Since 2015, the VC has published Capnamic Ventures annually conducts its Deal Flow Analysis and examines its own deals. The result of this year's analysis: In 2017, the number of investment inquiries from startups in Germany increased by 20 percent compared to the previous year. Three clear trends can also be identified in the nationwide startup scene.
Urbanization of the startup scene
Currently, only 50 percent of all startups are located in one of Germany's five largest cities—Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, and Frankfurt am Main—while the other half are spread across the country. But according to the 2017 Deal Flow Analysis, this situation is increasingly changing: more and more startups are settling in urban areas—increasing urbanization is already evident, according to the study.
Founding teams with more technical background
The second trend the analysis seeks to identify: Founding teams increasingly have a technical background. In 2017, one in two founders in Germany already had a university degree in the so-called STEM subjects—mathematics, computer science, natural sciences, or technology. This fact is enabling more and more startups to develop innovative solutions to highly complex topics. Startups with a purely business background, on the other hand, are declining, according to the 2017 Deal Flow Analysis.
More mixed founding teams
The German startup scene remains a male-dominated domain. 87 percent of deal flow in 2017 was closed with startups that had an all-male founding team. However, according to the analysis, there has been a slight increase in founding teams that include at least one woman. The number of such "mixed" Teams increased by 60 percent last year. This reflects the trend that founding teams are becoming increasingly diverse.
