HoLa once impressed a jury of experts with their idea and secured almost one million euros in funding from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action.

Now that the team members have identified their roles, the next step is to figure out how and in which areas of science and industry the HoLa laser can best be used, for example in satellite communications and the semiconductor industry. The team meets every week to pool their expertise, develop new ideas and discuss important issues. Are we satisfied with our teamwork? Should we change our leadership style? “Our communication is very open and honest, which is why we work so well together," says Cèlia Millon. “I really appreciate talking to people with different perspectives.”

A new member on the horizon

This spring, a fourth co-founder will officially join the HoLa team. Melusine Reimers will work alongside Célia Millon in business management. Melusine studied philosophy, sociology and media studies at Goethe University Frankfurt and founded a Germany-wide NGO for refugee academics and skilled workers during her studies. After graduating, she co-founded a sustainable food factory and set up the first furniture sharing platform in Germany. She then worked as a start-up coach and project manager for the WORLDFACTORY Start-up Center at Ruhr University Bochum. Her experience in team management, entrepreneurial practice and legal frameworks will enable HoLa to broaden its horizons, paving the way for the laser revolution.