Welcome to our December 2023 wrap-up with vital news from the startup and tech entrepreneurship scenes in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland in 30 minutes or less 🙂. Our startup news is recorded with Chris in New York City and Joe in Frankfurt. The recording date is December 19th, 2023 and all news not included will be in our next news to be released on January 25th, 2024. Note: We will take a holiday break until January 18th, 2023, when you can expect the first publication in the new year.

Aleph Alpha's AI models get bad press. Escooter Tier lays of one-fifth of the workforce. Solarisbank also fires employees, and so does the Austrian scale-up neoom. Sport Alliance gets 100 M US$ funding and Hugo Boss chips into a sustainable fashion fund. Trade Republic is now a fully licensed bank and Instafreight has to file for insolvency. In total, we have more than 30 M US$ new VC investments in Austria, more than 25 M US$ investments in Switzerland, and more than 400 M US$ investments in Germany, vs only three insolvencies. Yes at the core we are very positive :-). It feels better, at least a bit. Let's talk startups:

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Here is our blog post: https://medium.com/startuprad-io/this-month-in-german-swiss-and-austrian-gsa-startups-december-2023-startuprad-io-e-409-f30d787f0c1f

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Welcome to our November 2023 wrap-up with vital news from the startup scenes in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland in 30 minutes or less 🙂.

AI startup Aleph Alpha raises half a billion dollars, CMBlu raises 100 mn € for energy storage, WeFox gets 55 M US$ from Deutsche and Unicredit, and Vanguard pulls the plug on their German robo advisor. It seems that Sono Motors has found an investor to keep going at least until the end of 2024 and the German subsidiary of WeWork also has to file for insolvency.

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Heidelberg-based Aleph Alpha raises a total investment of more than half a billion US Dollars from a consortium of industry leaders and new investors for their AI for Enterprises and Governments.

German Energy scale-up CMBlu offers „warehouses for energy", with batteries storing up to gigawatt hours. They now raised 100 million Euros, with Strabag being the sole investor, one of Europe's largest construction companies, based in Vienna.

Deutsche Bank and UniCredit back $4.5 billion insurance startup Wefox with $55 million in fresh funds. WeFox is an online insurance broker and it did not raise equity, so their valuation stayed the same.

Sono Motors was once hailed as a new hope for the German startup scene, listing early in the US in November 2021. The company wanted to increase the reach of electro-cars by adding solar cells but ran into many problems while developing electro-cars. In the end, they had to file for insolvency but are now restarting with tech that allows the retrofitting of solar panels for fossil fuel busses. Sono Motors filed a 6-K form with the SEC saying that the company secured its survival for 2024, apparently most of the 250 employees can find further employment. Read more in our blog post: Sono Motors Finds Investor https://buff.ly/3Rjuo9t

Vanguard's German robo advisor costs millions and scores only 4 mn assets under management (AuM) at the end of 2022. A disaster according to FinanceFWD. To put this in perspective: Scalable Capital had 11 months after launch more than 100 mn AuM

WeWork's German subsidiary filed for insolvency - the company had issues everywhere.

https://medium.com/startuprad-io/this-month-in-german-swiss-and-austrian-gsa-startups-november-2023-startuprad-io-e-405-99d9efb6f3ff

Executive Summary

In this episode of Startuprad.io, host Jörn "Joe" Menninger interviews Jenny von Podewils, the co-CEO and co-founder of Leapsome. Leapsome is a company that helps organizations build exceptional teams based on data. Their clients include Spotify, Monday.com, Bolt, Nortvolt and others. Jenny shares the journey of Leapsome, from its inception to becoming the winner of the Female Entrepreneur of the Year at the German Startup Awards 2023. They discuss how Leapsome uses AI and data analysis to support managers in areas like goal setting and feedback. They also delve into the importance of effective performance management and talent development. The episode provides insights into Leapsome's products, success stories, and their current hiring.

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German Startup Awards 2023

This interview is in media partnership with the German startup association (Bundesverband Deutscher Startups https://deutschestartups.org/). Their German Startup Awards #GSA23 honor each year outstanding female and male founders and investors in special categories.

The Founder

Despite the business focus at St. Gallen, Jenny was determined to pursue her passion for tackling global challenges. Inspired by her politics teacher, she developed a keen interest in diplomacy and wanted to make a difference on a global scale. With this goal in mind, Jenny enrolled in St. Gallen's international relations program, which seemed like the perfect path to her desired career. However, she soon discovered that the school had a strong emphasis on business studies. Undeterred, she decided to make the most of her situation and use her business education to her advantage. Throughout her time at St. Gallen, Jenny developed a unique perspective that blended her passion for global issues with a strong business acumen. This combination of skills and knowledge set her apart and opened doors to exciting opportunities. After completing her studies, Jenny went on to co-found Leapsome, an innovative company aiming to revolutionize employee feedback and development. As the co-CEO, Jenny brings her deep understanding of business and her unwavering commitment to addressing global challenges to the forefront, driving the company's success. Jenny von Podewils is a shining example of how one's passion and determination can shape their path, even in the face of unexpected obstacles.

The Startup

Leapsome, co-founded by Jenny von Podewils, is a remarkable startup that has made significant strides in the realm of organizational alignment and people enablement. What sets Leapsome apart is not only their unique approach to building exceptional organizations but also their impressive growth trajectory.

Find all Links and Show Notes here:

https://medium.com/startuprad-io/scaling-exceptional-organizations-female-entrepreneur-of-the-year-2023-episode-401-696b49a38009

Mentioned in this...

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Welcome to our October 2023 wrap-up with vital news from the startup scenes in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland in 30 minutes or less 🙂.

This time we wrap up October 2023 in our 400th episode!

Our startup news are recorded with Chris today in Germany and Joe in Frankfurt. The recording date is October 25th and all news not included will be in our next news to be released on November 30th.

This time we made more cuts to our news here. We hope you like the lighter version of it. If you think we cut too much, feel free to let us know.

For everyone who celebrates it: Happy Halloween AAAAAAAAAAAAAAND Happy Thanksgiving!

BioNTech is a very special case in Germany, but now one of their former Senior Vice Presidents (Katalin Karikó, has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine 2023 for her research in mRNA). Two German companies IPOed (yes, no startups, but still a good sign). Solar startup Nexwafe starts 120 M € funding, Black Semiconductor from Aachen is looking to raise 500 M €, and there is bad news about the former unicorn Infarm.

Let's talk startups:

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This recording was made possible by HTAI and the Enterprise Europe Network Hessen. These organizations have made tremendous contributions to helping startup businesses succeed and thrive, providing a range of services from helping to find grants to ongoing partnerships. By taking advantage of these resources, startup companies can network and develop innovative strategies for success on the international stage. The dedicated support of HTAI and the Enterprise Europe Network Hessen is paramount in providing startup businesses with the tools for lasting success. Look for our dedicated sub-podcast in partnership with them: Tech Startups Germany on our https://linktr.ee/startupradio

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BioNTech is a very special case in the German startup world. During corona, they have been assumed to be responsible for 0.5% of GDP growth of all of Germany, one of the five largest economies in the world. Now they have another very unique distinction: A former Senior Vice President (2013–2022) of the company Katalin Karikó, has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine 2023 for her research in mRNA. Congratulations to her, being the 13th woman to have won a Nobel prize in medicine, she is sharing the prize with Drew Weissman.

Freiburg, Germany-based solar startup Nexwafe starts new funding, aiming for 120 m € in Venture Capital at a valuation of up to 500 M €

Aachen, Germany-based chip startup Black Semiconductor about to close large funding of 500 M €, with up to 70% of government funding. The founders are looking to develop a new way to connect elements on semiconductors but may need up to 7 years for the...

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Executive Summary

In this episode of Startuprad.io, host Jörn "Joe" Menninger interviews Gülsah Wilke, the winner of the Impact Entrepreneur of the Year Award, at the German Startup Awards. They discuss Gülsah's background, including her studies at a private university and her career in consulting and media. They also talk about her experiences in Montreal and her unique perspective as someone with a dual cultural identity. Throughout the conversation, the focus is on Gülsah's impact-focused work and her role in supporting entrepreneurs.

Find all blog posts with all the links on our blog https://medium.com/startuprad-io/impact-entrepreneur-of-the-year-two-hearts-two-cultures-german-startup-awards-startuprad-io-14cfc0739aa9

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German Startup Awards 2023

This interview is in media partnership with the German startup association (Bundesverband Deutscher Startups https://deutschestartups.org/). Their German Startup Awards #GSA23 honor each year outstanding female and male founders and investors in special categories. You can learn more about the winners in our interview and on this website: https://germanstartupawards.de/rueckblick/rueckblick-2023

We already covered most winners of the #GSA21 and #GSA22

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Impact Entrepreneur of the Year 2023 - German Startup Awards

Gülsah is a talented and highly intelligent individual who stumbled upon the world of private business schools during her high school years. While attending the Akademie Verbegartiungliche, she met a girl named Iman, who shared with her the wonders of a private university where one could learn various languages and travel extensively. Intrigued by the opportunity, Gülsah decided to explore this new path instead of pursuing her original plan to study law in Bonn. She attended an information day at the school with her father and became even more interested in the possibilities it offered.

2Hearts

During the interview, Gülsah Wilke, the winner of the Impact Entrepreneur of the Year, discussed her startup called 2Hearts (https://www.2heartscommunity.com/). 2Hearts is a platform that aims to provide a home for individuals who have multiple cultural identities and want to connect with others who share similar experiences. The startup has gained significant attention and recognition in the industry due to its unique offering and impact-driven mission.

What sets 2Hearts apart is its focus on building a supportive community for individuals navigating multiple cultural identities. The platform goes beyond simply acknowledging the challenges faced by these individuals; it actively cultivates an environment where members can connect, share experiences, and find common ground. This unique approach has positioned 2Hearts as a light tower, with an ever-growing user base and a strong reputation for promoting inclusivity and cultural understanding. By creating a space where individuals can embrace their multiple cultural identities and find a sense of belonging, 2Hearts is making a significant impact on the lives of its members and contributing to the growth of a more inclusive society.

All Links and Show Notes

Here is our blog post: https://medium.com/startuprad-io/impact-entrepreneur-of-the-year-two-hearts-two-cultures-german-startup-awards-startuprad-io-14cfc0739aa9

Chapters:

00:00:00 Introduction to Startup Red Dot IO

00:12:22 The Background Story and Origin of Two Hearts

00:14:36 Creating an Influential Network to Break Barriers in Tech

00:17:31 Joining Two Hearts: Criteria...

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Welcome to our summer 2023 wrap-up with vital news from the startup scenes in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland in 30 minutes or less 🙂.

This time we wrap up September 2023. There have been a lot of news sad (insolvencies, final closures, …), but also good ones (expansions, fundings, …) that we just had to make a selection in order not to bore you to death.

Our startup news is recorded with Chris live in New York City and Joe in Frankfurt. The recording date is September 26th and all news not included will be in our next news to be released on October 26th.

Our Highlights:

We track close to 500 mn Euros in newly announced investments in GSA. We have the first defense tech unicorn in Berlin and a lot of great news from Greentech startups in Germany. Some proptechs are not doing well, but not all startups associated with construction are performing poorly, as shown by the fundraising from Schüttfix. Long-distance trucking gets more autonomous with FERNRIDE and some bank news: Deutsche Bank uses Swiss DLT startup Taurus' technology and we learn more about JP Morgan's retail offering in Germany. Unicorn Flix already hired banks for their IPO in H1 next year. We also keep you updated on the bank holidays in Germany in the next weeks.

Let's talk startups:

Find all links and show notes here: https://medium.com/startuprad-io/this-month-in-german-swiss-and-austrian-gsa-startups-september-2023-startuprad-io-e-397-40c9c7b5fa2c

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Welcome to our summer 2023 wrap-up with vital news from the startup scenes in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland in around 30 minutes sometimes less 🙂.

This time we wrap up July and August. We came up with the summer news because the September news has always been very long, overcrowded, and covered 3 months. That was a bit too much of a break and too much news in one piece. So we looked to wrap up summer and since the US is an important market and Labor Day is the unofficial end of summer it seems like a good fit.

This summer has been a bit different and there has been a lot of news, so we focus more on the most recent ones and we have cut a lot of news here.

For everybody in the US who celebrates it: Happy Labor Day!

Find all links to the quoted news on our Medium blog: https://medium.com/startuprad-io/this-month-in-german-swiss-and-austrian-gsa-startups-summer-2023-july-august-episode-fdb709d89fbd

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Binance has not - yet - gotten permission to operate in Germany from BaFin, Nextwind raises 750 m US$, Bitpanda surpasses 1 M customers in Germany and Germany sets a new record in new founders. We also shared that SAP wants to invest in Aleph Alpha, they confirmed this and two more.

Germany's law for legalizing cannabis falls short of the expectations of cannabis entrepreneurs. Europe dominates climate fintech funding and the overall fintech funding shows a sign of life. Bafin also stopped mini VC investments - trashing the business model of some fintechs - AND we found newly closed VC funds in excess of 2.8 bn US$ that are open to European founders.

This recording is supported by HTAI and the Enterprise Europe Network Hessen

Look for our dedicated sub-podcast in partnership with them: Tech Startups Germany on our https://linktr.ee/startupradio

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Fintech blog Finance Forward reports German finance oversight BaFin signals no license for Binance for Germany. So they can neither advertise nor expand in Germany. To be clear, this is not a final NO, but rather a "Binance keeps trying, but BaFin signaled a No"

Wind Energy in Germany: StartUp Nextwind raises 750 M US$ Venture Capital investors include Sandbrook Capital, Canadian funds Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments), and Imco

Surpasses 1 million customers in Germany alone https://buff.ly/44mMyKP it is not sure how many of them are really active, but that is always a tough question, even for the startups. But the question is important since one only makes money with active users.

Despite the current economic situation, Germany has the highest share of founders in 24 years!!! According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Germany had a larger than 9% founder quota, meaning people from 18–64 who (co) founded a new business within the last 3,5 years (Young...

Welcome to our June 2023 wrap-up with vital news from the startup scenes in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland in 30 minutes or less 🙂.

We follow our top-down structure in the news.

Welcome to our startup news wrap-up for June 2023 by Startuprad.io with Chris from New York and Joe from Frankfurt. We recorded this news episode on June 27th, 2023. All news not yet included here will be published in our next news episode. Find all links to the quoted news on our Medium blog link below.

Note: We will now go into the summertime: In July and August we will only publish content every other week AND the next startups news will be our summer wrap-up, to be published on September 4th, in the US celebrated as Labor Day.

1 Komma 5, a Greentech startup, becomes a unicorn after only 23 months. We are wondering if this is the rise of climate tech startups already? Switzerland has a record funding with Teylor of 275 m €. GetYourGuide shows travel tech is back in favor of VCs with 194 m US$ funding. Germany and Intel agree on subsidies and investments for a new mega chip factory worth more than 30 bn Euros. Fernride, a pioneer of autonomous electric trucks, gets a 30 M US$+ Series A funding.

Let’s talk startups:

Hamburg’s 1KOMMA5° has raised €430 million — and just become a unicorn at just 23 months old

Related: 1KOMMA5 buys danish solar company Viasol

Related: 430 mn debt funding

Swiss-based SME lending fintech Teylor raises 275 m Euro, gaining Barclays as a new investor. Other investors include M&G Investments …

GetYourGuide raises $194 million to fuel curated travel experiences and global expansion

Intel, Germany strike record €30B deal for chip mega-factory

FERNRIDE a German pioneer of autonomous, electric trucks, raises 31 M USD in Series A funding

https://medium.com/startuprad-io/this-month-in-german-swiss-and-austrian-gsa-startups-june-2023-episode-388-960515c65b87

Startups, Venture Capital, Unicorn, New Unicorn, Europe, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Scaleups, Tech News, Venture Capital News, Startup News,

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Welcome to our May 2023 wrap-up with important news from the startup scenes in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland in 30 minutes or less 🙂.

We follow our top-down structure in the news: First, the top news, then we look with a bird's eye view at the startup ecosystem in the German language countries, dig deeper by looking at exciting startup cities and end with general news. And for those serious about startups, there is even a collection called: "Stay Ahead of the Curve," where we share in-depth reads, articles, studies, and podcasts.

Our next news episode will be published on June 29th, and then we are - for the news - in summer break.

Germany is now officially in a recession, but one with barely any unemployment. Also, we still track many startups going out of business, BUT the overall picture is improving. The German VC and PE Barometer - which captures the mood of many German investors - is showing an uptick. This shows especially in the massive amount of new funds raised; they promise a bright future for startups! We tracked at least 3,4 bn Euros of newly raised funds, which will be invested entirely or partially in startups in Europe and GSA. Look at our medium blog; we have more information on what the investors are looking for and how to pitch them. We also have investments and exits worth at least 5,4 bn Euros and news in this episode, including WeFox, Tier Mobility, Infarm, Blinkist, Bitpanda, Aleph Alpha, Sono Motors, and many more.

Let's talk startups:

Find all links and the other news here: https://medium.com/startuprad-io/this-month-in-german-swiss-and-austrian-gsa-startups-may-2023-episode-385-87fd564d483a

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Getir is in talks to take over German grocery app rival Flink | Financial Times

But then: Flink's sale to Getir fell through. Now Flink is raising 150 M € from investors, including grocery giant Rewe and Doordash

European e-scooter giant Tier Mobility maps route to merger

Infarm keeps shrinking and is leaving Europe, reports Handelsblatt. The greenhouse startup reportedly has only 80 employees in Europe left and will get an investment at an unknown valuation for their relocation - likely to the Middle East with low energy prices

Berlin-based startup Blinkist is sold to Australian education startup Go1 for an undisclosed amount, reported to be "hundreds of millions." Blinkist offers short wrap-ups of nonfiction books as text or audio

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The Startuprad.io podcast and YouTube blog covers the German-speaking startup scene and in this episode, Joe interviews Paulina Jänsch, co-founding partner at Leanox Impact Capital. Paulina discusses her seven-step approach to evaluating startups and fundraising as storytelling, emphasizing the importance of a financial model that reflects the startup's value drivers. She also talks about Leanox Impact Capital's investment criteria, which focus on impact innovation and solving environmental or social problems. The company invests in early-stage startups in Europe, with a focus on industry-agnostic but always impact-driven ventures, and prioritizes investing in female founders and LPs.

This interview was recorded outside of the EU Startups Summit 2023 on April 20th in Barcelona. Thank you EU Startups for the great event.

Paulina is one of two founding partners at Leanox Impact Capital and a TOP 100 most influential women in the European VC and startup space. She holds a Bachelor of Science from Maastricht University School of Business and Economics and a Master of Science from Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam, as well as a Master of Science from EADA Business School. She also spent time in Singapore (Nanyang) for an exchange semester.

Paulin also worked at EY Analytics, immostore, and participated in the CFA Research Challenge by Caixa Bank. Amongst being GP at Leanox, she is also invested as Business Angel in nine companies.

Leanox.eu is looking to raise a new fund with not only 50% female (co)founded startups, but also 50% female LPs. Leanox is also looking for parity in itself, they have 50/50 GPs in Leanox. The VC is motivated to disrupt inequalities, to tackle social and environmental issues as an opportunity to improve the world we all live in.

Find the email to pitch Leanox in our blog post (link below).

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Find all links and show notes here: https://medium.com/startuprad-io/the-seven-step-approach-to-evaluating-startups-a-storytelling-perspective-episode-382-a0cec4da3cb8

00:00:00 Intro

00:00:20 Sponsoring Message by ExpressVPN

00:01:04 Paulina Jänsch - Co-Founding Partner at Leanox Impact Capital

00:01:50 Paulina’s Seven-Step Approach to Valuation Impact Startups

00:09:30 How to Pitch Leanox - Investing in Impact Innovation

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