For the DSM 2022, 1,976 startups were surveyed, most of them in Berlin (19.1 percent) and Munich (8.0 percent). The two leading German startup hubs are described in the report as "real hotspots" and used as a benchmark for the entire German startup scene. In addition, according to the study a whole series of other successful startup ecosystems have developed.
First, some good news: German founders are generally quite satisfied with their startup ecosystem: 67.7 percent rate it as good or very good. In Munich, 72.4 percent are satisfied with the ecosystem, and in Berlin, 81.0 percent.
Startups employ an average of 18.4 people and plan to hire 9.2 new ones. Munich startups have twice as many employees, with 42.1, and 15.8 planned new hires. Startups from the capital have a whopping 44.2 employees and plan to create another 19.8 new positions. The high number of planned new hires is offset by a worsening shortage of skilled workers: 34.5 percent of respondents cite the difficulty of finding suitable staff as a key challenge. In the past two years, this figure was 26.6 percent and 17.0 percent, respectively.
Many Green Startups interviewed in the DSM
On average, startups currently require €3.1 million in external capital. Three-quarters of the startups surveyed finance themselves through their own savings, while just under half receive government funding. Less than a third are supported by a business angel, just under a quarter by family and friends, and less than one in five startups has already received venture capital. Both startups financed by business angels and VC-backed companies are overwhelmingly satisfied with their investors: 81.5 percent are (very) satisfied with their business angels, and 76.8 percent with their VC investors.
A large proportion of the startups surveyed pursue sustainability as a corporate goal: 46 percent see themselves as part of the green economy. 61 percent want to combine ecological sustainability and growth. Franziska Teubert, Managing Director of the Startup Association, says:
"Founders and their startups are significantly shaping the economy of tomorrow. They show us that economic responsibility and technological progress are not contradictory, but go hand in hand."
