True that, and your startup doesn't need to be a success in people's eyes.
A startup doesn't need to be a unicorn
71–80 of 363 posts
Re: A startup doesn't need to be a unicorn
#72Earlier quoted context omitted.
You still need the 25k to register a LLC or whatever the acronym is in Germany, right?
You need 25k€ to register a GmbH, but you can nowadays register a UG which only requires 1€ and can later be converted to a GmbH
First, it is sufficient to only pay 50 % of the stock capital at registration of the GMbH, ie. 12500 EUR. Obviously you also have less operating capital then.
Second, the money is not gone. It is right there in the company's account. You use it to pay company bills.
The only thing annoying about German GmbH is that it can take 6-8 weeks until you get your tax id and registration numbers. You can, of course, already do business with the name postfix "i.G.", ie. instead of "Foobar GmbH" you write "Foobar GmbH i.G." and done.
EDIT: typo
Re: A startup doesn't need to be a unicorn
#73Here's a model that exists in Germany, which I like: You can present a business plan to the state's investment bank and apply for several financial aides, including: * 1.5 years of universal basic income for you plus up to 2 other people. It's a tiny amount of money, but the point is to free you up to invest your actual time an money into the business. You do not have to pay this back. * up to 20k EUR in "consulting…
That just sounds like traditional small businesses. Which is cool but re-branding them to "startup" seems silly. The US has 35 million small businesses and maybe 1 million would qualify as startups.
You said this below, too. What's the difference? In my mind a startup is just a newly established business, but you seem to have a different vision?
Re: A startup doesn't need to be a unicorn
#74Hopefully, over time, we will get better and better in creating the world of software from small interoperable pieces that can be maintained by small teams or even solo entrepreneurs.
Yuck, we already got enough OpenSSL and other foundational projects that have a bus factor approaching (or being) 1.
Just today I learned that the unzip program hasn't had an official release since 2009 (!) and everyone ships a different set of patches for it.
Relevant xkcd 2347 [1].
Re: A startup doesn't need to be a unicorn
#75Here's a model that exists in Germany, which I like: You can present a business plan to the state's investment bank and apply for several financial aides, including: * 1.5 years of universal basic income for you plus up to 2 other people. It's a tiny amount of money, but the point is to free you up to invest your actual time an money into the business. You do not have to pay this back. * up to 20k EUR in "consulting…
And yet Germany still doesn't seem to have much more startup / entrepreneurial success than any other European country. What gives?
Bureaucracy is crazy in Germany. Forget about doing anything online, paper and in person only.
Founding any form of limited company is expensive and complicated. Want to put a website online? Have fun putting your full name and address in the imprint. Want to offer some courses that teach X? Yeah, no, you need a license for that, mate!
Also being self-employed you lose most social benefits. You need to get private healthcare, you need to save up for retirement and so on. Getting back into public health care later on can be a bit complicated.
So my advice is to keep working part time on a job that gives you health insurance and everything and work on your company in your free time.
Germany is also one of the least friendly countries for expats. And I say that as a native Germain. Officials will refuse to speak English to you. Yes, refuse. Most people know how to speak English but often can't be arsed to do so. Plus general xenophobia and people being very tight-knit and not open to making new friends.
Re: A startup doesn't need to be a unicorn
#76I do like the idea in general and feel there's a lot of room for improvement between the (VC / bootstrapping) extremes. However, the middle path from the article presumes the existence of VCs willing to join you on that path. The article waves this away with: > angel investors are generally more open to a 2-3x ROI For a $1M round you'd need to find 10-20 such angels (assuming $50k-$100k average check size) willing to…
That is what I was wondering as well. Where can I find investors willing to invest up to $1M with an expected 2-3x ROI on typical VC terms? In particular, for pre-revenue ventures. And how can you keep that 90%+ equity with 10 angel investors?
Re: A startup doesn't need to be a unicorn
#77Here's a model that exists in Germany, which I like: You can present a business plan to the state's investment bank and apply for several financial aides, including: * 1.5 years of universal basic income for you plus up to 2 other people. It's a tiny amount of money, but the point is to free you up to invest your actual time an money into the business. You do not have to pay this back. * up to 20k EUR in "consulting…
It's also connected to so much bureaucracy that you almost need to hire someone for that alone, because you wont have as much time for your actual business. Founding a company in Germany is so much unnecessary paperwork its crazy. Single handedly the only reason I will never try it in my home country.
Re: A startup doesn't need to be a unicorn
#78Earlier quoted context omitted.
You still need the 25k to register a LLC or whatever the acronym is in Germany, right?
No that's for a full GmbH. You can start with an "UG", which realistically needs maybe 1500 EUR to get registered and up and running. Then, a certain percentage of the profit is contributed towards the 25k (of which in turn only 12.5k have to be deposited in cash) each financial year. If the threshold is met, you can convert from UG to GmbH.
Always go for GmbH. UG will make you account for everything with your private money. If something goes wrong in your business you'll be dirt poor.
Re: A startup doesn't need to be a unicorn
#79Here is another one, the company doesn't need to have an endless exponential growth to have a sustainable business.
Re: A startup doesn't need to be a unicorn
#80Here's a model that exists in Germany, which I like: You can present a business plan to the state's investment bank and apply for several financial aides, including: * 1.5 years of universal basic income for you plus up to 2 other people. It's a tiny amount of money, but the point is to free you up to invest your actual time an money into the business. You do not have to pay this back. * up to 20k EUR in "consulting…
It's also connected to so much bureaucracy that you almost need to hire someone for that alone, because you wont have as much time for your actual business. Founding a company in Germany is so much unnecessary paperwork its crazy. Single handedly the only reason I will never try it in my home country.
Some still do it. And while I would never start my own company in Germany. Working at a startup in Germnay is going pretty well for me so far. 1.5 years in.