The DIHK Founders Report – Are we really in a founders' slump?

According to current DIHK Founder Report Interest in founding a company in Germany falls to a new lowThe report is based on the contacts of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry start-up advisors with prospective entrepreneurs. But are the DIHK figures really transferable to Munich and the region?

Figures and estimates from the DIHK Founder Report

Specifically, the report states: German Chambers of Industry and Commerce conducted only 205,630 interviews with prospective entrepreneurs in 2015. This represents a decrease of ten percent compared to the previous year and the fourth consecutive negative record.

“Twelve years ago, twice as many people interested in starting a business turned to the Chambers of Industry and Commerce”, commented DIHK President Eric Schweitzer on the results. "This development worries me, especially since many new self-employed people approach the matter poorly prepared. The risk of failure is therefore high." Less than two-thirds of the founders had given sufficient thought to the customer benefits of their idea.

Preparation for the founding of a DIHK start-up report — Preparation for the start-up is important – but according to the DIHK, founders increasingly have deficits © DIHK-Gründerreport 2016

Munich is different?!

Unbestritten ist: Die gute Vorbereitung – sei es nun beim Durchdenken der Finanzierung, der Zielgruppe oder des Kundennutzens – ist für den Erfolg der Gründung ausschlaggebend. Viele Gründer in München scheinen das jedoch erkannt zu haben. Das lässt zumindest die konstant hohe Zahl derer vermuten, die sich im Munich start-up office, an initiative of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce for Munich and Upper Bavaria and the City of Munich.

Founders also find many other places in Munich free consultation – oder den Austausch mit Gleichgesinnten. Die Tipps anderer Jungunternehmer sind oftmals Gold wert, wie auch Munich Startups Gründerstammtisch immer wieder zeigt.

It's not just the preparation that counts

Natürlich kommen noch weitere Faktoren hinzu, die die Gründerszene in Deutschland weiter stärken könnten – wie ein konsequenter Bürokratieabbau etwa oder ein Venture-Capital-Gesetz, das mehr jungen, wachstumsstarken Unternehmen den Zugang zu privatem Beteiligungskapital verschafft.

Further details and trends can be found in the DIHK Founders Report 2016.