Even though 2018 was a year full of success stories, there were also a few companies that didn't fare so well and ultimately filed for bankruptcy! We take a look back at the Munich startups that had to close their doors for good (or did they?) last year.
After ComfyLight had always been a guarantee of positive news in Munich, the company was unexpectedly forced to file for insolvency in April. The reasons for this were likely primarily related to financing. At some point, the young company could no longer withstand the pressure and, with a heavy heart, had to declare the smart lamp project finished.
Mustard giant saves startup sauce
Shortly thereafter, the story of Erledigungen.de was also "finished" in the truest sense of the word. The service startup, which relieved its customers of unpleasant administrative tasks, apparently filed for bankruptcy in May 2018"Lack of sales" and "too high running costs" is how insolvency administrator Ivo-Meinert Willrodt explained the end of the young company, which had previously been partially convincing in the start-up show "The Lion's Den" but still had to return home without any investment.
While apparently no buyer was found for Erledigungen.de, the founders of Macandoo had more luck with their BBQUE sauce, which was financed via crowdinvesting: After Oliver Wildner and Michael Lubomirski filed for bankruptcy in summer had, one could reach an agreement on a sale with the Unterhaching mustard giant Develey.
In August CaptchaAd filed for insolvencyAfter a failed interim financing, co-founder Jan Philipp Hinrichs saw this as the only way to save his company. CaptchaAd's website states that the startup is "now a company of Interactive Insight GmbH."
End for leaf plate, Lendstar in luck
At the beginning of September Leaf Republic Another initially promising Munich startup has filed for insolvency. The insolvency register indicates "insolvency and excessive indebtedness" as the reasons for the bankruptcy. It's difficult to say what the future holds for the company. The company's website redirects customers to Amazon, where they can continue to purchase the leaf-based products for the time being.
After Lendstar had gone through the difficult process of insolvency in the summer, there was good news in November: Epay from Planegg near Munich rescued the company in November and bought the payment app. As part of the startup's integration, its founder, Christopher Kampshoff, was also brought on board, and he has been working with the "new" company ever since. So, at least in this case, there was a happy ending, which Christoph Kampshoff was particularly pleased about:
“We are very pleased to now be part of the Epay family—and thus have a partner we trust and value highly.”
