Eva Spannagl

Great to see what Jan Thomas and his team at Startup Insider did with the new Investors Report 2024 for the DACH region! Anyone who wants to learn more about the German #venturecapital ecosystem and its investors, go get the report: https://lnkd.in/ehiVqmX6

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If you are a founder or funder in Austin on Wednesday, November 6th, join us at Stubb's BBQ 🍖 to hear these six pitches from startups visiting from Switzerland: ​- Magnes AG offers a cutting-edge solution for monitoring walking patterns in patients with neurological disorders. Smart sensors embedded in sneakers collect data during daily activities, and AI generates reports and real-time feedback to prevent falls and freezing. ​- MYNERVA has developed a groundbreaking medical device combining AI and neurostimulation to artificially restore the sense of touch and decrease pain in patients suffering from diabetic neuropathy. ​- Authena advances supply chains with real-time technology, improving transparency, efficiency, and sustainability. Their eco-friendly IoT devices and AI analytics, developed with leading Swiss universities, offer single-unit visibility for tracking and actionable insights. ​- Auxivo AG, a Swiss exoskeleton spinoff from ETH Zurich, enhances worker safety with wearable exoskeletons that reduce physical workload and injury risk. The company has quickly established itself as a leading developer, launching multiple products in the market. ​- ORamaVR aims to transform global healthcare with advanced XR and deep learning technologies, addressing the urgent issue of inaccessible and unaffordable surgical care by modernizing outdated medical training systems. ​- Biosimo Chemicals specializes in sustainable chemical production using renewable resources and green chemistry. They combine bioprocessing with advanced catalysis to create environmentally friendly, scalable solutions. In partnership with FIESTA. https://lnkd.in/gi6q8ged

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Discussing growth in B2B #SaaS – in our Tiny House 🏠 Julian Ostertag, Julian Wolf and I joined ARRtist SUMMIT in Berlin last week together with 500 B2B SaaS founders, CxOs and 100+ B2B SaaS investors to network, discuss innovations, trends, and the participants’ views on the sector and share our insights on 🔵 M&A trends in software / SaaS, 🔵 what investors are looking for in the space and 🔵 decisive KPIs that make a company ready for a transaction. Many of our meetings took place in our exclusive Drake Star Tiny House located in the middle of the event site – thanks to everyone who came by and said hello or met us for a chat. Also, thanks for bringing this to life together with us, Matthias Ernst, Jannis Bandorski, Julius Göllner and Julia André. As a proud sponsor of the event, it’s great to see how the community is coming together at #ARRtist. On the evening before the event, I got to attend the Speaker & Investor Dinner – another opportunity to connect with speakers and attendees. I had great conversations with VCs from the US and the Nordics about promising SaaS players in Germany and Continental Europe and we spent the night discussing what brought us all together: Our passion for SaaS companies and how to enable their growth to foster innovation in different sectors. #InvestmentBanking #MergersAndAcquisitions #Growth

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ideas grow with #feedback! any great #innovation, any great #startup has gone through many iterations and has grown over time with the contributions of #experts, #investors, #customers and many more #stakeholders. Founder Institute Berlin / Germany is hosting these #feedback events to give you just this! Take this #leapoffaith and put yourself out there, you won't regret it! #pitch #startupsuccess #entrepreneurship

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“What is your company actually doing?” This was among the most often asked questions during my last journey to Berlin and Stanford. For the first time, I thought I needed the right pitch to fix it. But for a while, I understood that actually I was lacking focus. I’ve been running Yedynka for 13 years. We have done a lot. ✅ We developed expertise in web development, digital marketing, and design. ✅ We even built and licensed our own CMS system. ✅ We help companies build MVPs for their products and develop and implement go-to-market strategies. ✅ We found a way how to offer services of a cross-functional team on subscription. 🔴 But how do you sell it all in one sentence? This was when I realized I needed to rebuild my company to make it more focused, understandable, and scalable 🚀 But as a creator, I find it hard to cut down on something. I decided to “go out of the building” and talk to the customers to determine what our solution/ offering resonates with them the most. I will gladly share my steps and findings with you. What do you think, what of the listed above resonates with you? Please let me know if you would be interested to talk? 🙌 #yedynka #rebuild #customerdevelopment

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A few thoughts I've been collecting on the future of SaaS. Always looking for sparring partners on topics like this, so please drop me a note if your interested in chatting! Thanks for the fruitful conversations Firat Ileri, Carmen Alfonso Rico 🍫, Tahseen Rashid, Varun Gupta, Sebastian Hunte, Björn Nilsen https://lnkd.in/eS-QRKYY

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Let's dive into how we at s16vc approach '𝐇𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 & 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬'—the most frequent request type, which accounts for about a third of all requests from our portfolio founders. Typically, it goes along the lines of, “Do you know a stellar [product designer] based in [Berlin]?” So, most often it's an opportunistic ask for candidate referrals. Occasionally, founders ask to refer a trusted hiring agency or an advisor to help build their internal people function. On even fewer occasions, it's a request for a reference check of candidates through our community. At s16vc, we've chosen to do a lot deals vs. 1-2 big-bucks bets a year, support all portfolio companies vs. the chosen few, have many individual LPs vs. a couple institutional ones, engage our large community to help founders vs. rely on an in-house group of operators, host a lot of community gatherings vs. one AGM. We appreciate it’s very ambitious. Three years & two fund generations into s16vc's existence, we already have 59 portfolio companies, 92 portfolio founders, and 152 LPs. Now, fast forward ten years into the future? No wonder one of our founding principles at s16vc is “Do things that scale.” This principle pervades everything we do. In the context of 'Hiring & References' support, we ask ourselves, “Can a VC fund help source candidates at scale?” And next, “Should it?” Our belief is that, yes, it can—with the right investment of resources. But should it? As with any strategic bet, you have to focus on your unfair advantage. For some funds, it's a sizable AUM, allowing them to get some great minds to work with their portfolio companies. For others, it's a strong brand name that drives traffic to job boards on their websites. s16vc’s biggest asset is our community. As I often say, we do everything as a community. Hence, for us, the real question is, “Can we source candidates at scale through our community?” The answer is, we may or may not be able to do that; for now, we haven't yet found a scalable way to assist with candidate sourcing. This explains why 'Hiring & References' requests comprise the largest portion, 38% of all requests that didn't progress past the 'Qualification' stage. However, there’s still plenty we as a community can and do help with: * Sharing the most precious people who we have worked with within the community; * Connecting to the most relevant and trusted recruiting agencies and freelance recruiters; * Job description & scorecard review; * Finding a bar raiser for the final interview; * Connecting to advisors who can help build the in-house hiring process; * Finding a trusted connection within our community for a reference check.

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#Germany's Funded Startups Directory. You can view the list of startups funded in #Germany whenever you need it. Access the directory here https://lnkd.in/dc9emGbb #startup #startups #vc #venturecapital #investmentbanking #privateequity #managementconsulting #b2b #founders #entrepreneurs

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How to stop making assumptions at work? Today, Fabrice asks: — "I often catch myself assuming what others think about me. How can I change that? — Welcome to Episode 207 of AskMatty! Here’s my answer, Fabrice: — Let’s try this practical tool: →    The THINK Method It’s often used in therapy to reduce conflict. But we can also use it when we catch ourselves making assumptions. Let’s see how to use it. 1.    First, take a moment to breathe and notice your thoughts. For example, you might think: →    “I feel like my boss thinks I’m not doing a good job” Now, let’s dive into the THINK method. We’ll reflect on 5 questions — one for each letter of THINK. 1.    T — Think Ask yourself: →    Is this assumption true? →    What facts do I have to support it? For example, you might say: "Last week, my boss didn’t give me positive feedback on my project. But I also remember she said she appreciated my effort on the last one." 2.    H — Have Empathy Ask yourself: →    How might the other person be feeling? →    What could they be going through? Sometimes, we just need to put ourselves in others’ shoes. Maybe your boss is under a lot of stress with deadlines. Maybe she didn’t have time to give everyone feedback. 3.    I — Interpretations Ask yourself: →    Am I considering other possible interpretations of their behavior or words? Maybe your boss isn’t upset with your work. Maybe she’s just busy and hasn’t had a chance to acknowledge it yet. You know what I mean? 4.    N — Notice Ask yourself: →    What do I notice about my feelings right now? →    Am I feeling anxious, insecure, or something else? You might feel anxious about your boss being unhappy with you. But it’s not always about you, right? :) 5.    K — Kindness Ask yourself: →    How can I respond kindly to myself and the other person? For example, you might remind yourself that everyone has off days. You could also check in with your boss about your progress. And maybe ask for feedback. Got it? That’s it. Try this exercise whenever you notice yourself making assumptions. As we know, the more we practice, the easier it gets :) — Alright! Thanks for your question, Fabrice. Question of the day: →    Do you ever catch yourself making assumptions? Let me know in the comments :) “Let’s build a world where everyone belongs through the power of wellbeing!” – Matty

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𝗕𝗶𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 Today I'm celebrating what seems like a significant birthday. Looking back there was just one pivotal moment in the last four decades. September 1, 2013, the day I moved to Berlin. That one decision unknowingly set off a domino effect that shaped my personal and professional life forever: I met my husband on the second day in the city, got married and had my two beautiful children, built our first home, gained my best friends, and started our venture firm with a dream team backing the brightest of Europe’s SME Tech founders. The dots could only be joined backwards and I’m filled with an overwhelming sense of gratitude and inner peace for how my life turned out. I'm not perfect and made my fair share of mistakes but for those seeking advice here’s what I’d offer: 1️⃣ 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀: I met my best friend 15 years ago in a Starbucks in Singapore. Many serendipitous moments began with random conversations. 2️⃣ 𝗔𝘀𝗸 & 𝗚𝗶𝘃𝗲: Ultimately other people's decisions and choices about us can change our entire lives. Don’t hesitate to ask for what you need because so many people don’t. When time permits I seek advice, help, and feedback, and I offer the same in return. 3️⃣ 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲: Relationships thrive where they’re nurtured and where we learn to disagree constructively. Don’t neglect the people around you for short-term gain.  However, knowing when to walk away is as important as staying. 4️⃣ 𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗪𝗮𝗶𝘁: I finally went to Glastonbury this year after 24 years of waiting… So all I can say is take the trip, call your parents, spend time with loved ones, see the doctor, read the book, learn something new, cook, exercise, and do whatever gives you joy because tomorrow isn’t guaranteed. 5️⃣ 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲, 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻: All those things you invest in do compound over time - your fitness, your knowledge, your business, saving and investing money, practising a skill etc. Life is a series of choices. If you’re feeling down or regretful, remember that many doors are waiting to be opened, and they might lead to better or different places than you ever imagined. So don't look back. Opportunity awaits, you just can't see it yet :) Thanks to everyone who helped me celebrate what has felt like a birthday month! #optimism #love #family #friends #passion #work #joy

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Hey Berliners 😍 I’m back from Munich, and somehow managed to dodge both COVID and the Wiesn Grippe—no idea how, but there's no time to slow down! This week is on fire again, and if you didn’t know, we’ve got your back. Berlin SaaS week is in full swing! Comment below to win a guest list spot for these launch events: - startbereit launch event this Wednesday - M.STORIES Podcast launch event next week on Tuesday - Periodly launch event next week Thursday. 𝘛𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘥𝘢𝘺: SaaS Founders Networking Night by Unicorn Bakery & re:cap 🧑‍💼 🥂 | ​ 7 pm - 11 pm: Kick-off Berlin SaaS Week the right way and join the founder-only event with Germany's most ambitious SaaS Founders. Speakers are Scott Chacon ((7,5 Milliarden exit an Microsoft) & Patrick Andrae (HomeToGo, publicly listed) VEECEE GP Dinner @Nightkitchen 🍽🍾 | 7:30 pm: GP-Dinner from VCs for VCs, during SaaS Week Berlin at Nightkitchen Berlin. 𝘞𝘦𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘥𝘢𝘺: startbereit Launch Event 🍾 | 5:30 pm: Together with Berliner Volksbank eG and no venture studio, they will officially launch startbereit; this milestone will be celebrated with other leading startup ecosystem partners. FOMO247 is a proud media partner of this event! CMO & CRO Networking Night 🧑‍💼🥂 |  6 pm: Organized by Cremanski & Company – The Revenue Architects & Company and OMR Reviews, this networking dinner is designed to foster value-creating exchanges and provide new perspectives from the world of SaaS. 𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘥𝘢𝘺: ARRtist Summit 🧑‍💼| Join ARRtist SUMMIT to meet 500 high-profile B2B SaaS Founders and CxO, and 125 B2B SaaS investors. Network with and learn from the most relevant community in B2B SaaS for Europe. Join launch of THE CIC (Cambridge Innovation Center) and Venture Café Berlin 🍾 | (5 pm - 12 am: Kicking off with Thursday Gathering #1: connect with innovators, entrepreneurs and changemakers from across the city! I will share some thoughts about the current startup scene with 🇺🇦 🇺🇦 Maren Lesche , Christoph Raethke, and Klaus G. Kammermeier. 𝘍𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘺: Hugo x Zalando 🔵👖 | 7 pm:  A unique experience celebrating creativity. Meet some of Berlin's most talented local artists and stylists, get creative, explore the new HUGO BLUE collection, and enjoy some vibrant DJ sets and tasty vibes. Organized by AS.C Studio 𝘚𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘢𝘺: FEMALE FUTURE FORCE DAY @bcc Berlin 🦸‍♀️ | 10 am - 6 pm: This year's motto, BRIDGE THE GAP, addresses the omnipresent inequalities in almost all areas of life. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫: 𝐅𝐎𝐌𝐎 𝐁𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐧. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬. 👇 Which event are you planning to attend this week? What event did we miss? Please comment below! xoxo FOMO247 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬: Bits & Pretzels, 𝘊𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘦 𝘞𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘉𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘯, 𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘊𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘑𝘢𝘮 𝘚𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 …

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While we’re busy cooking up our product for launch, it was great to meet so many old and new faces at Bits & Pretzels in Munich and get early feedback on what we’re building. Two interesting observations: - I came across a large number of successful startups that have bootstrapped (or nearly bootstrapped) their way to impressive size and impact. - Many founders are prioritising research and/or impact over money and high growth. While scaling can be necessary to have high impact and advance the research, in many cases, pursuing niche but high-impact areas requires sacrificing faster growth. If I had to pick one inspiring founder I met, it would be Prof. Dagmar M. Schuller, the CEO of audEERING GmbH. Their research in Voice AI, particularly in voice understanding, is being applied in high-impact fields such as healthcare (e.g., early disease detection through voice analysis), automotive (e.g., reducing the risk of car accidents), and many more.

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After closing a Series A funding round, companies enter a pivotal phase where the right approaches significantly influence their journey toward Series B. In brutkasten, Jan Lozek and I recently shed light on the critical strategies companies should adopt after securing Series A funding. 👉🏻 Here are the more top priorities companies should focus on post-fundraise: 📈 Optimize cash flow:  Investors are particularly interested in startups that efficiently manage their cash flow, maximizing growth and revenue while keeping expenses in check. 💰 Show them the money: Show investors how exactly you are making money: real customers, real sales, economies of scale. In other words, show you have a plan and that the plan is working. To outline flexible sales models, and exchange various key parameters, will also be a win. 🚀 Partner up, big time: Leverage your existing networks instead of spending more capital. Corporates can be great partners at this stage and could vouch for your startup. Be it for accessing a market or for increasing your sales, it always pays off to have the right partners. What additional tips would you add for companies navigating this crucial transition? 💡 #SeriesA #Funding #StartupGrowth

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You want to build your own corporate innovation studio and build your company's future revenue streams? Then this whitepaper is for you! We distilled all our learnings from our venture studios with DB Schenker JobRad | Deutschland Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken how to build successful new ventures.

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We are excited that Finom one of the leading fintech hyperscalers in Europe, decided to tackle bookkeeping and taxes by testing Norman’s embeddable solution. I’ve been wondering why the term hyperscalers is attributed only to large cloud service providers like Azure or AWS. Clearly, there is a cohort of fintech hyperscalers that design IT and business in a way that allows them to scale and grow across geographies, products, and sales channels. In core segments of banking and fintech, it is particularly hard because of regulation and other factors. Operational excellence and a particular mindset are a must-have for this category. The payout is huge, as leading fintech hyperscalers have already turned profitable while maintaining high growth levels or are heading in that direction, driving contribution margin and LTV to new highs. We are learning from the best, so Norman ‘s architecture envisions the build-out of multiple accounting and tax products for different cohorts and types of clients across geographies. If you share our vision and want to discuss our embeddable solutions and plans, please reach out to Peter. We are very excited to explore partnership opportunities as a key element of our GTM strategy. norman.finance https://lnkd.in/d2cF7eTa

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Thanks (again) Martin and Jan for the great discussion in today’s Investments & Exits episode of Startup Insider. See the link to the episode in the comments. 👉 TL;DR: (1) Congrats to the team from Caeli Wind GmbH for announcing their 11M EUR Series A from Notion Capital and Santander with participation of existing investors HTGF | High-Tech Gründerfonds. Ben Schlemmermeier and Heiko Bartels are building a platform to match wind park developers 🍃 with landlords of suitable locations ⛳. On top of matching these parties and taking out the friction in the market, the solution provides deep tooling for both sides of the platforn. (2) In that context we discussed the potential expansion opportunities and also the general need to be empathetic with both sides of such a marketplace model 🔄 (3) We all shared our fascination for the model and the team's approach and also highlighted that in many instances the real power of such a solution lies beyond the obvious. 🔍 (4) Finally, we reemphasized that we are both Cavalry Ventures and Picus Capital very open to talk to founders in the very early stage, especially on the non-obvious and tricky challenges that e.g., the #EnergyTech and #ClimateTech space is facing. #StartupInsider #InvestmentsExits #Podcast #PreSeed #Seed #Series A

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