Behind one of Europe's largest construction companies is a network that turned scattered startup activity into a transparent innovation pipeline, without overwhelming departments with complexity.
GOLDBECK is one of Europe's leading construction companies, headquartered in Bielefeld, Germany. With over 13,000 employees, the company builds various types of buildings, such as factories, offices, and residential buildings, using standardized, repeatable components—like LEGO blocks—while maintaining complete surface customization. As Maximiliane Straub, Team Lead of Innovation & AI, explains:
"You could have two different multi-storey car parks and they would look totally different, but in the end they have the same base. According to the motto: Standardize the invisible, customize the visible."
This standardized philosophy extends to GOLDBECK’s approach to innovation. With 500 projects annually using identical processes and materials, changes can scale immediately across the entire portfolio.
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Innovation activity takes place throughout the company. Just a few years ago, the big challenge was to create transparency. Many departments scouted startups, ran pilots, and tested new materials and digital tools. As inbound startup interest grew, conversations multiplied across teams, entering the organization through many parallel channels.
People spent significant time just figuring out who had talked to whom. Work was duplicated. Information was lost. The company needed transparency: one place to see who was working with which startups and how these efforts connected to broader goals.
"Startups came like a watering can—"wie aus einer Gießkanne" as we say in German—they just poured over the company and went to every department saying 'I have the solution.' Sometimes the same startup pitched to multiple departments without anyone realizing it."
With a simplified structure in place, GOLDBECK launched its Innovation Ambassador network. Department leaders nominated Ambassadors based on two criteria: genuine curiosity for innovation and the ability to connect with colleagues.
“They need to be up for innovation: working with startups, working with technology topics,” explains Innovation Manager Marius Andreae. “But they also need to be able to talk to all their colleagues.”
Today, 18 Innovation Ambassadors represent 6 departments across 11 teams. Each receives targeted ITONICS training and participates in quarterly one-on-one exchanges with the Innovation & AI team. These sessions are highly focused. These conversations focus on what is new, what is relevant, and where progress is happening in their domain. In the future each team will see a personalized view in ITONICS showing only their search fields, use cases, and relevant startups.
“We would never have known the scale of our startup activity without ITONICS. It allows us to demonstrate where innovation is creating value.”
GOLDBECK screened over 1,600 startups, tracked 280 use cases across 32 search fields, and trained 166 active scouts. The platform has 240 users total. The cultural impact runs deeper. The Ambassador role carries credibility, and facilitates knowledge transfer between specialist departments and the Innovation & AI team.
Ambassadors build capability by learning how to rate startups, compare solutions, and contribute to a shared pipeline. Entries move through a stage-gate process. For the Innovation & AI team, scouting has become more targeted.
Which use cases are heating up? Where do solutions already exist? Where future potential lies? These conversations now happen with data.
"Scouting startups got a lot easier because we now know what people are interested in, what they're already looking at, and where there is an opportunity."
The journey included false starts. The initial structure was too complex, which slowed adoption. Each step reinforced the same lesson: fewer but more relevant elements, clearer roles, and focused conversations scale better.
Today, 18 Ambassadors stay current without information overload. The Innovation & AI team spots overlaps without chasing hundreds of conversations. And when a startup reaches out or an Ambassador returns from a conference, the first step is simple: search the platform. The days of the watering can are over.
GOLDBECK is a leading European construction and real estate company headquartered in Bielefeld, Germany, with more than 13,000 employees across Europe including an innovation hub in the United States.
The company specializes in industrial, office, school and residential buildings. It combines design, construction, and services in one system-based approach focused on sustainability, efficiency, and modularity.
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