Robert Vossen

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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I want to become the German mini-version of Codie A. Sanchez! There's no-one that tells the stories of mainstreet business owners like she does. 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐞? - Mainstreet businesses are the backbone of our economy - Mainstreet businesses ALWAYS have a cool story. They deserve the spotlight! - Colonia works with hundreds of these businesses. We have the perfect exposure to their stories! Here's where you come into the picture: 𝐈 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭-𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧 to turn these raw stories into exciting videos.  𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞: - Excellent at cutting videos for social media - Super creative regarding Thumbnails, descriptions, copywriting  - Minimum 20 hours per week 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝: - Years of official work experience - A certain academic degree - Experience in logistics 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐥𝐥 𝐠𝐞𝐭 - Spend a lot of time with our customers and me personally - Direct impact on 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 #1 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝 in our industry - Fair compensation If you have read this far, please do one of the following: - DM me if you think you are the right person 📩 - Tag someone you think might fit 🎯 - Share this posts so your network sees it 🔄 𝓣𝓱𝓪𝓷𝓴 𝔂𝓸𝓾 🙂 PS: Love your content Codie A. Sanchez! I am a big fan. PPS: Job description in the comments.

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

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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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🚀 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗭𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽 𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀? We all know San Francisco’s startup ecosystem is massive, outpacing New York and LA combined. But let’s talk about Zurich: a city that ranks among the most innovative in the world. Yet, it's missing completely from the top global VC startup cities list. Here’s the disconnect: Switzerland consistently ranks as the most innovative country GLOBALLY, especially in terms of intellectual property. We have the ideas, the talent, and the research capabilities. But where we fall short is backing these innovations with bold investment, especially in B2C startups. Great ideas aren’t enough. Without the courage to take risks and finance these innovations, they remain just that—ideas. Ideas without execution? They’re worth, well... nothing. How does Zurich get on the list? We need to make bold moves and invest much more in B2C startups, where rapid scaling and mass-market potential lie - think of Meta, Amazon, Apple, Tesla, Nvidia, etc. Scaling faster, embracing risk, and building a robust venture capital ecosystem are key if we want Zurich to compete with global startup hubs. Zurich can lead the charge, but only if we bet big on more than just the “safe” bets. We have to take risks, invest, and go all in. What are your thoughts about this? #startups #innovation #VC #B2C #entrepreneurship #Zurich

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+5,000 followers on Linkedin! 🎇 👀   Since leaving Amazon two years ago, I'm incredibly grateful for the sheer number of amazing people I have crossed paths with - from sellers and partners at numerous industry events, to investors and fellow founders. I am glad to have you all along with me for this crazy ride.   To celebrate this milestone I'll share some thoughts on KPIs, and the frameworks behind defining the milestones we are actively trying to achieve. My learning since founding Ecomtent is incredible discipline is needed to anchor the entire company around 2-3 core metrics.   In my previous role, leading a team of PMs at Amazon, I was guilty of the inverse of this. On my team, each PM tracked several individual KPIs we set at the beginning of the year, specific to their program. The goal was to give individuals ownership. However, the result was a laundry list, and different team members across the organisation optimizing for different things. Tech prioritisation was a nightmare.   A better framework is one Primary metric, and 1-2 additional secondary metrics. The Primary metric should be a monetary measure - revenue or profitability. Secondary metrics should be more business-specific, inputs to drive this primary metric. For example, in its growth stage, Airbnb had a primary metric of revenue, but the secondary metrics of beds on the platform and responsiveness of hosts. There are a thousand different ways teams across the company could help to drive up these two secondary metrics - initiatives and innovation on product, sales, marketing. Team and individual goals should be structured to contribute to these 2-3 KPIs.   Your KPIs also should reflect the overall strategy. By strategy, I mean specific trade-offs you are consciously making - betting on X and not Y. For example, at Ecomtent, one of our initial secondary metrics was # managed product listings to build defensibility. This dictated our behaviour, e.g. spending dev time building a robust product that could handle catalogues with hundreds of thousands of SKUs; and our pricing. However since filling a patent, our strategy has evolved. We fired this KPI and replaced it with reducing churn. This meant listening to customers, and from their feedback dedicating resources to improving our lifestyle image generation models to ensure it remains best in class in a competitive market. It also meant delighting and surprising customers with innovations such as 'auto prompting' to improve image quality. Since firing # managed product listings, and focusing on reducing churn, we have been able to move the dial on this KPI with a reduction of -51%.   I could imagine as Ecomtent grows, that we grow our number of secondary KPIs from two to 5 or 6. But I vehemently believe discipline is needed, that KPIs should be set by leadership, monitored on a weekly basis by the entire company or business unit and fired if the strategy or landscape shifts. Do you agree? Should large teams fire their KPIs? 

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Crafting the perfect pitch: Why deciding between a vision-driven narrative or data-driven results could define your fundraising success 👇 Actionable insights from: ➡ Christina Cacioppo, CEO and Co-founder at Vanta and Mario Gabriele, Founder at The Generalist ✏ “The Founders Guide to Optimizing Your Fundraise” ⭐ Base your fundraising pitch on either a compelling narrative or strong metrics, depending on the state of your business, but avoid trying to do both simultaneously. 💬  "You can raise on numbers or you can raise on story, but you shouldn't raise on both. You should always be clear with yourself about which one you're raising on, and your pitch should make it clear, too. It's hard to do both well: the vision obscures the numbers, and the numbers detract from the vision. The same company can raise on either vision or numbers at different times. At Vanta, we raised on our numbers in the early days because people didn't buy into the market or its potential. As we matured, so did our ability to bring investors along on that vision." – Christina Cacioppo ───── 👉 Follow me, Alexander Small, for tactics and strategies for building startups from industry-leading Founders, Operators and Investors

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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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Forget VC moonshots. There’s a different model that underrepresented founders should pursue. Here's what you need to know about mittelstand businesses. “Mittelstand” is a German word typically used to describe companies focused on doing one thing well and doing it with great margins. In the world of venture capital, these companies are typically classified as lifestyle businesses that generate “only" $1-50M in annual revenue. While plenty of founders want to build big businesses with many employees listed on NASDAQ, most of us would be more than happy to build a sustainable, revenue-generating business that employs 10-50 people and has a great culture. Mittelstands are the best route. The problem is that many (not all) tech founders default to VC, which means they default to chasing VC outcomes. Defaulting instead to a mittelstand model allows founders to expand and aim higher if the opportunity presents itself. Imagine this: you raise a $2m Seed round. You grow to $1M in ARR in 2 years, but it’s a grind. You’re not growing at the high rate your VC investors want you at, but you’re profitable and have a product that your customers love. You have two options: 1. Follow traditional tech startup advice, raise more money, and try to pivot into something with more growth potential, potentially throwing away the traction that you’ve already found and setting your company up to flame out if you can’t raise more money or if the pivot doesn’t work. 2. Go the mittelstand route and grow your company sustainably to ~$5M in revenue while staying as lean as possible. Two years later, your company profits $1-2M a year, and you can exit for $20M to a big player OR keep riding the wave. Option 2 sounds pretty good to me 🤷🏾‍♂️ Venture-sized outcomes are not the only path for founders. The more we know about the different growth models for companies, the more optionality that gives to underrepresented founders looking to build something. H/t Neil Thanedar for introducing me to the idea of a mittelstand business Did you find this useful? If you did, give me a follow Toby Egbuna 💰 and/or report it to your network!

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This is insane! In Germany 🇩🇪, if your startup has closed a VC funding round a notary will read every single word of the docs out loud in front of founders 😳 I couldn't believe it, so I had to verify it. It's 100% true: "In Germany, a notary is required to read out the entire document aloud to all parties present during the notarization process, ensuring everyone fully understands the legal terms and implications before signing". It seems Germany isn't serious about startups... h/t Nathan Benaich for calling this out P.S. check out 🔔linas.substack.com🔔, it's the only newsletter you need for all things when Finance meets Technology. For founders, builders, and leaders.

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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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Tips & tricks for European VCs fundraising right now. From Rainer Märkle, General Partner at HV Capital. Have courage. Step up. Don't let yourself down on some negative. Pursue your goals. Don't just try to do the same things that others have already done. Do something different. Do your own thing. Find your niche. Find your theme. Find your segment. BUT. Don't be overly ambitious at first. It's a long-term game. Don't set the bar too high. Start with a very small fund. Invest the fund for a year or a year and a half. What do you think? Join the conversation below. 🔽 #venturecapital #angelinvesting #startupfunding #europe

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No big launch, no massive ad spend—just millions of users. How? By surprise. Command AI (fka CommandBar) is one of my favorite startup stories. They went from 0 to 25 million end users - within months 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🚀 ... all without a traditional go-to-market strategy. My 5 key learnings👇 1. Focus on solving one real problem - Their product started by solving one clear pain point for a single customer. - That focus led to a solution that resonated with millions. - It’s easy to get distracted, but simplicity wins. 2. Build for your customers, not just the market - CommandAI didn’t have a master plan to reach millions. - Instead, they got close to our users, listened, and adapted quickly. - When you build alongside your customers, growth follows. 3. Let word-of-mouth do the heavy lifting - CommandAI didn’t invest in big marketing campaigns. - But their users became advocates, spreading the word organically. - If your product truly solves a problem, people will share it. 4. Sometimes, speed beats perfection - CommandAI didn’t wait for the product to be perfect before launching. - By moving fast, they learned and iterated faster than competitors. - Progress over perfection is key, especially in the early stages. 5. Embrace the unexpected - The explosive growth was never part of the plan. - By staying agile, they rode the wave instead of fighting it. - You can’t predict everything—be ready to pivot. Want to know more about how they stumbled into success? Check it out on YouTube: 👉 www. youtube. com @enzoavigo (remove spaces) Special thanks to Command AI & James Evans for sharing his journey!

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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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🚀 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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🇨🇦 Why isn’t Canada on the list of top startup cities? (Referring to the image of top startup cities by VC deal value) Herbert Bay asks why Zurich, a city renowned for innovation, is missing from the top startup cities. But this also brings up another question: Why isn't Canada on the list? Canada has a wealth of brilliant minds, but many of our brightest entrepreneurs are forced to move to the USA to scale their ventures and achieve global success. The issue? Canada remains stuck in the past, where a company's value is primarily tied to its tangible assets—buildings, equipment—rather than its innovation and intellectual property. Natural resources are abundant in Canada, yet we degrade them for short-term gains, creating a false economy, while undervaluing the intellect of our people and the potential of our startups. In contrast, countries like the USA ask entrepreneurs, "What do you need to succeed?" In Canada, entrepreneurs often face endless hurdles and discouragement, being told their pre-revenue company holds no value because there is no positive EBITDA. This mentality stifles growth. Montreal and Toronto should be on this list, but despite the Canadian economy's reliance on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), public support for startups is minimal. Today, public institutions and government bodies dictate which sectors to prioritize, ignoring the innovative power of our startups and SMEs. Rather than focusing on large enterprises that exploit our natural resources and pollute the environment, it’s time to shift toward valuing innovation. With the devaluation of underperforming buildings, outdated technologies, and businesses unable to manage waste, Canada needs a new vision. 🇨🇦 It's time to champion Canadian startups and SMEs, to build value through intangible assets—intellectual property, innovation, and talent. Let’s return to the core question: What do innovative SMEs need to succeed? #Innovation #CanadaStartups #IntellectualProperty #Entrepreneurship #SMEs #MyBreezzz

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