In episode 2 of our video podcast Pitch & People is Darius Göttert as a guest. And with him, a more than exciting career path through the Munich ecosystem.
He founded his first company while still a student—a small firm in Wittenberg that turned records into designer watches. Göttert discovered his passion for entrepreneurship early on, moving to Munich at 16, graduating with a degree in international business, and simultaneously joining a startup on "Die Höhle der Löwen" (The Lion's Den). There, he learned what it means to scale a team from five to thirty.
Through a student initiative, he found his first co-founder. Together they founded Spreadly, a platform for digital business cards, brought business angels on board – and Göttert dropped out of college. Today, he looks back on several of his own startups and describes himself not as a traditional CEO, but as a "venture builder" who brings together ideas, networks, and founders.
FORA – the Hackerhaus at Stachus
Currently FORA His flagship project: a hacker house in the heart of Munich, where ten to fifteen young founders live together, work together, challenge ideas, pitch, and grow together. There's full board, a gym, an ice bath, and sessions with investors and mentors.
“I like to build the things I wish I had built myself,”
so Göttert in the Pitch & People podcast. When he came to Munich, he didn't know anyone. Today, he's creating the place he needed back then: a low-threshold entry point into Munich's startup ecosystem, right in the heart of the city, where you can build a company from the ground up in three to six months – and then stay in Munich with your team.
Young Founders Network – a Generation Z movement
At the same time, Göttert founded the Young Founders Network: over 1,200 young founders between the ages of 15 and 26 who inspire each other, exchange ideas, and work together on new ideas. Supported by the Bertelsmann Foundation, they meet twice a year at Code University in Berlin—a young biotope for entrepreneurial thinking, far removed from the old silo mentality and with a radical courage to take risks.
Darius Göttert believes in this generation:
"They have an extremely low fall height and don't first think about everything that could go wrong. They just start."
Munich: the most beautiful city in the world – with hurdles
Despite all his enthusiasm, Göttert doesn't hide the downside. Entering the Munich ecosystem is difficult, especially due to the high cost of living. He says:
"In Berlin, there are scholarships; in Munich, you first need 50,000 euros from a business angel to be able to afford the rent."
With projects like InCommunity He creates alternative models: students move into affordable apartments with senior citizens – affordable housing and a living dialogue between generations at the same time.
Darius Göttert: “Our security is our skills”
For Göttert, security doesn't mean having a buffer of capital, but rather skills and networks. Almost every decision in his career has been risky, and precisely for that reason, rewarding. In five years, he sees himself with his own fund, which will provide capital to young founders as an initial investor.
Until then, he'll continue to build: startups, networks, courage. And an environment where entrepreneurship isn't exotic, but rather a matter of course – just as he would have wished for himself as a 16-year-old in Munich.
