This is such a european startup story - where most energy is spent setting up a company and navigating bureaucracy rather than building a product. If anyone wonders why europe has such a lower number of startups this is why. And it’s not the government at fault. It’s the culture. Like seriously just pay someone 200€ to do this on your behalf and focus on stuff that matters not the “legal gray area” of earning pocket…
In the UK you pay £12 online, fill in an address and it's done. So that's not true. It completely depends on the European country. And given the Germany is the economic powerhouse of the EU, their bureaucracy doesn't seem to be hurting them much.
Germany is the "powerhouse of Europe", not because of start-ups and business friendly environment, but because of giant 100-year old dinosaurs like Siemens, Bosch, Daimler, VW, etc, who were innovative in the post-WW2 times and can afford all the lawyers and tax consultants the state could ever require them.
But with US and China hot on their heels on areas that the German dinosaurs were champions like motor vehicles, and dominating all things internet related, they might not be a powerhouse 100 years from now if they don't improve and modernize their mentality and keep leaving bureaucracy and innovation to the retired boomers who grew up with "world powerhouse Germany".