• Tech Startups Germany (Video)

    Learn from an Indian-born entrepreneur, who raised 35 mn Euros Venture Capital in Germany (2/2)

    Learn from an Indian-born entrepreneur, who raised 35 mn Euros Venture Capital in Germany

    „Hessen is the natural home for startups and entrepreneurs“
    Gunjan Bhardwaj – Founder and CEO Innoplexus

     The Enabler of our Interview

    This recording was made possible by (Hessen Trade and Invest). Learn more about our enabler here: https://www.invest-in-hessen.com/

    Together with our enabler, we are running a podcast called “Tech Startups Germany”, which will focus on startups at a Serie A stage or even more mature. You will also find all the videos we produce for this podcast on our YouTube channel www.youtube.com/startupradio. This podcast is available directly on our device as audio and video podcast, yes, Startuprad.io makes the first downloadable video podcast. Find all options to subscribe here: 

     

    The Startup Founder

    Our interview partner is again Gunjan Bhardwaj (https://www.linkedin.com/in/gunjan-bhardwaj-b321a32/), not the actor. He is a former EY and BCG consultant, as well as a TED speaker. He likes to work a lot, so he is also the author of the book “Inside the Cockpit: Navigating the Complexity of Drug Development with AI and Blockchain” (https://amzn.to/2QYI1eL). 

    “Frankfurt … it is the center of Europe, it is so super connected.”
    Gunjan Bhardwaj – Founder and CEO Innoplexus

     

    Patreon

    You can now support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=35246148 if you like what you see and hear consider to support us, so we can keep bringing you great content.

     

    „Everybody has to chart his or her own course. I am a deep believer in instinct.“
    Gunjan Bhardwaj – Founder and CEO Innoplexus

     

    Affiliate Links

    Is your startup in need of a bank account in Germany? Try our partner affiliate Penta http://bit.ly/3bdHX3d

    Looking to open a bank account to shift between crypto and fiat? Try our partner Bitwala with this affiliate link here http://bit.ly/2w01Zye

     

    Interview Part 1

    This is part two of a series of interviews with Gunjan. You find part one of our interview here:

    https://www.startuprad.io/blog/meet-innoplexus-the-startup-which-fights-all-diseases/

    “… but I also have to say that investors in this part of the world look at the long term picture … but once they are convinced, they are partners for the long term”
    Gunjan Bhardwaj – Founder and CEO Innoplexus

     

    One Day Commute to New York

    One of the things Gunjan likes about Frankfurt is its great connectivity. With the connections of Frankfurt Airport (IATA Code FRA, therefore know as Fraport) you can get on a plane, meet in New York in the afternoon and be back in Frankfurt early the next morning https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraport

     

    Germany is one of the best places to start a company.
    Gunjan Bhardwaj – Founder and CEO Innoplexus

     

    Advice in Fundraising

    Innoplexus counts among its investors HCS (https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/hcs-beteiligungsgesellschaft), as well as Christian Angermayer of Aperion (https://www.crunchbase.com/person/christian-angermayer), as well as EOS VC (https://vc.eos.io/partners/finlab/), the venture capital arm of Block.one.  According to a report by FAZ they have already raised 35 mn Euros and are looking for 40 million more (https://www.faz.net/aktuell/wirtschaft/unternehmen/start-up-innoplexus-ein-google-der-pharmabranche-16473990.html).

     

    „No funding event is easy, but what is easy in life?“
    Gunjan Bhardwaj – Founder and CEO Innoplexus

     

    Gunjan strongly recommends doing your due diligence, he likes to quote one of his teachers who said that assuming means „making an ass of you and me” 😊. He recommends you agree with your investor on a vision for the future of the company. The personal chemistry between an investor and a founder is especially important as well. It is especially important to have a heart to heart conversations with your investors because there will always be difficult times. A founder requires a very honest conversation in difficult times and a common vision and good personal chemistry help.

     

    „You should be very factual; you should question everything.“
    Gunjan Bhardwaj – Founder and CEO Innoplexus

     

    The Video Interview is set to go live on May 21st  19.00 CET (1 PM Eastern, 18.00 London)

    https://youtu.be/gE7hjWy-7pU

    May 21st is in 2020 also a public holiday in Germany – Ascension Day. This is also the day, where in Germany Father’s Day is celebrated. So happy Fathersday to all Fathers out there!

    Note on German customs: Ascension day is calculated according to the moon calendar and therefore not on a fixed date, but rather a Thursday in May.

     

    There is a very serious startup culture here in Frankfurt
    Gunjan Bhardwaj – Founder and CEO Innoplexus

     

    Further Readings / Resources

     

    Feedback

     

    Reach out to us, here is our audience survey, to give us feedback, suggest topics, interview partners or just to say “Hallo!” https://forms.gle/mLV6mVKwGwKuut8BA

    This Month in German Startups – April 2020

    This Month in German Startups – April 2020

     

    If you are new to our podcast(s), we are wrapping up the startup news of the German-speaking area in a monthly recording from Frankfurt and New York. Have a look at our website www.startuprad.io or www.startup.radio and you will find all the links to our recordings and the articles we are quoting from there. Some of the source articles are in English, some are in German.

     

    Reach out to us, here is our audience survey, to give us feedback, suggest topics, interview partners or just to say “Hallo!” https://forms.gle/mLV6mVKwGwKuut8BA 

     

    Find the hosts here:

    Jörn “Joe” Menninger joe@startuprad.io / Twitter  / LinkedIn / Video Interview (2018)

    Chris Fahrenbach chris@startuprad.io / Twitter / Homepage / Video Interview (2018)

     

    Enabler

    This recording was made possible by (Hessen Trade and Invest). Learn more about our enabler here: https://www.invest-in-hessen.com/

     

    Together with our enabler we are running a podcast called “Tech Startups Germany”, which will focus on startups at a Serie A stage or even more mature. You will also find all the videos we produce for this podcast on our YouTube channel www.youtube.com/startupradio. This podcast is available directly on our device as audio and video podcast, yes, Startuprad.io makes the first downloadable video podcast. Find all options to subscribe here: 

     

     

    Housekeeping – Time to brag

    A tiny bit of hope is back, so we do a bit a of bragging again:

    Wow, the days around Easter have been AMAZING for Startuprad.io. We retained our position in Chartable’s Global Top 100 Technology and Global Top 100 Science Charts, but we also entered the iTunes Technology Charts in Vietnam for the first time. Again in the US and UK welcomed us to their Apple Technology Podcast Charts again in the Top 200 https://twitter.com/startuprad_io/status/1252523750123352066

     

    You can subscribe to Startuprad.io here:

    Our Sub-Podcasts:

     

    Housekeeping – tracking startups we interviewed

     

    InvestSuite snaps up €2 million to grow its investment tools for banks and brokers https://buff.ly/3dQLGoy 
    Learn more about them in the Startuprad.io interview here: https://buff.ly/2X960cG  (the interview was published on 18th of December 2018)

     

    The video will go live on Thursday, April 30th, 19.00 CET

     

    Coronavirus / Covid19

    __________________

    We are working with Startup Genome to quantify the impact of the crisis on startups and push for adapted policy action now. They’re doing it all over the world so they’ll be able to prove how good policy action is saving startups—and lack of policy is disastrous.

    If you had an ongoing startup before the crisis, please take 5 min. to contribute right now: 

    • If you since had to close it click here
    • Otherwise, if your startup is ongoing and even if you paused operations, click here

    We need hundreds of founders to do so–and you know it’s not easy.  

    __________________

    #Funding in times of Corona

    #Government aid and direct loans

    Related:

    • Germany’s $2.2 Billion Bailout for Startups Stuck by Who Pays Up – Bloomberg https://buff.ly/2RRNOTP 
    • Corona aid for companies in #Hessen (German only) | Hessisches Ministerium für Wirtschaft, Energie, Verkehr und Wohnen https://buff.ly/2WQY8P4
    • KfW emergency credit application volume reaches 7.4 bn Euros according to @FAZ exclusive coverage https://buff.ly/2Jg52FP  

    30 applications with a total volume of 6 mn Euros filed by startups and „young companies“

     

    As you may know we try to expose you to different angles of the same story. Here is another interesting point talking about challenger banks

     

      • N26 Says Bank Closures May Drive Mobile Banking Adoption https://buff.ly/3bDdsTO writes Bloomberg on March 23rd
        • “We assume that many people will open an online account because more and more bank branches are closing due to the corona crisis. Online banking will become much more important,” Chief Financial Officer Maximilian Tayenthal said in a telephone interview on Monday.
      • “Digital bank signups dive in lockdown” https://buff.ly/2VEcdOU writes Sifted on the other hand, but on April 27th.

     

    • “Europe’s top challenger banks saw a drop in digital downloads last month in a sign that the coronavirus lockdown may be negatively impacting business. 
    • Monzo, Revolut, Starling and N26 saw their growth rate drop by between 18% and 36% in their native markets*, according to an analysis by Priori Data commissioned by Sifted.”

     

     

    #Additional resources, related to funding in times of corona

     

    • “Investors then–and now–quickly turned inward to assess their existing portfolio companies’ health to create strategies for those who have shorter runways and would need to cut back. Today, as then, companies are advised to plan for two years without raising new funding. All startups have to throw out previous business plans, reassess expenses, sales projections and risks.”
    • We found this article since we screen the blog on a regular basis. But it is also mentioned in the post above: 
      What Could the Venture Market Look Like in the Coronavirus Era https://buff.ly/2W6EgqP “Let’s break down the trends by series. The earlier the stage the company, the less it was impacted.”

     

      • Useful: How (not) to pitch to an investor over video call | Siftedeu https://buff.ly/33N5nsQ 
        • … “re-read: Don’t jump on the call without sending the presentation in advance. …
        • Questions in advance: One primarily for the investors. Help the founders set the agenda by taking the time to go through the deck and tell them the areas you want to focus on and key questions you want to cover in the meeting. …
        • Agenda: Don’t wing it! Always set an agenda and manage the time allocated for the meeting (the previous tip really helps on this front). 
        • …”
      • Investor wisdom for startups to get through coronavirus | Sifted https://buff.ly/2QURRhG

     

    • “Tip number 3: Rule of three
      Axa Venture Partners is advising founders to think of coronavirus as a three-part crisis: first, confinement; second, when people are allowed to leave their homes again; and third, the mid to long run.”

     

     

    Positive news

    Global VC Partech closes €92.3M funding to invest in post-COVID trends in health, finance, mobility & more | @SiliconCanals https://buff.ly/2zyHIRP

     

    Ecosystem 

     

    On a more general note, from April 6th: “Startup funding during the crisis: What’s really going on?” https://buff.ly/39LcWlh 

    • Investors are still investing 
    • Valuations are likely to be lower, reflecting the new market conditions
    • No sectors are ‘off-limits’ 
    • Some investors will disappear for a while
    • It’s worth looking into government funding schemes 
    • It’s important for startups to keep developing, even if they’ve become incredibly lean

     

    If you want to keep up to date, there is a free “Weekly global economic update” https://buff.ly/2Jfkku9

     

    Fintech could be hit especially hard. We found two articles on the topic
    Fintech in a downturn: Why some sectors are vulnerable | Sifted https://buff.ly/2UzrVJl 

    How Covid-19 Is Impacting Fintech Financing | CB Insights Research https://buff.ly/2R61Kcw

     

    Hubs

    #Frankfurt / Rhine-Main

    Frankfurt-based and listed creditshelf, a p2p credit market place for SMEs, doubles revenue and reduces losses https://buff.ly/2UkEzx6 

    Here is the link to our interview with them from April 2019: https://www.startuprad.io/exclusive/do-you-know-creditshelf-it-is-germanys-only-listed-pure-play-fintech/ 

    The link is the audio file, here is the video: https://youtu.be/GdY2pJeh1tE 

     

    Scoutbee launches free tool to help organisations search for COVID-19 support-related supplies – TechCrunch https://buff.ly/2wOewFI

     

    Merck Venture Arm Invests in Quantum Computing Startup Seeqc https://www.wsj.com/articles/merck-venture-arm-invests-in-quantum-computing-startup-seeqc-11586454285

     

    German holding company Haniel buys majority stake in Emma, a #Frankfurt-based „sleep tech“ startup https://buff.ly/2Vv956V (keep that in mind for later, the companies section)

     

    #Mainz / Rhine-Main

    Mainz-based BioNTech, Pfizer To Begin COVID-19 Clinical Trial In Germany https://buff.ly/3bvPYAr 

    Related:

    BioNTech: has been approached “several times” to sell the whole company outright, but is not interested https://buff.ly/3aCbQss

    RhineMain.vc 

    Startups and tech companies in the greater Rhine-Main-Area raised more than 310 mn Euros in funding for Q1 2020. Four large deals have been driving the numbers (Volocopter additional 32 mn Euros for their Series C, Scoutbee 54 mn Euros, BionNTech (from above) got 135 mn US$ for the Covid19 research and Iwoca got 100 mn Euros to lent from their German Headquarter in Frankfurt to German SMEs and startups) learn more here: https://buff.ly/39PRuvm

    Kassel 

    Information company Schufa and fintech Fino set up a joint company, to help fight money laundry https://buff.ly/2VtV35j 

    Hamburg

    German Fintech NAGA Turns Profitable | Finance Magnates https://buff.ly/2xs6xyh

    Munich

    Abracar, the professional car broker – backed by Allianz with 11.5 mn Euros – will be liquidated. Reasons are a strategy shift at AllianzX (turning their unit from a company builder to a later stage investor) and the coronavirus, which makes the business almost going flat. Even Auto1 has many of its employees in Kurzarbeit https://buff.ly/3eS6GvL 

    Wirecard AG: KPMG delivers report on special investigation „Incriminating evidence for the public allegations of balance sheet forgery has not been identified.“

    https://buff.ly/2SbVb8A 

    Note our special blog post on the whole story here:

    https://www.startuprad.io/blog/wirecard-vs-financial-times-the-history-which-lead-to-a-special-audit/

     

    Companies

    #Insolvencies

    Berlin-based #startup Tausendkind has to file for #insolvency, due to #coronavirus https://buff.ly/3dDgOb6 they have been an online shop for children’s apparel

     

    #mattresses (remember from above?)

    Three months after their IPO Casper retreats from Europe and cuts more than 20% of its workforce to save more than 10 mn US$ annually. CFO and COO to leave May 15th! This also means shutting down their office in Berlin https://buff.ly/2RYiYZy 

     

    #Online groceries getting real boos with Covid19

    Picnic opens a second fulfillment center in Germany https://buff.ly/2UFKXPJ

     

    #There are still some fundraisings and exits:

    Germany’s Xpension pension platform raises €25M in a Series C growth round – TechCrunch https://buff.ly/34a5uPe

     

    German security firm Avira has been acquired by Investcorp at a $180M valuation – TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/08/german-security-firm-avira-has-been-acquired-by-investcorp-at-a-180m-valuation/

     

    # There is life next to Amazon

    Otto ( #Germany’s No 2 in #ecommerce) sees sales grow 9 percent to 3.5 billion euros in 2019 https://buff.ly/2ULHFum the company has it’s origins in catalogue mailing business and is the only one, which made a transformation in Germany. Both former competitors Neckermann and Quelle have gone out of business (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arcandor). Sad note, at one point they belonged to – what is now part of Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof – which also had to file for insolvency during Corona. We see the retail transformation in Germany in real time. 

     

    Stay Ahead of the Curve

    There is a survey of the impact of Covid19 on UK startups: https://public.flourish.studio/story/279152/

    Few startups have significantly cut headcount, but 80% have stopped or slowed hiring, in view of a meaningful revenue drop and negative projections.

    Revenue implications:

     

    • 40% have seen March revenues drop by over 25%
    • 68% expect full-year revenues to drop more than 25% below plans

     

    Staff cost implications:

     

    • 49% have frozen hiring, another 32% have slowed hiring
    • 16% have committed to laying off at least 10% of staff
    • 26% have committed to furloughing at least 10% of staff
    • 30% have cut salaries across the company by at least 15%

     

    Many startups have sought to reduce non-staff costs, in view of a more challenging funding environment.

    _____________________________

    The next outbreak? We’re not ready for – Ted Talk by Bill Gates from 2015 on YouTube it appears no one listened? https://buff.ly/2wc5IsC

     

    Sales During COVID-19: What We’re Seeing – Bowery Capital https://buff.ly/34eNMdC

     

    Planning and Managing Layoffs – Andreessen Horowitz https://a16z.com/2020/03/31/planning-and-managing-layoffs/

    Meet Innoplexus the startup which fights ALL diseases

    Meet Innoplexus the startup which fights ALL diseases

    Despite the commonly held belief, I grew here faster in Germany than in the US or in the UK
    Gunjan Bhardwaj – Founder and CEO Innoplexus

     

    Important information upfront – the Fight against Corona Virus / Covid19

     For the corona virus, we not only have to flatten the curve, we have to flatten the disease.
    Gunjan Bhardwaj – Founder and CEO Innoplexus

     

    Innoplexus grants free access to the research platform “Acceleration of Covid19 research:” https://coronavirus.ontosight.ai/

    Here is the COVID19 Dashboard of Innoplexus: https://covid19.innoplexus.de/news

     

    We are working on a completely new molecule to address the current and future coronavirus. The current problem with Corona will not stop. There will be further strains coming in.
    Gunjan Bhardwaj – Founder and CEO Innoplexus

     

    The Enabler

    This is a video interview from our podcast Tech Startups Germany. All the recordings on this channel are made possible by Invest in Hessen (learn more here https://www.invest-in-hessen.com/home).

     

    We fight all diseases. Right from the start, we wanted to provide an AI platform to solve all relevant problems in drug discovery and development.
    Gunjan Bhardwaj – Founder and CEO Innoplexus

     

    The Podcasts

    We will post this interview and all others as podcast(s) next Tuesday night Central European Time. Subscribe here and have them on our device when you wake up:

    💢 Audio only – Tech Startups Germany by Startuprad.io
    iTunes https://apple.co/2Z17bfl
    Deezer http://bit.ly/2Qbh1rl
    TuneIn http://bit.ly/2M8vpzn
    Stitcher http://bit.ly/34xTANO
    💢 Video – Tech Startups Germany by Startuprad.io
    iTunes https://apple.co/2M8ZxKJ

     

    The founder

    Gunjan Bhardwaj (https://www.linkedin.com/in/gunjan-bhardwaj-b321a32/), not to be confused with the actor with the same name. His first enterprise was selling bean bags during university. He is a former consultant and a graduate of IIT Bombay, as well as a TED speaker. He enjoys a lot of work since he is also the author of the book “Inside the Cockpit: Navigating the Complexity of Drug Development with AI and Blockchain” (https://amzn.to/2QYI1eL). Surprisingly Gunjan is not a physician. He changed careers after one of his mentors became sick with cancer because he wanted to know about alternatives for treatments.

     

    Medical Data doubles every 73 days. Medical data at the end of the year is more than 32 times at the beginning of the year.
    Gunjan Bhardwaj – Founder and CEO Innoplexus

     

    ________________________________________________________

    Affiliate Links

    Why not learn from entrepreneurs and executives who are open to share their favorite books. We skimmed through some recommendations and that is what we found.

    • Recommended by: Bill Gates
      “Enlightenment Now by Steven Pinker” https://amzn.to/2XAENlB
    • Recommended by: Jeff Bezos
      “Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras” https://amzn.to/2RGKGKe
    • Recommended by: Elon Musk
      “Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future by Peter Thiel” https://amzn.to/2REbHhw
    • Recommended by: Tony Hsieh
      “Tribal Leadership: Leveraging Natural Groups to Build a Thriving Organization by Dave Logan” https://amzn.to/34KgraQ
    • Recommended by: Warren Buffet
      “Business Adventures: Twelve Classic Tales From the World of Wall Street by John Brooks” https://amzn.to/2K92z06
    • Recommended by: Tim Cook
      “Competing Against Time by George Stalk and Thomas Hout” https://amzn.to/3cjMMYn

    ___________________________________

     

    Links, Video and Show Notes

    Find all of them here: https://www.startuprad.io/blog/meet-innoplexus-the-startup-which-fights-all-diseases/

    This Month in German Startups – March 2020

    This Month in German Startups – March 2020

    If you are new to our podcast(s), we are wrapping up the startup news of the German-speaking area in a monthly recording from Frankfurt and New York. Have a look at our website www.startuprad.io or www.startup.radio and you will find all the links to our recordings and the articles we are quoting from there. Some of the source articles are in English, some are in German.

     

    Feedback

    Reach out to us, here is our audience survey, to give us feedback, suggest topics, interview partners or just to say “Hallo!” https://forms.gle/mLV6mVKwGwKuut8BA 

     

    Find the hosts here:

    Jörn “Joe” Menninger joe@startuprad.io / Twitter  / LinkedIn / Video Interview (2018)

    Chris Fahrenbach chris@startuprad.io / Twitter / Homepage / Video Interview (2018)

    Note that Chris decided to stay in New York to be able to report from there, which is the epicenter of the US corona outbrake! Thank you for that!

    Enabler

    This recording was made possible by (Hessen Trade and Invest). Learn more about our enabler here: https://www.invest-in-hessen.com/

    Together with our enabler, we are running a podcast called “Tech Startups Germany”, which will focus on startups at a Serie A stage or even more mature. You will also find all the videos we produce for this podcast on our YouTube channel www.youtube.com/startupradio. This podcast is available directly on our device as audio and video podcast, yes, Startuprad.io makes the first downloadable video podcast. Find all options to subscribe here: 

    ______________________________________
    Our affiliate partners:

    Startup in need of a bank account? Try our partner Penta http://bit.ly/3bdHX3d

    Looking for a bank account to shift between crypto and fiat? Try our partner Bitwala: http://bit.ly/2w01Zye

    Need office space? Co-Working at WeWork https://we.co/2GYbxvS

    Need something done fast? SEO / Graphics / Sounds / Transcript look at Fiverr: http://bit.ly/2S0f2YF

    You can listen to many of the books from our recommendations with an audible subscription: https://amzn.to/2pGzseh

    ______________________________________

    Housekeeping

    No bragging this time.

    Now there is

     

    Coronavirus / Covid19

    We will bring you weekly short updates, called Corona Flash. This is meant to keep you updated on the most recent developments, relevant for startups.

     

    German Government in Talks With Startups on Survival Package – Bloomberg https://buff.ly/2vB6zmu

    Related 

    Covid19 response by the German Government
    50 bn € aid for freelancers and SMEs
    400 bn € guarantees and 100 bn € for equity stakes
    100 bn € for liquidity aid via KfW
    DER SPIEGEL https://buff.ly/3bnrc54 

     

     Important Knowledge Sources for Startups on Covid19 and policy responses

    The first victims of #Covid19 in Germany are Maredo (a chain of steakhouses), as well as Vapiano, who both have to file for insolvency. We are afraid there will be more … https://buff.ly/2QH8HjM 

     

    Keep in mind, there are many people out there looking for help AND THERE WILL BE SCAMMERS, so validate your sources, start from associations and government pages. Be wary of potential scams. 

     

    This video is set to go live on Thursday, March 26th 16.00 CET (11 am EDT (New York, Boston), 15.00 GMT (London))

    Ecosystem

    Looking beyond the #coronavirus scare: It may have set in motion a boom for delivery robots, for food and parcels https://buff.ly/2PAebwu 

     

    What Coronavirus Could Mean for the Global Economy https://buff.ly/33K6MAg  

    “Yet, a closer look reveals that a recession should not be seen as a foregone conclusion.  

    ….

    There is no doubt that financial markets now ascribe significant disruptive potential to Covid-19, and those risks are real. But the variations in asset valuations underline the significant uncertainty surrounding this epidemic, and history cautions us against drawing a straight line between financial market sell-offs and the real economy. …”
    Bottom line: You should have everything from a long recession to a V-shaped recovery in your planning scenarios!

     

    What happens when VCs go out fundraising | Sifted https://buff.ly/2PVYNKL 

    “It’s a pretty humbling experience, several VCs told me. The ratio of limited partners (LPs) to VC general partners (GPs) is around 1:4, which means there are far more VCs hunting for cash than people prepared to offer it to them. (The ratio of women to men is about as bad.)

    ….

    This year, the odds of success were made worse by coronavirus; many VCs had several meetings cancelled by LPs who’d decided not to fly over. Hand sanitiser was scattered liberally around the conference, and some VCs adopted fist bumps instead of handshakes to keep on the safe side. …”

     

    Funding in the Time of Coronavirus https://buff.ly/32W96E6 by Mark Suster, now VC at Upfront Ventures (LA) 

    “A $40m pre-money deal today ma fund at $20m pre-money in 6 months even if the financial performance hasn’t changed. …

    While nobody knows for sure what will happen, I think coronavirus is more likely to be seen as a “Black Swan” event (like 9/11) where the world will be very different as a result.”

     

    The #Coronavirus Outbreak Has Erased Nearly $460B Of Big Tech’s Market Cap | CB Insights Research https://buff.ly/39IPyWm

     

    Hubs

    #Frankfurt / Rhine-Main

    Covid19

    • This German biotech startup that’s working on a coronavirus cure has captured the world’s attention https://buff.ly/2ITg6Zi
      • Related: CureVac’s Ingmar Hoerr tells us why he returned to take on a pandemic; NGM loses a president https://buff.ly/2QvlPIR 
    • Fosun and BioNTech launch $135m vaccine hunt for coronavirus https://buff.ly/39ejGHW 
    •  You can find here an overview of how #startups from #Hesse help to combat #Covid19 – Technologieland Hessen https://buff.ly/3doy5oo 

     

    #Drones in RheinMain

    • Bruchsal-based Volocopter extends its Series C to €87 million to pioneer air taxi services | EU-Startups https://buff.ly/2PpfpdJ 
    • Drone startup Wingcopter secures a further seven-digit investment from Corecam https://buff.ly/3aBD7f7 

     

    Being a fintech CEO is good, at least if you are in Frankfurt https://buff.ly/2VluOzs 

    Some of the C-Level employees of the startups are earning 500.000 Euros or more a year, according to their annual reports. Note that this salary is not outrageous compared to the position the people could hold elsewhere, especially in Frankfurt. 

    Take for example here the list of what startups in the US pay their CEOs. Some upward of 4 million USD a year (in one case even beyond 100 mn USD) https://about.crunchbase.com/blog/startup-ceo-salary/ The whole discussion was started because one CEO in Berlin earned more than 130.000 Euros a year. This seems to be a very German discussion.

     

    Iwoca, with German headquarters in Frankfurt, raises 100 mn Euros to hand out as credit in Germany to its clients | FinanceFWD https://buff.ly/3aatsfb  it could be a test for a much larger investment

     

    #Savedroid Saga

    #Frankfurt-based Savedroid wins court ruling and share price rises, is this the first sign of a turn around asks FinanceFWD https://buff.ly/2vvHOIq 

     

    Meet #Frankfurt-based capheniatec, they are all about carbon-neutral synthetic fuels https://buff.ly/3cD8dEZ 

     

    Augsburg

    Cioplenu, the #SaaS for ‘deskless’ workers on the production floor, raises €4.2M seed https://buff.ly/2VAt2dV

     

    More to the south: Munich

    Do you know the startup Fraundorfer Aeronautics, from Munich? They are developing a helicopter with fuel cells https://buff.ly/3an1Pzs

    Munich-based #airtaxi startup Lilium raises 224 mn Euro VentureCapital https://buff.ly/2Uy5CnD 

     

    Companies

    #Penta

    Funding Circle’s losses grow to £84.2m amid European layoffs „A significant factor was a £34.3m “non-cash exceptional write-down” of goodwill and intangible assets in Germany and the Netherlands“  https://buff.ly/3d3DNvS Keep in mind, they bought Berlin based Rocket Internet startup Zencap. 

     

    Do you know these seven startups from #Germany? They all raised beyond 10 mn Euros #VentureCapital https://buff.ly/3aoXR9K?utm_source=-custom-by-source-0-

    Lanes & Planes (10 mn US$)

    Limehome (21 mn Euros)

    Mister Spex (15 mn Euros recently, 65 mn € before)

    Sanity Group (20 mn Euros)

    Soundcloud (75 mn US$, more than 542 mn US$ according to Crunchbase)

    Tier Mobility (Series B extended to beyond 100 mn US$)

    Volocopter (Series C recently extended to 87 mn Euros)

     

    #S/MDAX

    Hellofresh ascents from small caps (SDAX) to medium caps index (MDAX)  https://buff.ly/2TSwbU7 
    They used to be a Rocket Internet startup, but Rocket sold their 29% stake in 2019 (we talked about it https://buff.ly/2PYGncx) 

    Related:

    HelloFresh now has 3 mn customers and stopped burning cash in 2019. They want to grow to 2,2 bn € (+22%) revenue, focusing on profit via Exciting Commerce https://buff.ly/38kDlFN

     

    Does it smell good here? 🙂

    Online perfumery Flaconi is growing 48% and misses the 200 mn Euro mark. https://buff.ly/2TyhB52 Exciting has a great overview of the tough competition between pure online players and brick and mortar retailers (Douglas)

    #Scooter wars

    #New Funding Sources:

    • Target Global launches €120 million Early-Stage Fund II to back tech founders across Europe | EU-Startups https://buff.ly/2SUETBR
    • #Zurich-based #VentureCapital investor Lakestar raises $735 mln for Europe bets „will invest one-third of the commitments to its Early Stage fund and two thirds to its Growth Stage fund “ https://buff.ly/2T76UoA
    • RTP Global (known for investments like Delivery Hero) announcing new €581M early-stage fund to back tech startups | Silicon Canals https://buff.ly/39hWPMB?utm_source=-custom-by-source-0- 

      

    #Unicorn watch

    • N26 raises fees, in some cases whopping 66 percent https://buff.ly/32Ph55Z
      • Customer blunders and tensions at the top – behind N26’s failed UK expansion | Sifted 
    • #Munich based #ecommerce startup Westwing reshuffles its management, CFO is out and the CEO (and founder) takes 6 month maternal leave https://buff.ly/2wvEY68 the company ipo’d in October 2018 for 23 Euros a share, currently it is trading barely above 3 Euros.

     

    #CVC Watch – Fintechs

    Want to know where Deutsche Bank invests in #fintechs? Look here: https://buff.ly/3cDSG7S 

    • TrustBills
    • dwins 
    • vermietet
    • ImmoBeratung 
    • Deposit Solution 

     

    #Exits

    • VC arm of German TV station ProSiebenSat1 and General Atlantic buy (as expected) with their joint venture NuCom Group – The Meet Group, an online dating and social entertainment company https://buff.ly/2TMuRSH 
    • Former CFO of online sex shop Amorelie build #Berlin-based sex toy company Wow Tech and sold it to PE fund CDH from Singapur  https://buff.ly/2IJwo70 #TechNews #startup #startups #startupnews #entrepreneur #business #TechnologyNews 

     

    Stay ahead of the curve

    The impact of COVID-19 on investment management | Deloitte Insights https://buff.ly/2Wq4Awn

    Impact of COVID-19 on insurers | Deloitte Insights https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/insights/economy/covid-19/impact-of-covid-19-on-insurers.html?id=us:2em:3pa:financial-services:eng:di:031720 

    Banking and capital markets: Implications of COVID-19 | Deloitte Insights https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/economy/covid-19/banking-and-capital-markets-impact-covid-19.html?id=us:2em:3pa:financial-services:eng:di:031720

    Acomodeo helps companies to find serviced apartments worldwide

    Acomodeo helps companies to find serviced apartments worldwide

    The Enabler

    This is a video interview from our podcast Tech Startups Germany. All the recordings on this channel are made possible by Invest in Hessen (learn more here https://www.invest-in-hessen.com/home).

     

    Our first clients know us and trust us, and they do these bookings [28.000 – 35.000 Euros] on a cell phone.
    Eric-Jan Krausch during his Startuprad.io interview

     

    The Podcasts

    We will post this interview and all others as podcast(s) next Tuesday night Central European Time. Subscribe here and have them on our device when you wake up:

    💢 Audio only – Tech Startups Germany by Startuprad.io
    iTunes https://apple.co/2Z17bfl
    Deezer http://bit.ly/2Qbh1rl
    TuneIn http://bit.ly/2M8vpzn
    Stitcher http://bit.ly/34xTANO
    💢 Video – Tech Startups Germany by Startuprad.io
    iTunes https://apple.co/2M8ZxKJ

     

    We see that there are a lot of professional suppliers in the market and we digitize them. We make them online bookable.
    Eric-Jan Krausch during his Startuprad.io interview

     

    The Founder

    In this interview for Invest-in-hessen.com we are talking to Eric-Jan Krausch (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ejkrausch/), Founder and CEO of Frankfurt-based proptech and business travel startup ACOMODEO (https://www.acomodeo.com/en-us/). Eric is born in Frankfurt and originally worked in a radio station. He even studied music business in Mannheim (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popakademie_Baden-W%C3%BCrttemberg).  He also worked for innovation departments at large and established companies. After that Eric became a freelancer, working as consultant for several companies.

     

    Our global footprint is supported by our location in Frankfurt.
    Eric-Jan Krausch during his Startuprad.io interview

     

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    The Story

    Eric developed the idea of Acomodeo together with his roommate, during his graduate studies. The company provides on its platform multinational companies with apartments all around the world. This is a great service for multinationals since they must provide housing for their employees on international assignments. One can book apartments on Acomodeo from four days to two years. The goal is to get the client a seamless travel experience, so the startup sees itself more like a startup in the travel industry (traveltech), rather than a property startup (proptech).

     

    For a B2B startup this [Frankfurt] is a better location.
    Eric-Jan Krausch during his Startuprad.io interview

     

    Acomodeo vets the suppliers before they get on their platform. They focus on other points that a hotel platform would like the question: Is there a fully equipped kitchen, including a toaster?

     

     

    Joe’s Tip (AL)

    The hard thing about hard things https://amzn.to/2Tjx4pt

     

    The Video Interview (this interview will go live on Thursday, March 19th 15.00 CET, 14.00 UK, 10 am ET)

    Further Readings

    City of Mannheim https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mannheim

    Napster (in case you never have heard of it): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzbrVpG90yc

    Deutsche Telekom https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutsche_Telekom

    German Accelerator Program (helped Acomodeo to start their New York Office): https://www.germanaccelerator.com/