Munich Startup: What does the Entrepreneurs Club do and who is behind the organization?
Stefan Klemm: The Entrepreneurs Club is considered one of the most relevant contact points for family businesses and entrepreneurs throughout Germany with regard to questions regarding the recruitment of specialists and managers, succession planning, or corporate transactions. Our existing customers today include around 250 of the 500 largest German family businesses. However, we are also a true entrepreneurs' club with members who are concerned with their own succession, whether in their own family business or as an external management buy-in (MBI). It is a declared mission of the Entrepreneurs Club to publicly strengthen entrepreneurship, secure it in the long term, and thus make a social contribution. We offer entrepreneurial personalities and entrepreneurial talents the opportunity to "dock" with us and, with their business ideas or existing, related businesses, become part of our "EcosystemsThe Entrepreneurs Club was founded in 2005 by me, along with around 20 founding members, all of whom had been concerned with the topic of business succession. Many of the founding members are now involved in succession planning in their own family businesses or have implemented one or more MBIs.
“The working environment in family businesses is much closer to today’s talents than in large corporations.”
Munich Startup: Why did you launch the “Career in a Family Business” portal?
Stefan Klemm: In Germany, the public primarily perceives the large DAX-listed companies as having a significant impact on the economy. Given comparable performance, well-known brands are the focus of interest, especially among graduates and young professionals, and family businesses are often underestimated in their economic importance. Hardly anyone realizes that, in fact, it is family-run businesses that largely determine Germany's economy.
If you ask an established entrepreneur what the biggest bottleneck to growth is, you'll probably hear "good employees." Recruiting good people is therefore a top priority and of utmost strategic importance. With "Careers in Family Businesses," we have therefore set ourselves the goal of educating specialists and managers about the special career environment in family businesses, characterized primarily by a positive working atmosphere and sustainability. Joint studies by the Family Business Foundation and the Technical University of Munich have shown that the working environment in family businesses—keywords include working atmosphere, sustainability, and purpose-driven jobs—is much more relevant to today's talented individuals than in large, anonymous corporations.
Munich Startup: Do family businesses find it particularly difficult to find skilled workers?
Stefan Klemm: For family businesses, employer branding is the tool of the moment for the reasons outlined above. The career environment they offer is unique. Family businesses also offer excellent development opportunities for young specialists and managers. Hierarchies are flat, personal responsibility is emphasized, and because career paths are not so rigidly defined here, you can go far with commitment, both in Germany and in branches abroad. Furthermore, family businesses can be found across industries and thus offer attractive career opportunities to many different interest groups and talented individuals. This just needs to become more widely known. Family businesses must once again play a stronger role in the public eye; they must be seen.
The newly launched online portal www.karriere-familienunternehmen.de This is where it comes in. It not only informs about the advantages that family businesses offer employees, but also delivers a good message: The vacancies are available. Even, and in some cases, right now. With 50 partner companies connected to our network, we have almost 3,000 job postings. A look at the site is worthwhile for both job seekers and anyone seeking information who has perhaps founded or is considering starting their own business. Family businesses can serve as a model here. Because they span generations, are long-term oriented, and constantly change with the times.
“Every family business was once a startup”
Munich Startup: What significance do startups have for family businesses?
Stefan Klemm: When you combine entrepreneurship and hard work, a company establishes itself. In this sense, every family business was once a startup and certainly fondly remembers the beginnings of its own history. Because family businesses can sometimes look back on a very long history, they have also experienced many changes and have had to adapt to new situations. Every era has its own challenges. Today's can, for example, lie in digitalization or completely new sales channels such as direct marketing. It is certainly worth taking a look at startups that could have an edge, especially through flexibility. One opportunity for family businesses certainly lies in adapting new structures by acquiring a startup. One example is the tradition-conscious Westphalian company Oetker, which acquired the startup "Flaschenpost" for the significant price of 1 billion euros.
Munich Startup: What can the “old economy” do for startup companies?
Stefan Klemm: Family businesses can also act as startup incubators. Corporate divisions establish and develop startups as incubators, for example, to drive the development of new digital products and services. They link and utilize existing infrastructure, accumulated knowledge, and established networks, creating a complete "startup ecosystem" from which businesses can profit within a very short time. The company's "brightest and most competent minds" are often placed in these new areas and then have the opportunity to work in a high-tech environment that is both sustainable and agile. Collaborations can also be beneficial for both types of businesses. By leveraging each other's strengths, they mutually reinforce each other. Our portal features an article on this topic, "Every family business was once a startup," which explores the topic in more detail if you're interested.
Entrepreneurs Club provides access to entrepreneurs
Munich Startup: Do you actively establish contact between startups and medium-sized companies?
Stefan Klemm: Sure. That's part of one of the services offered by the Entrepreneurs Club. The "EC Target Exchange" brings together hand-picked targets from a deal flow of currently 2,000 companies per year that are up for sale. While these usually include established SMEs that are up for sale due to unresolved company succession issues, we are also frequently approached by startups looking for investors. For some, in addition to the capital required, it is much more effective to join forces operationally with an established player in the market - for example, from the field of family businesses. This is because these players not only have market access but, as global market leaders, sometimes also occupy entire niches with internationally active and well-established structures, i.e. "up and running" procurement and production value chains. The good thing, especially about family businesses, is that the decision-makers are also the entrepreneurs. This means that they can decide for themselves and directly what to do with their financial means and other resources. If a startup gains access to such an ecosystem company, for example through the Entrepreneurs Club, your pitch deck won't end up among the hundreds of pitch decks that a professional VC might otherwise "have on the table" every month. Ideally, you'll have the opportunity to convince a senior entrepreneur, often with several thousand employees and several billion euros in operating revenue, of your business idea in a personal conversation.
