Jan Heinemeyer

Philipp Klöckner - Could you give us some insights into how your personal brand positively impacted your VC investment opportunities? Is it more important than SEO these days? ➡ 1) Aka running the Doppelgänger Tech Talk Podcast ➡ 2) Getting more people to know you ➡ 3) When someone needs VC money they'll talk to you. ➡ ... and start again with 1) For everyone else not knowing him - Philipp Klöckner and Philipp Gloeckler started the wonderful 🇩🇪 German language Doppelgänger Tech Talk Podcast a couple of years ago. Great tech topics. Great insights into companies trading on the public market. Highly recommended! #seo #personalbrand #socialmedia #podcast #vc

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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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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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🚀 UVC Partners: Driving Europe's Leading Deeptech Startup Ecosystem 🌍 Munich’s UnternehmerTUM stands out as a powerhouse in Europe’s startup scene, largely thanks to UVC Partners, a key player providing vital early-stage funding for B2B deeptech, climate tech, software, and mobility startups. 🚗 A Hub for Innovation and Growth📈 Founded within UnternehmerTUM in 2011, UVC Partners has grown significantly, helping to transform the funding landscape for European startups. 💰Initially starting with a modest €25 million fund, UVC Partners now manages around €400 million in assets and is currently raising its fourth fund, targeting €200-250 million. This impressive growth reflects the firm’s success in identifying and nurturing startups with the potential for world-changing innovations, such as space technology platforms and flying taxis. A Changing Funding Landscape💰 The shift in funding dynamics is stark. In 2012, deeptech companies across Europe received a mere €400 million. Fast forward to 2023, and German deeptech startups alone secured €1.6 billion, with the German government announcing a €1 billion fund for deeptech and climate tech growth-stage companies. UVC Partners has been at the forefront of this evolution, closing its third fund generation in 2021 with €260 million raised across two funds. Strategic Connections and Deep Expertise🤝 UVC Partners benefits from its close ties to UnternehmerTUM, leveraging a vast network of corporates, Mittelstand companies, universities, and government figures. This network provides startups with unparalleled access to industry leaders and policymakers, a significant advantage highlighted by many portfolio companies. “We have a unit called Value Creation that focuses on customer creation and knowledge,” explains UVC partner Benjamin Erhart. This unit taps into UnternehmerTUM’s business relations, offering startups tailored introductions to industry heavyweights when needed. Success Stories and Flagship Investments UVC Partners has a strong track record of successful investments and exits. Notable investments include: Flix, Isar Aerospace, Vimcar, FAZUA, Aleph Alpha, Reel The Future of European Deeptech🤖 UVC Partners' commitment to fostering innovation and connecting startups with essential resources has solidified its role in Europe’s leading startup ecosystem as an early-stage backer of B2B deeptech, climate tech, software, and mobility startups that are working on potentially world-changing innovations, reported Sifted. ✅ Looking to raise capital for your #fund and increase the international pool of your LP #investors?   🤝 Need warm #LP introductions?   📝 Selling #secondaries to increase liquidity?   🧐 Looking for co-investments?   ▶ G+QUANT's link for inquiries and fund decks: https://lnkd.in/gjC_EuTE 🌟 #VentureCapital #Startups #Deeptech #Innovation #Entrepreneurship #UVCPartners #TechFunding #MunichTech #ClimateTech #EuropeanStartups

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Definitely more interested in building “Mittelstands” first over “unicorns”.

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As part of the Startup Incubator Berlin's Lean Startup program, I've talked to many inspired and motivated individuals, and we all make the same critical mistake (myself included!). We're trying to solve something too big at once, and so we're building a solution with multiple parts. What's worse is that when we talk to each other, we're extremely convinced that we have to deliver the whole piece or our solution doesn't make sense. But the person we're talking to is often able to quickly see that that's not true and point out how independent each part can be. This is actually the best part of participating in these programs: the insights gained from sharing with others. What I'm talking about here is nothing new: it's the very concept of the Minimum Valuable Product (MVP). And when you think you have it, think again and slice again. This applies not only to new companies, but also to new product development and features: What is the thinnest slice I can deliver that already provides value? The next time you're about to deliver something, ask yourself if you can split it, but also ask someone how they would split it, and don't forget to slice, slice, slice!

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Working with founders I am always amazed by the diversity of the approaches founders choose to build their businesses. What stays the same is the need for a good mentor. Here is a little insight into the mentoring work I have been doing with the Founder Institute Berlin for this cohort: 👗 Jennifer von Walderdorff is building a fashion tech platform, a super interesting idea. I helped her to understand the direction of the product better, & what to build first to get traction and start growing sustainably with the help of the community she built. 🚘 Daniel Muñoz Mármol is building his company in the automotive automation space, which seems easy but is not. This space is highly competitive, but also conservative (if we are talking about Germany). I helped him to understand the customer better and make the pitch a bit more clear, so the product is built for the right audience. I will be sharing more in the next few days. While building a company, we all need support. Getting someone from the tech world, with an actual experience building real tech products is not that easy. Generally speaking, I have to admit that the deep and applicable knowledge of product+tech is not available within the majority of accelerator and incubator programs and this is something I want to change in the future. Also, that is why Tobias Mende and I are working on creating a new space, where all of your tech+product questions can be answered. Stay tuned! #founders #mentoring #product #tech #techstartup #growth

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This table by Antler allows to guide founders on how much to raise in their first round. You can use it to form an initial understanding, but keep in mind: 1. The numbers are German, so they’re conservative. 2. The numbers are from last year. But as a starting point for research, they are definitely useful. #Startups #Fundraising #Entrepreneurship #Founder #Traction

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𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐚 𝐒𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫! 🚀 With this, I am super excited to announce that Scripe closed its pre-seed fundraising round – with a group of amazing, experienced angel investors! 🙌 Since day one, I am a huge fan of the product. Scripe is a is a content workspace that enables companies to position their whole team on LinkedIn – from the intern to the CEO. Imagine everyone having a personal high-end ghostwriter assistant in their pocket. Their mission: Empowering the world's professionals to share their stories. And they are doing everything they can to get there. My favorite features so far are: - YouTube uploads turn into endless content ideas. - Plan your content week in advance with ease. - Reports are 1000X better than LinkedIn's native tools. (Sorry, LinkedIn! 😉) I look super forward to being part of their journey and to support them with my experience in Sales, Content Creation & Scaling 🙌 I am very happy about the other investors who are working with me to make scripe the next Unicorn 🦄 : Glenn Miseroy, Daniel Frese, Richard van der Blom, Robert Heineke  Laura Raggl, Nina Kani, Tony E. Kula, 👋 Michael Kamleitner, Julius Göllner, Roman Geugelin, 🛠 Nico Axtmann, Michael Streit, Emanuel Jöbstl, Stefan Smulders, Nicoleta Danu. If you want to give Scripe a try and get an extra month for free, comment SCRIPE in the comment section. 👇 #Scripe #Contentcreation #AI #PersonalBranding

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🚀 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐎𝐏 𝐓𝐈𝐏 𝐓𝐎 𝐆𝐄𝐓 #𝐈𝐍𝐕𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑'𝐒 𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍! 🚀 💡 Let's talk about the SMART way to connect with investors on LinkedIn in 2024/25! 🎯 Stop randomly connecting and hoping for the best... here's what ACTUALLY works: 🔍 Find their recent activity first - comment on their posts for 2-3 weeks BEFORE you connect 💎 Share insights about their portfolio companies (shows you've done your homework!) ⚡ Post your own innovation stories and tag them naturally (but don't overdo it!) 🎪 Here's the thing - investors are BOMBARDED with connection requests every single day... So how do you stand out? ✨ By being different ✨ By adding value FIRST ✨ By showing you understand their investment thesis 🌟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭? Most founders reach out asking for money... but smart founders reach out sharing opportunities! I asked Mr Neil Stephenson in a podcast episode this time last year, and his response was enlightening! (see below) #angelinvestors #seedfunding #startups #raisingcapital #networking #pitchdeck #founder #innovation 💵 𝐏𝐒: 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧 2024, 𝐈 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐚 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐄 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐤, 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞. 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚 30𝐦𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐞! 👇

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Having founded eight companies—most as German GmbHs (registered in Germany)—I’ve experienced the highs and lows of building businesses from the ground up. But if I were starting a new company today, would I choose to launch another GmbH in Germany? Honestly, probably not. Here’s why: 🌍 Global from Day 1: When I first started, scaling globally was something you did after establishing locally. Now, businesses are going global right from the start. Digital ventures can tap into markets like the US early on—just like Israeli startups often do. 💻 Remote Entrepreneurship: Even though some companies are calling employees back to the office, remote work isn’t going anywhere. I’ve seen newer ventures thrive on fully remote setups. It cuts costs, boosts flexibility, and gives you the freedom to hire talent from anywhere in the world. 🌐 Cross-Border Teams: Gone are the days of only building a team from your local network. Today, founders are tapping into talent globally. Why limit yourself when there are 582 million entrepreneurs worldwide who could be your next co-founder? 🏛️ Flexible Incorporation Options: With global teams, you’re no longer tied to a single location. You can choose to incorporate wherever it makes the most sense for your business, not based on where your team lives. 💸 Funding Differences: The US venture scene operates on a different level. One of my companies raised €15M at a €30M pre-money valuation, while a US competitor raised €65M at an €860M valuation. The funding gap is real. That’s where platforms like soonami.io GmbH and Foundance come in. We help founders delay incorporation decisions. From day one, you can set up wallets, governance, and cap tables, then decide later whether to incorporate in Delaware, Switzerland, Dubai, or anywhere else 🌐. In today’s interconnected world, there’s no rush. Take your time, leverage global opportunities, and build something truly impactful. That’s what we did with our soonami cohort 4. Over 50 investors watched our ventures pitch 🚀. In the previous cohort, we co-invested in three startups that came out of the Venturethon program. Ready to take the leap? Apply for our next program, kicking off next week: https://lnkd.in/ews92waB Here is the full recording of our recent demo day: https://lnkd.in/ghs7TU9w

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You might disagree with me but: Having your partner as a co-founder is great. I talked to Vivien Bresson about this a while back on my podcast. Vivien and her husband have co-founded multiple companies. They love building startups together. I got some mixed reactions on this topic after releasing the podcast. Some people said they couldn’t imagine working with their partners. Mixing personal and business seems like a no-go to them. But in my personal experience, working with your partner is great. When I met my wife in Toronto, she was a beauty technician at a Korean Beauty Salon. Her clients loved her and always had ideas on improving the business, but the owner always objected. She was frustrated. I hated seeing her initiatives constantly being shot down and wanted her to be free to implement her vision. So we did our own thing. She quit her job and we set up her own beauty salon. We thought out the entire game plan on a month-long trip to Ko Pha Ngan island in Thailand. It was pretty simple: • She keeps doing what she does best: Making clients happy. • I run some digital marketing and operations in the background. We came back to Canada and got to work - and it was a mega success. She grew it from a small salon with three staff to having two locations and 12 full-time employees. • Top rated on Google. • Clients were raving about it. • Both salons were constantly packed. This isn’t supposed to be a brag about how good we are at building beauty salons. (even though we are.) It’s a reminder that building a business with your partner can be extremely fulfilling, while it might be a relationship test at times. 2 weeks ago, we visited Ko Pha Ngan island again to reminisce about the time we planned out the business together. There’s something about that island that gets us thinking about business and let’s just say - there might be something else in the works. Stay tuned…

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Heading to Munich for Ultimate Demo Day! ✈️ 🇩🇪 Tomorrow, I’ll join UnternehmerTUM's Ultimate Demo Day at Munich Urban Colab - As part of Stax’s partnership with XPRENEURS Incubator. I can't wait to see several of the Early-stage founders we've mentored this year pitch their startups to the industry's leading VCs. 🔑 Key topics driving tomorrow’s discussions include the areas that we at Stax are embedded within in the Deeptech and Greentech space: - Sustainability, Entrepreneurship, Applied AI, Mobility and Female Entrepreneurship. Some exciting keynote speakers! Verena Pausder, Annahita Esmailzadeh, Maximilian Schmidt & Eric Beißwenger. 60 startups pitching, matchmaking and networking opportunities, Demo Day promises to highlight cutting-edge solutions shaping Europe’s future. I’m looking forward to connecting with founders, VCs, and fellow innovators to discuss how we can drive impact in these most vital sectors. Let’s connect if you’ll be there! 🚀 #DemoDay #Startups #Innovation #Xpreneurs #Sustainability #AI #deeptech #greentech

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How to Close an Angel Round: Securing angel investment requires strategic planning and building momentum. Here are essential steps to help you close the round: 1. Mass Syndication: Approach multiple investors simultaneously to create urgency and increase social proof. 2. Set Terms Below Market: Start with investor-friendly terms and valuation to gain initial traction with interested angels. 3. Build Social Proof: Mention reputable backers who have shown interest, as this can create momentum among other investors. 4. Rolling Close Strategy: Accept funds as they come, rather than waiting for the full round to close, allowing you to stay agile with cash flow. 5. Use Angel Networks: Platforms like AngelList can connect you with potential investors and streamline introductions. 6. Clear Deadline: Set a timeline to push for commitment, using milestones like holidays or oversubscription to create urgency. #AngelInvesting #StartupFunding #InvestorRelations #Entrepreneurship #VentureCapital PS. check out 🔔 for a winning pitch deck the template created by Silicon Valley legend, Peter Thiel https://lnkd.in/ejp-Bhnu

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ChartMogul's latest report on the state of the SaaS industry just dropped! 🔥 Our Snr. Mgr of Insights Sofia Faustino totally crushed it this time!! 👏👏 The report includes Revenue Retention trends and benchmarks from analyzing over 2,500 SaaS businesses 🏙️ Link to the full report over on Sofia's post...and please like/share her post 🙏🙏🙏

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Should founders take advice from non-founder VCs? 🤔 As a founder, everyone (family, friends, the neighbors' dog 🐶 ) is constantly trying to give you advice - and especially your investors but, do you really have to listen to VCs who've never built a company themselves? On the one hand, VCs who were not founders often bring a wealth of industry experience. They analyzed hundreds of businesses from many sectors, and they see what works and what doesn't. For example, Benchmark's Peter Fenton is one of the world's top VCs, even though he's never founded a startup. His investments in companies like Twitter have shaped entire industries. Conversely, founders-turned-VCs are better able to understand the emotional side of running a business. At Vinthera, I speak with many GPs about this operational experience being a critical part of their USP to founders - the shared experience creates trust. So, should you take advice from someone who has never built a company before? Does their outside perspective bring value or is the founder's life experience more important? I'd love to hear your thoughts. What is your experience?👇

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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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