Project description

Two years after founding the Novum Kollektiv and two successful raves at the Columbusbahnhof (together with the theater group "Das letzte Kleinod"), at the end of November 2023 we got a concrete offer: Kevin Ricke, owner of the Kulturbahnhof Lehe, offered us a permanent space called "Zapp" — until then used for private parties and club meetings. The idea: we test for a month whether it could become a permanent pop-up cultural center.

The original three-person team (Laurens, Laurenz, and me) became, for this project, a four-person team: Laurenz stepped out, and Esther Baumgarten (9th semester GIF) and Berit Mahler (3rd semester GIF) joined. For the event series "ZAPPZARAPP," we applied for 6,000 € from the state of Bremen's "Young Scene and Subculture" funding — and were granted it.

Five events were planned for December 2023; we carried out three.

From idea to pop-up: preparation

On 2023-11-02, Laurens and I met Kevin on site, got a floor plan, and developed a first rough concept: a participatory cultural center for students and apprentices — live acts and raves on the weekend, a bar with exhibitions, readings, and workshops during the week.

After the funding approval, everything moved very fast. In early December we took over the space and, within one week, painted it black, organized furniture, and prepared it for the first event. The Kreativer Aufbruch Bremerhaven provided us the bare essentials of furniture and equipment cheaply. For one of the events we also collaborated with the "Legit Crew."

The partnership with Kevin made sense for both sides: we got a ready-to-use space with a bar, lighting, and equipment within walking distance of the Alte Bürger — Kevin got renovation work, rental income, and new life in his event venue.

Business-model extension instead of more parties

Before we accepted the offer, we deliberately engaged with the Ansoff matrix — that is, with how we as the Novum Kollektiv want to keep growing:

• Market penetration (simply more raves) — rejected, we'd already tested that.
• Market development (e.g. expanding to Bremen) — rejected, the market there is already saturated.
• Product development — our choice: we wanted to extend our offering beyond pure parties into a real cultural space.

A survey among our Instagram followers ("What would you wish for in Bremerhaven?") confirmed this direction: 21 responses, of which 13 were about techno formats (hardcore, EDM, darkpsy, newcomer DJ night) and 8 about cultural formats (night flea market, talks, workshops).

For the December MVP, we set ourselves concrete goals per event:

• at least 30 visitors
• 150 € in income
• 20% new customers

The event series in December

Of the five planned formats, we carried out three — including a FLINTA* DJ workshop that we organized together with "unfriendly FLINTA*" (Paloma Flinta Fatala). During the events we had intensive contact with many players in Bremerhaven's culture scene.

In parallel, we set up accounting for the project, to properly document the funding. In practice that was harder than expected: because we were fully occupied during the month with setup, programming, and events, we collected receipts not daily, but rather irregularly. Overall, the effort for the financial planning was nonetheless reasonable.

Result: numbers and reality

After a very work-intensive month with three events, it was clear: the space basically works, and our target group accepts the offering. But we didn't consistently reach the self-set MVP goals (30 visitors, 150 € income, 20% new customers per event) — the weekday formats in particular didn't pay for themselves financially.

On top of that: the investments in paint, furniture, decor, and equipment were in the range of several hundred to 1,000 € and would have to amortize over considerably more events. And December was about the worst possible choice — many students weren't in Bremerhaven over the holidays. Added to this was that we didn't pay ourselves any compensation, which meant the project was never viewed entirely realistically in economic terms.

The decision: not to continue

Kevin offered us the chance to take over the space permanently. We declined with thanks.

There were several reasons for that. Economically, the weekday formats wouldn't have been enough to carry the operation — and our own goals weren't reached. Personally, we as a team lacked the motivation for a long-term commitment: Laurens begins acting studies in Munich in March 2024, Esther is already very active in Bremen, and I myself wanted to turn more toward programming.

With that, though, we'd reached exactly the milestone for which the Novum Kollektiv had been founded over two years earlier — with a flyer to search for a space dated 2021-12-03: finding a suitable space for a cultural center. Instead of carelessly accepting the offer, we documented our insights in a handbook, so that other young creatives from Bremerhaven can seize this opportunity.

What I learned

What it really means to run a club. Only through the detailed engagement with a business plan and Business Model Canvas did it become clear to me: as the operator, you're the first to unlock and the last to turn off the lights — every weekend, regardless of your own mood. Drinks have to be restocked continuously, DJs booked every week, the program planned, invoices paid. The areas of responsibility are varied, but leave little room for creativity and need above all continuity and perseverance.

A sound analysis can protect against a rushed decision. Had we not taken the time to work out a business plan, Business Model Canvas, and financial planning in detail, we might have accepted Kevin's offer — without knowing what we were getting into. In hindsight, I'm grateful that we didn't do it without this foundation.

Strategic decisions can be made with simple models. The Ansoff matrix helped us make a conscious choice between "more of the same," expansion, and product development — instead of simply continuing as before.

Weekday programming is, economically, a different league than weekend parties. The MVP tests in December showed: a curated cultural offering during the week can't simply be carried on the side and on a minimal budget. This insight was concrete enough to make an informed decision against a cultural center of our own — a result I understand as a real success, even though it wasn't a "carry on as before."

Organizing events to create an outlet for myself doesn't work for me. Originally I also wanted, with the raves, to create an offering for myself that I'd missed — as a counterbalance to everyday life. In practice, though, the organization was so time- and energy-intensive that by Monday nothing was left for my actual goals. I finally understood that in this project, and have since drawn a clear line: I do event technology and lighting design as a hobby, not anymore as an obligation.

Letting go is part of the project. Happy to do an idea again like this, but not again myself — this attitude was new to me. Instead of simply letting the project peter out, we documented it so that others can take it over. Consciously handing over a project, instead of either grimly continuing it or ending it entirely, was an important experience for me in terms of responsibility and handover.

Conclusion

ZAPPZARAPP was the practical proof that what the Novum Kollektiv was founded for in 2021 is possible: a space of our own for culture and subculture in Bremerhaven. At the same time, the MVP month showed what such an operation really means economically and personally — and gave us the basis for a conscious decision not to continue the project, but to document it for others. For me personally, that was the point at which I turned away from event organization and toward software development.