Happy 2023, as well as a happy Chinese New Year of the Rabbit. 2023 Chris and Joe will again bring you startup news once a month (with a small summer break) wrapping up what was going on — and we found noteworthy — in the GSA / DACH startups scene.

Our Highlights:

WeFox is under fire for growing with acquisitions of insurance broker pools, BioNTech makes largest acquisition in its history, DeepL confirms unicorn status and snipes at Grammarly, Solarisbank in trouble with BaFin, Trade Republic has to disclose numbers and Sono Motors gets longer runway with EU money.

Let’s talk startups:

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Top News

WeFox got some splaining to do 🙂

Extensive, but not favorable coverage of insurtech Wefox came out this month. The main complaints are that the growth is basically driven by acquiring existing pools of insurance brokers (not really what you would associate with an insurtech startup). They made that way 600 million Euros in revenue in 2022. But these pools do not get innovative systems from WeFox, or innovative insurance offers from them, they just keep working. Also, there has been no innovative product that really drove the growth at WeFox as an innovative unicorn

BioNTech makes the largest acquisition to date

BioNTech may be one of Germany’s most successful startup companies. We talked about it in our news before, the company alone is responsible for approximately half a percentage point of Germany’s GDP Growth in 2021 — Keep in mind that Germany is the 4th largest country in the world by nominal GDP.

Here is the new piece: Mainz-based pharma company BioNTech (famous for their corona vaccine) makes the largest acquisition in its history with UK-based AI startup Instadeep

Related: BioNTech’s founder on the future of mRNA technology

Cologne-based DeepL confirms unicorn status and snipes at Grammarly

DeepL takes aim at Grammarly with the launch of Write, to clean up your prose.

Related:

Cologne-based translation tool DeepL confirms unicorn valuation for their 2022 fundraising of 100 mn US$

Solarisbank joins N26 in Troubles with BaFin

Bafin is Germany’s bank oversight body (think FSA or SEC). They have already limited the number of customers N26 can acquire due to lapses in following regulations (especially AML), now Solarisbank is in too: “Solarisbank in Germany can now only get new partners (fintech clients) with permission of German finance oversight BaFin, due to continuing problems. BaFin also sends an “observer”

Trade Republic Updates

Trade Republic generates more than 1 bn Euros inflows of new client money with 2% interest rate offer and a lot of favorable press coverage.

Also, Trade Republic has to publish their numbers: There is a legal requirement in Germany to publish your balance sheet 12 months after your business year

This Month in German, Swiss, and Austrian (GSA) Startups - January 2023

Welcome to This Month in German, Swiss, and Austrian (GSA) Startups, our startup news wrap-up for December 2022 by Startuprad.io with Chris from New York City and Joe from Frankfurt. We recorded this news episode on December 19th, 2022. Keep in mind, this news episode covers everything since our last news episode.

As always: All news not yet included here will be published in our next news episode, which will be January 2023, the first news for 2023. Guys, another year is over! Find all links to the quoted news on our Medium blog, link below

Our Highlights:

Enpal makes huge fundraising in the current environment, more than 800 mn €. Sennder doubles its valuation in the next funding round to 2 bn US$ and has already 60 mn commitments. The funding environment may be bleak, but investors announced new funds for VC and PE investments worth 3.1 bn US$ targeting startups and scaleups in GSA or Europe. One blog asks if the time of Rocket Internet is over, Matter Labs raises 200 mn, a big heist drives a startup into insolvency and Getir buys Gorillas for 1,2 bn US$, a far cry from Gorillas' former 3 bn US$ valuation.

Let's talk startups:

Top News 

Enpal Fundraising

Enpal could double its valuation in the new funding round. Berlin-based unicorn Enpal closes €855 million in debt funding to accelerate the adoption of solar energy.



Sennder Raises New Funds At Double Valuation

Digital forwarder unicorn Sennder is raising new money, at a  2 bn US$ valuation. According to the report, they already have  60m commitments.



Fundraising For VCs Went Quite Well - More Than 3.1 bn Euros Worth of New Investment Funds Have Been Closed

The largest is EQT Ventures. It has Money if your startup needs it: EQT Ventures III closes Europe's largest venture capital fund committed to early-stage tech startups. The money will go to early-stage startups in Europe and North America. For more funds, wait for our later section with new fund announcements.

A service for our audience: Learn more and send in pitches here: https://eqtgroup.com/current-portfolio/funds/eqt-ventures-iii 



Has Rocket Internet Already Seen Its Best Years?

"Mucho trouble over at Rocket Internet," wrote Robin Wauters in his readworthy newsletter for Tech.eu. The article asks if their era is over. Staff cuts and investment stop point in that direction.



Startup Brand Ranking

Jung von Matt publishes their annual  GERMAN STARTUP BRAND RANKING

Some of the top 50 startup brands are known from our news: About You, Flink, Numa Group, getquin, Vivid, Flaschenpost, Tier Mobility, Zolar, Enpal, Sono Motors, Trade Republic



Matter Labs raises 200 mn US$

Matter Labs, the Berlin, Germany-based developer of zkSync, a solution that reduces the cost of Ethereum transactions, raised $200M in Series C funding https://buff.ly/3UorChp



Not Oceans Eleven, But Still BIG

Berlin-based luxury watch marketplace Watchmaster was one of the largest marketplaces of its kind. After a spectacular robbery where 10 m € worth of watches have been stolen the company has to file for insolvency https://buff.ly/3Fi3qsG 



Getir Buys Gorillas And It Is Not Going Well For the Gorillas Founder

First, this kind of news appeared: Getir will take over Gorillas soon - according to press reports. The negotiations have been dragging on for some time now.

Then, we got the confirmation: Getir acquires German competitor Gorillas in $1.2 billion deal - where Gorillas was once valued at 3 bn US$

This Month in German, Swiss, and Austrian (GSA) Startups - December 2022

Executive Summary

9am.works is a startup platform explicitly designed for freelancers. Founded by Marc, a serial entrepreneur formerly with Team Europe Ventures and the founder of Sommelier Prive, Huus, code control, and 9am.works. The platform makes it easy for freelancers to find jobs, invoice clients, and get paid quickly and securely — most for free! It also helps companies work with freelancers, from searching and hiring to payment processing. Bootstrapped since its launch in 2016, 9am.works is transforming how freelance work is being done.

We take a lot of the pain points from companies that work with many freelancers.Marc Clemens, Founder and CEO 9am.works

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We worked with a law firm to build a compliance hub for working with freelancers.Marc Clemens, Founder and CEO 9am.works

Executive Summary

9am.works is a startup platform explicitly designed for freelancers. Founded by Marc, a serial entrepreneur formerly with Team Europe Ventures and the founder of Sommelier Prive, Huus, code control, and 9am.works. The platform makes it easy for freelancers to find jobs, invoice clients, and get paid quickly and securely - most for free! It also helps companies work with freelancers, from searching and hiring to payment processing. Bootstrapped since its launch in 2016, 9am.works is transforming how freelance work is being done.

The Founder

Marc is originally from Schwaben (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabia), an area rich in entrepreneurial culture and home to some of the most iconic German companies, like Bosch and Benz. The Würth family is also from this same region, famous for their products related to screws, nails, and other construction items. He chose to pursue higher education abroad by studying at St. Gallen in Switzerland, UC San Diego, and later HEC in Paris. This exposure helped equip him with the skills needed to be a successful startup founder - something he has since become known for. His roots may have provided him with an initial spark of inspiration, but Marc's hard work has allowed him to carve out his own place in the business world.

A serial entrepreneur, he has a wealth of experience not only with Team Europe Ventures (now team global, founded by Lukasz Gadowski https://teamglobal.net/) and also in founding his own startups. Unfortunately, his venture Sommieler Prive did not succeed, leading to a period of tiredness and burnout. Thankfully, this entrepreneur is sharing his learnings from this experience in interviews to help others avoid the pitfalls of a similar situation. His advice provides powerful insights into how to navigate entrepreneurism without suffering excessively from burnout.

After this, he was freelancing for some time. This leads him to the idea of Code Control (which he still runs), a community for IT freelancers. This again developed into the idea of 9am.works, for all freelancers, not only for IT talent.

In between, he co-founded with his wife the HUUS soundproof phone booths startup (you may have seen them in a coworking space before) https://en.huus.io/.



The Startup

If you are a freelancer in need of assistance with the various steps of working with a company, 9am.works is the perfect platform for you! They provide sales solutions, and project management services free of charge for all freelancers and offer to work along any other steps needed for successful contracting. They also offer a payment solution, but this one is not for fr

9am.works Is The "Operating System" for Freelancers

Executive Summary

Jochen Engert won the German Startup Award 2022 as German Entrepreneur of the Year. He is the co-founder of Munich-based Flix a unicorn recently valued at 3 bn US$ and the owner of Greyhound Lines. He shares in this interview his entrepreneurial journey, and his experience in winning 90% of the local long-distance bus market in less than a decade, without owning even one bus. We talk about the rough times during COVID when the service was shut down for 8 weeks, their expansion into different countries, acquisitions, and investments. He also shares some experience from his business angel investments.

“We are getting to profitability pretty soon”Jochen Engert Co-Founder Flix

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“Our families, even our girlfriends thought we were crazy leaving our consulting jobs to start this ‘bus thing’.”Jochen Engert Co-Founder Flix

German Startup Awards 2022

This interview is in media partnership with the German startup association (Bundesverband Deutscher Startups https://deutschestartups.org/). Their German Startup Awards #GSA22 honor each year outstanding female and male founders and investors in special categories. You can learn more about the winners in our interviews and on this website: https://germanstartupawards.de/rueckblick/rueckblick-2022

You can also have a look at our history, we also interviewed many winners of the German Startup Awards 2021 already.

“Our initial hypothesis was that you need one central player to orchestrate in order to put up a national network.”Jochen Engert Co-Founder Flix

The Founder

Our guest today is Jochen, the Supervisory Board Director (formerly CEO) and Co-Founder of Munich-based mobility unicorn startup Flix (formerly Flixbus). Jochen studied at the University of Ottawa, Canada, as well as at Stuttgart University and in Koblenz at WHU. He has also been a consultant at Boston Consulting Group for 5 years, prior to starting Flix.

“If you want to be a founder, you are always on sales, to clients, investors, and also people you want to hire”Jochen Engert Co-Founder Flix

The trigger of Flix was the 2009 coalition government contract, where the ruling parties stated they wanted to de-regulate the bus service in Germany, for the first time permitting long-distance buses. Before the de-regulation there was a law in force forbidding long-distance bus connections, competing with train service. So they founded GoBus, later re-branded to FlixBus, then to Flix.

“ … for all operational complex businesses: Operational excellence, passion for detail and laser focus on customer centricity and ultimately customer technology … that is something that compounds, …. Building ultimately a competitive advantage, that is very hard to impossible to replicate ”Jochen Engert Co-Founder Flix

The Startup

Flix started as GoBus, later FlixBus (https://global.flixbus.com/). Today they operate FlixBus, FlixTrain, FlixCar, Kâmil Koç in Turkey, and Greyhound Lines in the US. They were valued at 3 bn US$, when they raised their last VC round (Series G published in June 2021). They raised in total more than 1,2 bn US$ from 17 investors, including General A

Meet the German Entrepreneur of the Year - Co-founder of Flix, which now owns Greyhound #GSA22

Executive Summary

Filip is a founding partner of Cherry Ventures, one of Germany’s most important seed investors. Their portfolio includes unicorns like Flixbus, Auto1 Group, Forto, Infarm, and well-known startups like Amorelie, Kitchen Stories, Flaschenpost, Spryker, and Superlist. Their portfolio also includes our former guests: Qualifyze, Sanity Group, and Rows. Filip has a background as an entrepreneur himself, so he and Cherry approach startup investing differently. Tune in to learn more about him and the VC.

“We have software helping us to find good startups, for example, if you are head of product at a good startup and change your title to ‘working on something new’ we get notified.”Filip Dames, Founding Partner Cherry Ventures

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“I really believe an investor should be stage focused”Filip Dames, Founding Partner Cherry Ventures

The Founder

Filip Dames has had an accomplished career, starting out as an intern in Malaysia with DaimlerChrysler, at BCG, and Sony BMG in New York City. Following his venture into the corporate world, he then founded a collectible marketplace called Tamundo. There he went on to oversee the international expansion of Zalando and become the founder and CEO of Zalando Lounge (Zalando’s shopping club). The venture was a success, helping Zalando to go public in 2014. He decided to leave the company, making his 30th birthday also his Zalando farewell party.

From there Filip decided to venture off and focus on venture capital; so it came as no surprise when he started Cherry Ventures in 2013 in Berlin as business angel and startup investor. With tickets of 10.000–50.000€ they are dedicated to helping Germany, Europe, and beyond with investments for entrepreneurs wanting to make their visions reality.

“We invest almost exclusively in Europe”Filip Dames, Founding Partner Cherry Ventures

Cherry Ventures

Cherry Ventures (https://www.cherry.vc/) is an early-stage venture capital fund founded and led by former entrepreneurs. They are focusing on European seed-stage companies in the B2B and B2C space. Cherry invests there at the pre-seed- and seed stage with initial tickets between €500k and €5M.

“Founders first and investors second” is the motto of Cherry Ventures

They started out with their first fund with their own money and the money of close friends, much less than 10 m €. From there they build a portfolio of 30 companies, of which some did really well. This in turn enabled them to raise an institutional fund, worth 150 m Euros. In the second fund, successful entrepreneurs from the first fund invested like the founder of Amorelie or the founders of Flixbus.

Their portfolio is already pretty impressive and includes names our frequent followers will recognize, unicorns like Flixbus, Auto1 Group, Forto, Infarm. But they are also investors in well-known startups like Amorelie, Kitchen Stories, Flaschenpost, Spryker, and Superlist. 

Their portfolio also includes former guests, Qualifyze, Sanity Group, and Rows, for which you can find the interview link in the show notes.

Further Readings / Additional Resources

Qualifyze (audio only) 

https://player.captivate.fm/episode/220f49cc-2ef1-471a-bd5b-504d9235e892

Sanity Group

Meet Filip, One of Germany's Most Successful Early Stage VCs from Cherry Ventures #GSA22

Executive Summary

Milan graduated in 2022 from Highschool and is the founder of QiTech, a company that recycles bottle caps to create the plastic filament used in 3D printers. He was recently awarded the Newcomer of the Year at the German Startup Awards 2022. Milan has been working hard to grow QiTech into a successful business. In addition to selling the ink for 3d printers call filament, QiTech also sells the machines they use to produce the filament. This innovative approach to recycling has earned Milan recognition as an outstanding young entrepreneur. With his creative solution to the problem of plastic waste, Milan is positively impacting the environment and paving the way for a more sustainable future.

In plastic recycling you have to get down to the details, there is a lot of ‘greenwashing.’

Milan von dem Bussche, Founder QiTech

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“We produce (next to recycled filament) lab scale machines, where you can throw in the right kind of plastic on top and get 3d printing filament out at the end.”

Milan von dem Bussche, Founder QiTech

German Startup Awards 2022

This interview is in media partnership with the German startup association (Bundesverband Deutscher Startups https://deutschestartups.org/). Their German Startup Awards #GSA22 honor each year outstanding female and male founders and investors in special categories. You can learn more about the winners in our interviews and on this website: https://germanstartupawards.de/rueckblick/rueckblick-2022  

You can also have a look at our history, we also interviewed many winners of the German Startup Awards 2021 already. 

 “What we do is really recycling, not downcycling.”

Milan von dem Bussche, Founder QiTech



The Founder

Milan is a young entrepreneur who is already making waves in the business world. In March 2022, he won the German Startup Award, and in the summer of the same year, he graduated from high school. Von dem Bussche started his career at the age of 16 with 3d printing phone cases. He soon realized that there was more potential in recycling phone cases and turning them into 3d printing filament. The filament is the ink of a plastic 3d printer; it is a type of plastic that is heated and then layered on to create a 3d shape. Von dem Bussche and his team soon recognized that the filament business held much more potential than the phone case business, so they pivoted their focus. Their hard work has paid off; today, their company is one of the leading producers of 3d printing filament in Germany. von dem Bussche is proof that with a great idea and a lot of determination, anyone can succeed. As of December 2022, the team has not taken in outside investors, but they funded their startup with award money and a government stipend. 



The Startup

Milan von dem Bussche is a young entrepreneur who founded the startup QiTech. The company started out by 3d printing cell phone cases but later realized that there was a much bigger market in recycling plastics to 3d printing fila

QiTech Recycles Plastic Waste in 3D Printing Filament #GSA22

Executive Summary

UnternehmerTUM helps experienced entrepreneurs and students to start, accelerate or fundraise to build world-class companies including but not limited to Flix, Celonis, Blickfeld, Isar Aerospace, Konux, tado, e-bot7, ProGlove or Lilium. At the 2022 German Startup Awards, UnternehmerTUM won the Special Award for their work. Therefore we interview Stefan, its COO in our series with the German Startup Association, and learn more about him and their programs.

German Startup Awards 2022

This interview is in media partnership with the German startup association (Bundesverband Deutscher Startups https://deutschestartups.org/). Their German Startup Awards #GSA22 honor each year outstanding female and male founders and investors in special categories. You can learn more about the winners in our interviews and on this website: https://germanstartupawards.de/rueckblick/rueckblick-2022

You can also have a look at our history, we also interviewed many winners of the German Startup Awards 2021 already.

The Award Winner

This time we have a very special case since the legal entity UnternehmerTUM won the German Startup Awards’ 2022 Special Award. UnternehmerTUM itself is attached to the Technical University of Munich (TUM). It is also one of the cradles of Munich’s world-class startup talent and a light tower in the education of entrepreneurs in Germany. We, therefore, talk to Stefan Drüssler.

Stefan , COO of UnternehmerTUM, is no stranger to entrepreneurism. As a past consultant with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), he has advised startups and Fortune 500 companies alike on how to grow their businesses. But when he joined UnternehmerTUM 5 years ago, he found his true calling in helping entrepreneurs bring their startups to life.

Located in Munich, UnternehmerTUM is one of the world’s leading incubators and accelerators for startups. It is also a hub for entrepreneur education, providing programs and resources to help founders get their businesses off the ground. Recently, UnternehmerTUM was honored with the German Startup Awards’ 2022 Special Award. This recognition is a testament to the incredible work that Stefan and his colleagues are doing to support startup growth in Germany.

Looking to the future, Stefan is excited about the potential for UnternehmerTUM to continue supporting more founders as they turn their innovative ideas into successful businesses. With the right mix of resources and support, there’s no limit to what German startups can achieve.

The Institute

UnternehmerTUM was founded in 2002 by entrepreneur Susanne Klatten as a non-profit organization. With more than 50 high-growth technology start-ups each year and its unique offering, it is the leading center for innovation and business creation in Europe. It is an institute attached to the Technical University of Munich (TUM). 

Mrs. Klatten was raised in a successful entrepreneurial family and her family owns jointly the controlling stake in BMW. The organization’s goal is to promote entrepreneurship among students and scientists, and it offers a variety of programs and resources to support entrepreneurs and its members. In addition to providing educational opportunities, UnternehmerTUM also offers mentorship and networking programs to help its members connect with potential investors and customers. As a result of its efforts, UnternehmerTUM has helped to launch numerous successful businesses. 

UnternehmerTUM helps founders from the idea stage to financing, they are also involved in teaching entrepreneurship at TUM. They have more than 350 employees working on 20 independent programs, where they help with ideation, incubation, acceleration, and final

UnternehmerTUM Helps Entrepreneurs to Start World-Class Companies #GSA22

Our Highlights:

FTX may be history, BUT a German Blog reports there are several parties interested in buying the European Entity of FTX. FTX also triggered Bitpanda to order a special audit from KPMG. We have some more job cuts, this time the 2nd round. Gorillas may sell itself at 1 bn USD even though they have raised 1.3 bn USD in venture capital already. Air taxis are still hot, Volocopter raises more than 180 m US$ to get closer to certification and Lilium sells 100 Airtaxis to Saudi Arabia. The German VC market is stabilizing, according to KfW Research. Our former guest Creditshelf partners with Goldman Sachs and pockets 100 m Euros. Gitpod, a startup from Kiel convinces the founders of GitHub and Shopify to invest.

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Top News

FTX may soon be History, BUT

A German blog Finance Forward reports there are several parties interested in buying the European Entity of FTX, which is headquartered in Switzerland. Their information has been spot-on in other cases in the past.



Job Cuts Keep Coming - 2nd Round Now

Proptechs Homeday and McMakler enter the second round of job cuts. Homeday cuts 20 jobs (60 before) and McMakler again 100 employees



Gorillas May Sell Itself at a Huge Discount

Sequoia-backed grocery startup Getir is close to buying its troubled rival Gorillas in a heavily discounted deal said to be worth less than $1 billion. They have been valued at their series C investment at 2.1 bn US$ and to date they raised more than 1.3 bn US$.

Related: Deutsche-Startups uncovered that Gorillas (which is in the process of selling itself) paid 300 m € this year for french competitor Frichti.



Lilium Sells 100 Airtaxis

Saudi Arabia buys 100 air taxis from Munich -based startup Lilium. The delivery is expected 2025. Before the deal, they also hired former Airbus executive Klaus Roewe. Fingers crossed for them, they did not generate revenue yet, but 841 m Euros in losses so far.



Volocopter Raises 182 M US$

Volocopter raises $182M to bring air taxi closer to certification, as part of their Series E funding

The company is currently testing its two-seater VoloCity air taxi for the requirements set by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). Volocopter is looking to certify its aircraft in H2 2023 and generate revenue with rides in 2024.



Creditshelf Partners with Goldman Sachs

Our former guest Creditshelf partners with Goldman Sachs and hits profitability - Goldman Sachs is providing the German alternative lender for SMEs with up to €100m of secured funding. Learn more in our interview with Creditshelf here https://buff.ly/3NVANo1

Creditshelf is Germany’s only listed pure-play fintech, offering a credit platform, where investors can grant credit to German small and medium enterprises.

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Startupraven.com The best way to identify investors and cooperation partners for early-stage startups. Sign up for early access here: https://startupraven.com/

Our Enablers

Younium Younium is the subscription management and billing platform for B2B SaaS. Younium brings the transformative infrastructure to manage and grow your business while you focus on the things that matter. https://www.younium.com/ Tvarit Tvarit is an industrial ai startup, that helps companies to reduce rejections by 40%-60% in metal casting, as well as saving up to 18% on energy. Learn more here: https://www.tvarit.com/



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This Month in German, Swiss, and Austrian (GSA) Startups - November 2022 Wrap-Up

Executive Summary

Johanna Baare is the founder of Traceless Materials, a startup that produces compostable materials to replace plastic. She was recently awarded the German Startup Award for "Female Newcomer of the Year 2022." Congratulations, Johanna! The award is presented by the German Startup Association. Baare's company is just one of many startups fighting plastic pollution. It's estimated that 40% of today's plastic waste ends up in the environment. This has devastating consequences for wildlife and ecosystems. Traceless Materials' products will decompose in nature in two to ten weeks, without leaving any trace. Baare is one of many female entrepreneurs leading the charge against plastic pollution. We need more innovators like her to create a cleaner, greener future for us all.

German Startup Awards 2022

This interview is in media partnership with the German startup association. Their German Startup Awards #GSA22 honor each year outstanding female and male founders and investors in special categories.

You can also have a look at our history, we also interviewed many winners of the German Startup Awards 2021 already.

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The Founder

Johanna Baare is the COO and co-founder of Traceless Materials, an innovative Hamburg-based startup company that specializes in sustainable and eco-friendly materials. She has a background in psychology, which comes in handy for her current role in hr and team building. She also holds an MBA from IE Business School. Before Traceless Materials, she was the COO of a Malmö-based startup where she gained valuable experience in the SaaS industry. Her experience in consulting and management has been invaluable in her current role. Under her leadership, Traceless Materials has become one of the leading companies in its field.



The Startup

Founded in 2020 by two female entrepreneurs, Traceless is a startup that produces biomaterials to replace plastic. Johanna met her co-founder Anne at ProjectTogether in Berlin, which matches co-founders. The material is compostable, meaning it breaks down into natural substances in two to ten weeks without leaving any trace of microplastic. The company's mission is to reduce the environmental impact of plastic waste. In addition to being compostable, the biomaterial is also recyclable and biodegradable. Traceless is currently working on developing a variety of applications for their biomaterial, including packaging, food service items, and medical supplies. The company has already received funding from several venture capital firms and the European Union. With its innovative biomaterial and commitment to sustainability, Traceless is poised to make a significant impact in the fight against plastic pollution.



The team is looking to build a first industrial-scale plant approximately the size of one hectare (107,000 square feet). The next step would be to produce at an industrial scale where the team is looking right now to match the price of non-recycled, aka virgin plastic. The big advantage of their material is that traditional plastic producers can use their granulate in existing machines. This will significantly lower the costs for companies who want to produce sustainable plastic and could eventually lead to replacing a large percentage of traditional plastic with this new sustainable option.



Venture Capital Funding

Traceless has raised 2,8 M US$ in funding, from 4 investors, including the European Innovation Council and HTGF (link interview CEO). Of these are 2,4 mn Euros from the EU. Right now Traceless is looking for investors to build a small scale industrial

Green Startup Traceless Replaces Plastics With Compostable Materials #GSA22

The European Business Angel Network (EBAN) is an organization that brings together business angels from all over Europe. The aim of the organization is to provide a forum for business angels to share best practices and learn from each other. EBAN also offers training for new business angels who want to get involved in startup investing. The organization held one of its two annual conferences in Brussels recently, bringing together business angel investors from all over the continent. This year’s conference was particularly important, as it provided a much-needed opportunity for startup founders to connect with potential investors. With the COVID-19 pandemic causing economic uncertainty, many startups are struggling to secure funding. The conference offered a unique opportunity for startups to pitch their businesses to a large group of potential investors. EBAN director Jacopo Losso spoke about the importance of business angels in the current climate, saying “business angels are more important than ever in these challenging times.”Losso went on to say that business angels “provide the seed funding that is essential for many startups.” The conference was a valuable opportunity for startup founders to meet with potential investors and get their businesses off the ground.

For this event more than 300 seed-stage startups applied, of which they have chosen 25 for the event. The event we attended took place in Brussels. We focused on startups from Germany and made short interviews with them on-site. If you want one or more of these startups back for a full interview, let us know in the comments or via email. The event was a great opportunity to network and exchange ideas with other startup founders, business angels, and VC investors from all across Europe. We also got insights into the early-stage startup scene across the continent and had the chance to listen to some great startup pitches. All in all, it was a very inspiring event that definitely left us wanting more. The next event will take place in Athens, Greece in April 2023. You can apply for the event via the EBAN website: https://www.eban.org/

This episode also kicks off our hot fall, where we have two episodes each week, until Christmas. We will finish the year with our annual fintech review on December 25th and be back for you on January 19th 2023.

Our Enablers

Hessen Trade and Invest

Hessen Trade and Invest is the enabler of some of the most important interviews that have been conducted for this website. Without their brand, Invest-in-Hessen.com, none of these would have been possible. These interviews would not have been possible without Hessen Trade and Invest’s willingness to help facilitate my travel and connect me with startups in their network.

Younium

Younium is the subscription management and billing platform for B2B SaaS. Younium brings the transformative infrastructure to manage and grow your business while you focus on the things that matter. https://www.younium.com/

Tvarit

Tvarit is an industrial ai startup, that helps companies to reduce rejections by 40%-60% in metal casting, as well as saving up to 18% on energy. Learn more here: https://www.tvarit.com/

Startupraven.com

The best way to identify investors and cooperation partners for early stage startups. Sign up for early access here:

Startup Raven [https://startupraven.com/]

This Episode

00:00 Introduction00:16 Welcome by Joe01:46 Jacopo Losso — Managing Director of the European Business Angel Network 07:28 Philo Boras — CEO and Co-Founder Aurora Life Sciences 11:36 Nauman Basit — Founder, CEO and CTO of racksnet 16:58 Pascal Schmitt — CEO Voxel Sound 20:35 Stephane Ruiz — European Enterpr

Interviews from the European Angel Investment Summit (1/2)

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