tara

How can we leverage our #SocialImpact by identifying and unleashing the untapped potential of relevant Stakeholders? In our latest blog post we present our individual approach and explain why it could become important for the future of Social Entrepreneurship to consider partnering up with local (Diaspora) NGOs. As we aim to build a flagship project in Sri Lanka this year, Comdu.it Deutschland will support us in this behalf with their local experience and expertise in modern development practices. What do you think of our evolving approach? Let´s discuss in the thread! 🌐 #SocialEntrepreneurship #SocialImpact #Diaspora #NGO #CoCreation #Development #Strategy

🎊 New Year, New Chapter! Perhaps some of you have been paying attention since last Friday and have noticed that something is different... First of all we wish you a happy and meaningful new year, and we look forward to building the crafts & design community of tomorrow with you! 💛 As we step into 2025, we're thrilled to unveil our new Corporate Identity and logo! This transformation marks an exciting milestone as we continuously evolve from a student project into a social impact startup, just right after completing our master's degrees in sustainable entrepreneurship & social innovation. This visual evolution reflects our growth and commitment to creating lasting #SocialImpact through our work. We're incredibly grateful to Dustin Meißner, whose creative guidance and expertise were instrumental in designing our new CI. Thank you, Dustin, for helping us bring our vision to life! Let us know in the comments what you think of our new CI. Here's to new beginnings and continued impact in 2025! 🌟 #NewYear #SocialImpact #Startup #BrandIdentity #NewBeginnings #tara

🎓🎄 Ein kleines Weihnachts-Update aus unserem tara Team: Mit der Abgabe unserer Masterarbeit am 6.12. und der Verteidigung vergangenen Donnerstag haben wir unser selbstgestecktes Ziel, dieses Jahr fertig zu werden und damit eine enge Zeitschiene einzuhalten, erfolgreich gemeistert. 🤝 Die Besonderheit? Unsere Masterarbeit entstand als Teamarbeit von drei Personen – eine Herausforderung, die unsere Arbeit durch vielfältige Diskussionen und Perspektiven sowie iterative Analyserunden bereichert hat. Dieser Prozess hat nicht nur die Qualität unserer Arbeit gesteigert, sondern auch unser Team bestärkt. 🚀 Es waren ziemlich anspruchsvolle 6 Monate: Meinungsverschiedenheiten ausgleichen, unter Zeitdruck entscheiden - und gleichzeitig unser Startup tara weiterentwickeln und gründungsbereit machen. Dies alles, während wir an einem Thema arbeiteten, das wissenschaftlich ganz bestimmt keine keine low-hanging fruit darstellt und uns sehr am Herzen liegt. Aber: Wir hatten großartige Interviewpartner:innen und den Anspruch, diesen Personen und der Artisanship-Branche interessante Erkenntnisse zurückzuspielen. 💪 Gemeinsam haben wir Konflikte aus dem Weg geräumt, Motivationstiefs gemeistert, manchmal endlos erscheinende Diskussionnen geführt und waren durch Arbeit am Wochenende und bis spät in die Nacht einfach auch am jeweiligen Energielimit. Ganz ehrlich: Wir haben uns zwischenzeitlich einfach nur gewünscht, dass es vorbei ist. Trotz aller Herausforderungen – oder gerade wegen ihnen – sind wir uns einig: Wir würden es genau so wieder machen. Wir könnten uns mit keinen anderen Menschen vorstellen so ein Projekt zu wuppen. Wir haben uns gegenseitig motiviert, zum Besten gepusht, zum Lachen gebracht und feiern am Ende auch gemeinsam den Erfolg. Geteiltes Leid ist halbes Leid und geteiltes Glück ist doppeltes Glück. 🎁 Diesen Erfolg jetzt symbolisch als Geschenk unter dem Weihnachtsbaum zu sehen, macht diesen Moment umso besonderer. Wir freuen uns darauf, zusammen mit unseren Lieben am Weihnachtstisch zu sitzen und auf unsere Leistungen 2024 zurückzublicken - und im Januar gemeinsam als Team darauf anstoßen zu können! PS: Der Call-Screenshot ist in der Sekunde entstanden, als ich auf "Senden" der Mail mit unserer Masterarbeit in Anhang geklickt habe. Ich in Eberswalde, Martin Christoph Preis in Wiesbaden und Kabilan Thavachelvan schon in Düsseldorf - mit halben Füß auf einer Hochzeitsfeier - gelebte remote Start-up und Teamwork-Kultur 💫 #masterthesis #artisanship #teamwork #internationalization #emergingeconomies #goals2024 #celebrating #kunsthandwerk #vermittlungsplattform #hakendran

“We have to assign our thesis together as a #TEAM, no matter what comes in between us” We're excited to share that the founders team - Stela, Martin and Kabilan -just submitted & defended their master thesis at HNEE! 🎓 As co-founders of tara, conducting this research of how artisan enterprises from emerging economies access international markets - while building tara addressing that topic - has been quite a journey. Night shifts, heated theoretical discussions and reflections on each observation can now come to an end, opening doors for our journey in the upcoming year. 🙏🏽 ________________________ Three Master students - Three Co-Founders - One thesis - Insights: The good parts? Working as a founding team on academic research strengthened our collaboration skills and deepened our understanding of the artisan sector. The challenges we studied dealt with similar ones we're working to contribute with tara. Also we could introduce ourselves to relevant players and potential future partners. The challenging parts? Balancing academic rigor with startup demands meant many long nights and tough prioritization decisions, causing extended timelines for the practical development of tara. But this dual perspective - academic and entrepreneurial - gave us unique insights we wouldn't have gained otherwise. What made it worthwhile was the incredible support from our interview partners - 20 experts who shared their valuable time and insights. And special support from industry expert such as Jette, Mark, Robert and many more. Your contributions not only shaped our research but continue to influence tara's development. 💛 ________________________ With this milestone behind them, the team is energized to focus fully on building tara and putting the research insights into practice. Stay tuned and follow us on Linkedin - we'll be sharing key findings in our next posts! But before that, team #tara wishes you a grounding Christmas time! 🎄 #MasterThesis #Entrepreneurship #StartupLife #ArtisanSector #SocialEntrepreneurship

The “Oriental Carpet of Stone” art installation in Hamburg’s historic warehouse district was right on our doorstep as we spent the past few days with our social impact startup tara at the 24-Hour Workshop organized by KREATIVES UNTERNEHMERTUM (KU) Unternehmertum at the Körber-Stiftung. Naturally, we couldn't resist snapping a photo! 📸 Beyond the inspiration, it was a fantastic chance to connect with other purpose-driven startups. We also used the time to map out our milestones and processes for the next 12 months. The upcoming three months are especially exciting: in February, we’ll be traveling to Sri Lanka for our first on-site interactions with artisan workshops to explore potential partnerships. Together with the diaspora organization Comdu.it Deutschland, we’ll be working on the ground, in Jaffna and Colombo among other areas, connecting with skilled artisans in textiles, ceramics, wood, and metal. We’re also hoping a visit to the Selyn Textiles workshop to connect with Robert Meeder FRSA and Selyna Peiris to see their innovative blockchain technology in action within their supply chain. Right now, we're in discussions with potential clients in interior design who are interested in a pilot project to commission orders from Sri Lankan artisan workshops. tara supports this production process by detecting suitable manufacturers and providing management support, free of charge for both artisans and designers. Do you know any designers looking for talented artisan partners? Drop us a comment below 👇 and let’s connect! #globaltrade #interiordesign #ethicalproduction #manufacturing #design #srilanka #pilotproject #supplychainsupport

📢 Exciting milestone alert! We're thrilled to announce that "tara" is now officially a protected word mark! 🎉 This trademark represents more than just a legal milestone – it's a foundation for our continued shared commitment to transforming the global artisan sector with like minded actors like Jette Ladiges, Mark Kwami, Robert Meeder FRSA, Mohan Dhamotharan and many more . Through tara, we aim to build bridges between skilled craftspeople in the Global South and business partners in Germany. With this protection we´re securing our brand identity from day one. Our vision is to create a digital solution where artisans can showcase their exceptional skills, turning their traditional craftsmanship into thriving cross-border businesses. Each handmade piece will represent both cultural heritage and economic opportunity. With our brand now protected, we're ready to begin this journey of connecting skilled artisans with global markets, supporting sustainable livelihoods, and bringing authentic, handcrafted beauty into homes around the world. Stay tuned as we prepare our next steps! We can't wait to share more about how tara´s solution will be developed together with artisan businesses. Here's to crafting a more connected and equitable future for skilled artisans, one handmade piece at a time! 🌍✨ #SocialEnterprise #GlobalArtisans #FairTrade #HandmadeCrafts #SustainableBusiness #ArtisanEmpowerment #HomeDecor

📢 Exciting milestone alert! We're thrilled to announce that "tara" is now officially a protected word mark! 🎉 This trademark represents more than just a legal milestone – it's a foundation for our continued shared commitment to transforming the global artisan sector with like minded actors like Jette Ladiges, Mark Kwami, Robert Meeder FRSA, Mohan Dhamotharan and many more . Through tara, we aim to build bridges between skilled craftspeople in the Global South and business partners in Germany. With this protection we´re securing our brand identity from day one. Our vision is to create a digital solution where artisans can showcase their exceptional skills, turning their traditional craftsmanship into thriving cross-border businesses. Each handmade piece will represent both cultural heritage and economic opportunity. With our brand now protected, we're ready to begin this journey of connecting skilled artisans with global markets, supporting sustainable livelihoods, and bringing authentic, handcrafted beauty into homes around the world. Stay tuned as we prepare our next steps! We can't wait to share more about how tara´s solution will be developed together with artisan businesses. Here's to crafting a more connected and equitable future for skilled artisans, one handmade piece at a time! 🌍✨ #SocialEnterprise #GlobalArtisans #FairTrade #HandmadeCrafts #SustainableBusiness #ArtisanEmpowerment #HomeDecor

#2 of our advisory board update 📣 👇

🚀 Advisory Board Online Meetup #2 We had our second session with our amazing advisory board, coming together online from different locations 🌍 Mission for this session: To bring everyone together, share our current status, discuss key insights, and most importantly, outline our next steps. We also explored how our advisory board can contribute their expertise to guide us forward. In the coming months, our primary focus will be on finalizing our master’s thesis, which is being written as a group research project. Writing a thesis collaboratively at the Master SESIN Sustainable Entrepreneurship & Social Innovation is both a unique and challenging approach, and for us, it’s been incredibly fruitful. Constantly exchanging insights within the team creates space for new ideas, which helps shape the development of fresh concepts and guides the progress of tara🌱 We also took this opportunity to give a sneak peek into our plans for next year. Our main goal will be to deepen our understanding of the pain points faced by our target groups - artisan businesses in emerging economies and designers of home décor and home textiles in European countries. With a kick off field study in Sri Lanka to explore artisan businesses, we want to expand our network in southeast asia along Robert Meeder FRSA & Selyna Peiris from Selyn Textiles. The hints, recommendations, doubts, and fresh ideas shared in this meeting were, as always, invaluable and have fueled our motivation to keep pushing forward! 🚀 A huge thank you to Robert Meeder FRSA, Max Senges, Franka Blumrich, Hannes Graef, and Dustin Meißner for your continued support and for walking this path with us. We’re excited for what’s to come! 🙏 #NextSteps #AdvisoryBoard #Teamwork #CraftBusiness #Sustainability #tara #Innovation #HomeTextiles #EmergingMarkets #MasterThesis #interiordesign

🏆 Auszeichnung zur Ideenschmiede 2024 🏆 Voller Stolz und Freude verkünden wir, dass die wir von den Unternehmensverbänden Berlin-Brandenburg im Rahmen des Business Plan Wettbewerbs als Ideenschmiede 2024 ausgezeichnet wurden! 🎉 Der Preis wurde von Kerstin Lehmann, Referentin des Vizepräsidenten für Forschung und Transfer, sowie Leiterin von InnoSupport Forschung I Gründung I Transfer, entgegengenommen. Mit dabei waren auch unsere engagierten Mitarbeiter:innen Aimée Dost und Julien M. aus dem Gründungszentrum. ✨ Es ist eine besondere Ehre für uns, diese Auszeichnung erneut zu erhalten, nachdem wir zuletzt 2019 prämiert wurden. In diesem Jahr haben wir uns in allen drei Phasen des Wettbewerbs behaupten können. Besonders stolz sind wir auf das Projekt tara aus dem Master SESIN Sustainable Entrepreneurship & Social Innovation, das wir aktuell in der Gründungsphase begleiten, und in den ersten beiden Phasen zu den TOP 10 Platzierungen gehörte. 🚀 Ein herzliches Dankeschön an alle Beteiligten! Wir freuen uns auf die weitere Entwicklung und spannende Projekte in der Zukunft. 💡 #Ideenschmiede2024 #BusinessPlanWettbewerb #HNEE #Gruendungszentrum #Innovation #Startups #Eberswalde