Isabel Sum

I'm getting unemployed 😱 The number of new SaaS startups (in Germany) decreased a lot over the last 3 years. Who started a SaaS in the last 3 years 👇 Let me know in the comment below. P.S. Thanks Aleksandra Romańczyk and the whole ARRtist and Valueships team for creating such an awesome SaaS pricing report

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Two weeks ago, I shared that Candis has crossed €10M ARR this year. But why is that such an important milestone, especially for a #SaaS company that (so far) operates only in Germany🇩🇪? And what is our secret sauce for success? For any SaaS business, €10M ARR is such an important milestone because you are transitioning from proving a product’s value to scaling a company. Customers trust you, growth is accelerating, and you've become a recognized brand in your segment. In Germany, it's even bigger. To put it into perspective, I’ve heard from VCs that €10M ARR in Germany is a comparable achievement to €30M–€40M ARR in the US. Building a business such as Candis in Germany alone comes with unique challenges: ➡️ Skepticism in finance: Germans, especially in finance, are super careful before they introduce SaaS or cloud-based tools—especially from newer players. We sometimes still need to explain the advantages of the cloud over on-premise solutions. I don't think anyone in the US has had to do that in the last 10 years. ➡️ Lower willingness to pay: Unlike in the US, people here often hesitate to pay for value, which makes pricing strategies crucial. We spent A LOT of time on pricing. ➡️ Conservative funding (and exit) environment: Securing bold SaaS investments is tough. German startups would be lost without funds from the US, Middle East, or Asia. ➡️ Talent: The “modern SaaS” market in Germany is still young. A couple of years ago, roles like “product marketing” or “demand generation” were barely known. Today, these positions require both expertise and native German fluency—hard to find. So how do we thrive in such a market environment? I think in the end, one huge difference is our management team. Over the past years, we’ve built a leadership group with over 40 years of combined industry experience. We try not to hire & fire, but make people stay long at the company. 𝐈 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐟 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐚 𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐞𝐝! There’s a deep trust in our strategy and a shared commitment to build the best product experience for our customers. And most importantly, everybody at Candis leads by doing—not delegating. Everyone on our team is willing to dive in when it matters most. A huge shoutout to the leadership team of Candis for making this possible: Linnar Schwarz, our COO José San Gil, our CTO Lars Böhnke, our Head of Product Bele Schütt, our Head of People and Culture Konstanze Famira-Parcsetich, our Head of Growth Thank you for your relentless drive, your passion for the product and the company, and your unwavering commitment—even during the tough times we went through. This milestone is just the beginning of a new curve. #SaaS #Leadership #Growth #Germany #OfficeoftheCFO #CandisTeam

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Today I visited the GREENTECH FESTIVAL in Berlin with my dear friend Andreas. 💚 To make it short: Good vibes, busy floors and a big startup space. But tbh I wondered if it's really worth it for startups. I remember from my active time as an exhibitor that we weren't honest about the hard costs per lead. We argued a lot: being there is everything, you have to be seen, brand building is important, it's where the industry meets, serendipity happens, if we just get one big order it will pay off... not to forget the parties! That's all true, but the opportunity cost of attending a trade show is very high, especially for startups. And while this isn't meant to be a trade show bashing at all, here are a few suggestions from my experience, on how to make the most of it... - Train your team to proactively approach people. - Initiate a challenge to see who can get the most leads. - Prepare in advance and market your attendance by actively inviting customers. - Consider a small side event, such as a VIP dinner. - Try to book a package with a speaking engagement at the conference, that has always paid off for us. - Use the exhibitor directory for your own prospecting. - Calculate cost vs. lead conversion after the show with real data and decide whether to repeat. - Push your presence on social in real time. Good luck to all exhibitors and happy selling 🚀 ____________________________ Sharing my experience as an entrepreneur and angel investor. Investing in early stage B2B SaaS startups. Happy to connect 👋

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B2B SaaS Entrepreneurs on Mastering the Exit I wanted to let you know that I will be moderating a panel at ARRtist Summit 2024 in Berlin. The theme is ‘Mastering the Exit’, and I will be joined by three people who have as much up-to-date insight into this subject as anyone in Germany – all three are B2B SaaS entrepreneurs who have recently sold their companies: Nader El Ali, CEO of DemoUp Cliplister, acquired by Bregal Unternehmerkapital Emil Beck, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Remazing, acquired by IK Partners Manuel Hinz, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Cross Engage, acquired by Spotler Group, Founder of Toroleo GmbH, acquired by Delticom AG, and CFO at DailyDeal, acquired by Google. The panel will take place on October 10 at 16:00-17:00 CET. If you’re planning on attending ARRtist Summit, do come along, it will be great to see you and we’re confident you will learn a lot from the discussion. Since space is limited, you’ll need it to indicate it as one of your preferred sessions on the online from ARRtist provides. For those not currently planning to attend, you may wish to consider doing so. ARRtist is the most relevant event for the European SaaS community, bringing together 500 high-profile Founders and CxOs with 125 top-tier investors for a day of networking and knowledge exchange. You can learn more here: https://www.arrtist.net/ Feel free to reach out if you have any questions about the panel or ARRtist Summit. #manda #saas #berlinsaasweek #saasalon

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🚀 Exciting News in the SaaS World! 🚀 I'm excited to share insights from the latest State of German SaaS Pricing 2.0 report, where I had the privilege to contribute my thoughts. The brilliant analyst team at Valueships and ARRtist did an incredible job, analyzing over 1000 SaaS companies across Germany to dive deep into their pricing strategies, market positioning, and growth opportunities. 📊💼 🔑 Key highlights from the report include: 📈 Year-over-year comparisons revealing evolving pricing trends 🏷️ In-depth analysis of pricing structures across various industries 💡 Strategic insights to refine your own pricing strategies Here are a few practical lessons from the report to help guide your next P&P strategy change: Good-Better-Best vs. Modular: If you have a simple product with clear customer segments, GBB can work. But for multiple use cases or an SMB/Enterprise mix, Modular or Core & More models could be more effective. 🛠️ User/Seat-Based vs. Usage-Based: If most of your customer’s employees use your product regularly, seat-based makes sense. Otherwise, it may be time to explore usage-based pricing, like transaction volume or data processed. 👥💾 Add-ons vs. Additional Plan: If a big portion of your customers are already on the highest plan, maybe it’s time for a new premium plan. Otherwise, add-ons might be the way to go—just be careful not to dilute your core offering. 🛒📊 A special thank you to Krzysztof Szyszkiewicz, Maciej Wilczyński, Ph.D. , and Julius Göllner for their leadership in crafting this insightful report. 🙌 #SaaS #PricingStrategy #BusinessInsights #GermanMarket #Shiftmove Link to download in the comments

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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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The digital #education #industry is going through a lot of changes, many due to the incredible technological advancements of #genAI. 🤖 It was fun to catch up with Tim Burnett ✨, who is a leading voice in the industry and has started the Test Community Network to provide a place where the ecosystem can share and exchange insights and talk about emerging trends. 🎉 It was a blast talking to Tim this morning together with my good friend and business partner Bernhard Waglechner. We briefly touched on the #digital #assessment #industry, new #trends in both #technology & #regulation, how Europe differs from other markets, such as the US, and how our solution - bizExaminer - fits into all of it. 🤓 Thanks Tim for having us, and for all you do for the ecosystem. 🙏

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🚨 We did it again! We've created the ultimate Side Event List for this week's SuperVentures & SuperReturn and TOA Berlin. Plus, we're giving away Tech Open Air tickets and guest list spots for the biggest VC Party, organized by Join Capital, EUVC , Isomer Capital and others. 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦👇 What is the Superventure / SuperReturn conferene? How Amy Lewin would describe it: "SuperVenture is the Berlin conference where VCs go to fundraise and catch up with their LPs". Kinda like the definition! And let me say this! The Side Event's this week are on fire 🔥. Here are my top 3 + 1 event from the 45+ Event List: - Diversity Drinks at the stunning Fotografiska space. Networking with a purpose! Organized by Auxxo Female Catalyst Fund, the Evangelistas, Out Investors and identity.vc I Backing LGBTQ+ Entrepreneurs - JOIN CAPITAL is doing it again, and is running the biggest VC Party this Wednesday. We have limited tickets available for FOMO Insider Subscriber. - Cherry Ventures & Felix Capital are coming together to run a networking event at the coolest flagship stores Berlin, at Highsnobiety - FOMO (fearofmissingout): HIT x Yoga meets Rooftop Session, Thursday, 8 am start. ​Amidst a busy week with Super Ventures, Super Return, and TOA, we're creating a sanctuary away from the typical networking and business noise. Link in the comments. Here’s how you can win: - 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 45+ 𝐒𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭: Subscribe to FOMO Berlin and comment below. - 𝐉𝐎𝐈𝐍 𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐕𝐂 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐆𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐭: If you're in the VC, LP, EP, GP scene, comment below your favorite Berlin VC fund. - 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐀𝐢𝐫 𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐭: Comment below your favorite event and tag the event organizer & FOMO (fearofmissingout).

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The SaaS industry is still growing. But much more slowly. Last month I shared an Aleph statistic. Over the last 3 years we have invested in 17 companies. Only 1 out 17 was a classic horizontal SaaS company. SaaS was the single best business model of the last cycle (2008-2021), but the category has since entered a maturity stage (see graph below). This new report from the wonderful software team at Avenir clearly illustrates it. Growth rates for the combined SaaS industry are quickly declining as we are entering the later stages of maturity. In other words, there’s already an established software company in most sectors - and there’s very little room for entirely new software categories. At Aleph we still believe there’s an opportunity to build successful SaaS companies, but new entrants would have to carve out market share in existing industries and displace existing vendors. Vertical software is one area where lesser competition makes it more attractive, but entrepreneurs in crowded horizontal markets would have to work harder than ever before. Another key takeaway from the report - there are only 72 publicly traded companies (with market cap > $5Bn) with a combined market cap of $5.8Tr. However, 56% of this value is attributed to Microsoft alone, followed by a very long tail of lesser performing companies. Moreover, only 2 of the largest 11 companies were funded after the year 2000 (ServiceNow, CrowdStrike). If you are building or investing in SaaS, you should definitely read the full report by Jared Sleeper, Hannah Bao and David Prilutsky (link in the first comment).

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𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐩’𝐬 𝐑&𝐃 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐁𝐒𝐎 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐑𝐮𝐥𝐞! If you’re a startup working on innovative projects, the 𝐖𝐁𝐒𝐎 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐑𝐮𝐥𝐞 offers extra funding by allowing higher tax deductions on R&D costs. This can be a game-changer, especially if your costs are significant. 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐃𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐈𝐭 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤? Under the regular WBSO scheme, companies can deduct 32% of R&D costs 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐨 €𝟑𝟓𝟎,𝟎𝟎𝟎, and startups can take this even further! With the 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐑𝐮𝐥𝐞, you can 𝐝𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭 𝟒𝟎% of your R&D expenses—an 8% higher rate. For example, with €350,000 in R&D costs, a regular company would deduct €112,000, but as a startup, you can deduct €140,000. That’s an additional €28,000 in savings! 𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐑𝐮𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐟: • Your business is in its first three years • You’ve claimed WBSO for no more than two calendar years 𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐒𝐞𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐌𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐂𝐚𝐧 𝐆𝐞𝐭? Try our WBSO Calculator to instantly estimate how much extra funding you can unlock for your R&D projects! https://lnkd.in/g-w6BVjt

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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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What to look for in Co-Founders? Having the right Co-Founders is probably the most important success factor in the early days of a startup. Drawing from my (outstanding) experience with Jonas Hess, here‘s my summary of the top-5 things to look for. 1️⃣Work ethos and commitment This is about each Founder’s willingness to suffer. If things get serious, are all Founders willing to get stuff done even if it means working nights and weekends? 2️⃣Commercial contribution Early startups are simple. The first days are just about generating traction, based on a superior product that is shipped faster and sold better than every competitor does it. Contribution to these things should somewhat feel equal among the Founders. 3️⃣Having fun Many Founders that come from corporates underestimate this point IMO. Co-founders are not like a normal professional relationship, they are more like a marriage. Imagine sitting alone in the office with your co-founder at 11pm or sleeping on his/her couch for a few nights. If this feels wrong, it’s probably not going to work out. 4️⃣Growth culture Do you appreciate your co-founder’s opinion even for your areas of responsibility? The more you treat mutual feedback as opportunity to grow versus personal criticism, the stronger your growth culture. Having a growth culture is just more fun and leads to better outcomes, but it requires Founders to get rid of their ego for the benefit of the startup. 5️⃣Blind trust This goes without saying. If all of the above are given, and you still don’t trust your Co-Founders, you should probably work on yourself first. This picture was taken in 2022 after a sports session.

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Series A Engineering: How does Dreamcraft Ventures support startups towards a successful Series A? 🚀 Find out in our Bits & Pretzels Masterclass in Munich on 30 Sep, which will be hosted by Nico, Founder Enablement Partner, and yours truly 🙌 We will cover how we invest and support portfolio companies. Using Hiber as a case study, I will talk about our collaboration with Michael and his team, and give you insights into how they raised their $15m Series A led by EQT Ventures 🤩 Nico will do a deep dive into crucial building blocks for early-stage startups. Based on his +15 years of experience from VC-backed startups like Trustpilot and Platypus, which he co-founded, Nico will provide hands-on advice for hiring, creating structural trust, retaining talent and building a performance culture 💪🔥 Are you going to Bits & Pretzels? Then join our Masterclass or reach out to myself, Nico or our colleague, Mads, if you want to meet up elsewhere! 💬 #Bits24 #venturecapital #vc #startup

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Big news in Berlin! Daato just secured €5 million in seed funding to turbocharge the ESG transformation. Here's the scoop: 1. Who’s investing? kopa ventures (formerly Wi Venture), neosfer, and IBB Ventures. Big names, big confidence. 2. What’s next? Enhancing automation, expanding market reach, and leading in sustainability management. 3. Why it matters? New EU regulations mean 60,000 companies need to step up their ESG game, and Daato is here to make it easier. Daato's unique approach simplifies compliance and boosts sustainability for both large corporations and SMES. It’s more than just ticking boxes; it’s about shaping a greener, more ethical business landscape. How are you handling your ESG goals this year? https://lnkd.in/dT3fcwdY #Sustainability #ESG #StartupSuccess #MondayFunding

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Topic of the Week: 𝐎𝐧𝐛𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 I often see SaaS companies focusing on adding features, hoping for better results, but often neglecting the onboarding process. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗮 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. While conversion and retention are key KPIs, the Activation Rate (AHA moment) is equally important, especially for PLG (Product-Led Growth) products. Here are 3 strategies I implement in companies to enhance onboarding: 1️⃣ 𝗠𝗮𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝗝𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆: Document every action a user takes to achieve meaningful value with your product. Categorize these steps into ESSENTIAL and NON-ESSENTIAL. Don’t hesitate to remove non-essential steps to accelerate the time-to-value and maintain user engagement. 🗺️ 2️⃣ 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗨𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸: You don’t need a UX research team to understand your clients. Schedule calls with new users to observe their onboarding experience firsthand. Address their pain points and actively listen to their feedback. 👂 3️⃣ 𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘇𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝘀: Track user behavior from the outset. Believe me, implementing this early can provide invaluable insights. Bonus tip: Embrace A/B testing whenever possible. It’s a powerful tool. Don’t be afraid of it! 📊 How are you optimizing your onboarding process to boost user activation? #SaaS #UserOnboarding #UserExperience #Product #ProductManagement

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📍Berlin // The Founders’ Story event hosted by Google; Key lessons 👇featuring Flix - Daniel Krauss Plan A - Lubomila Jordanova CODE University - Thomas Bachem Inclusive Tech - Mina Saidze FeMentor - Anastasia Barner And here are 8 key points I remember standing out: 💡 The why, why do we build companies? "It's not about being rich. It's about creating something meaningful." It;'s about following one’s passion while also recognizing the need for commitment: "You have to really work at it if you want to make it big." as the motto says if you raise money: "Go big or go home". It's about the impact and money may follow. 🤝 Building Connections & Mentorship: "My mother was a role model for me. She always had a great balance between being a mother and being a businesswoman." Overvall they all mentioned people who truly helped them, mentored them "It's important to have mentors, people who can guide you and help you learn." Mentorship, they noted, is crucial as "you can learn something from every situation, even if you don't always see it right away." 📱 Personal Brand & LinkedIn: Many of the speakers used LinkedIn to establish a brand, which all recognised to be extremely helpful. "You need to have a distinct voice and identity, something that makes you stand out." 🌐 Building Ecosystems & Partnerships: "Successful startups usually have a strong network of partners and collaborators." The speaker stressed that success isn’t just about what you do, but also about who you work with. 👩‍💼 Gen Z & Work Culture in Germany: "The younger generation is really looking for meaningful work and a better work-life balance." The speaker observed that Gen Z is driven by a desire to make a difference in the world, marking a shift in workplace values, especially in Germany. 💪 Mindset: "You need to be optimistic and willing to take risks." The speaker encouraged the audience to embrace failure as part of the journey: "You have to believe in yourself and your vision." Optimism and resilience, they suggested, are key to overcoming obstacles. 📊 Venture Development & Data: "It's important to use data to inform your decision-making." The speaker highlighted the significance of data-driven strategies in identifying opportunities and refining business models in Venture Development. 👥 Building a Strong Team: "It's essential to build a team with diverse perspectives and skills." The speaker emphasized that trust and support within a team are crucial for success, and that diverse viewpoints enrich the problem-solving process. I believe it's not every day that we see successful entrepreneurs in Germany coming here and speaking about their journey. Nice event to give back to the community; especially the networking afterward to meet them, and get their insights. So curious to see how this "1st generation of entrepreneurs" (2010-2020) will help Germany thrive in the digital and ecosystem economy!

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I started my career in a Venture Studio - Rocket Internet. Despite being controversial, it created much of the early start-up ecosystem in Berlin and beyond. It created several unicorns and at least two generations of successful founders turned investors and business angels. So it feels full circle to - almost ten years later - release a white paper on Corporate Venture Studios, a model that MVP Factory pioneered in Germany. Corporates like DB Schenker, Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken, JobRad | Deutschland and Vonovia set up their own "Rocket Internets" in order to - broadly speaking - drive innovation and build new digital revenue streams. However the devil is in the detail and the targets and playbooks range from building subsidiaries outside the HQ to acting like a pre-seed investor maximizing portfolio size of minority bets. We are humbled to have been the execution partner for many corporate venture studios over the years and we distilled our observations and learnings in this white paper. Props to Moritz von Raczeck for structuring it all and making the push to publish this. Personally, I think that Corporate Venture Studios are here to stay and that - if executed right - it is a great addition to and synergetical for the innovation / investment portfolio next to internal business building and Corporate Venture Capital Funds ("CVCs"). Download link in the comments. And reach out if you want to learn more or discuss any of this!

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After attending last week's masterclass with Philipp Gutheim, I've distilled some key insights from the masterclass "Founder's Mentality" on the essentials of launching and leading a startup: 𝐄𝐦𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫’𝐬 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐞𝐭: Thriving in the startup environment requires a mindset distinct from what traditional education or corporate roles teach. This journey involves navigating a landscape where 85% of startups fail, 14% are acquired, and only 1% achieve an IPO, all over a commitment of more than a decade. 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬: Founders must prioritize validating their business models through revenue or customer acquisition early on, ensuring their venture's survival during its most vulnerable times. 𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐍𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐬: In contrast to established corporations, startups need to operate with unmatched flexibility and responsiveness. Adhering to rigid corporate methods can obstruct the adaptability essential for startup success. 𝐍𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐩 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐲𝐜𝐥𝐞: From securing initial seed funding to moving through growth and scaling phases, understanding each stage's unique demands is key to building a stable and profitable business. 𝐀𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭-𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐅𝐢𝐭: It’s crucial first to secure product-market fit, followed by implementing a strategic growth model like "T2D3", designed to triple and then double revenue annually, targeting $100M in ARR. 𝐑𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫’𝐬 𝐑𝐨𝐥𝐞: Successful founders immerse themselves as generalists across all operational areas, from product development to customer engagement, rather than delegating these critical functions. 𝐈𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: Continuous improvement based on customer feedback is vital. Embracing a Lean Startup approach—launching quickly, learning rapidly, and iterating—is essential for adaptation. 𝐒𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: The road to startup success is often winding and filled with complex challenges that demand persistence, skill, and sometimes, a stroke of luck. The insights from Philipp's masterclass are not just theoretical but pivotal for anyone committed to the demanding yet rewarding startup path. Here's to embracing these lessons in our entrepreneurial journeys! 🌟 #StartupLife #Entrepreneurship #BusinessStrategy #Innovation #FounderMindset #Antler #EntreprenuerInResidence

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