News & Podcast

Sales often determines whether a startup grows or stagnates. Many founders are strong in product and tech, but when it comes to clearly defined target customers, solid sales funnels, and predictable B2B sales, questions remain open. We speak with Henning Heesen about how startups can set up sales from the beginning and what mistakes they should avoid.

Employees rarely quit because of the product or salary – poor leadership is often the real reason. Munich Startup expert Nico Reis explains why lack of trust, insufficient feedback, and weak leaders become a growth risk, especially in scaleups.

According to insider reports, Helsing could raise around 1.2 billion dollars in fresh capital and be valued at around 18 billion dollars in the process. This would make the Munich defencetech company not only one of Europe’s most valuable AI startups, but probably also the highest-valued German startup ever. We spoke with Arno Eggers, head of Munich Startup, about the possible mega-deal.

Most founders face the same challenge repeatedly: fundraising is time-consuming, nerve-wracking, and often requires lengthy negotiations. Tokenize.it offers a digital solution that enables you to raise capital flexibly and without complicated intermediate steps – making fundraising in your startup significantly simpler.

Companies in the culture and creative industries are often pioneers in integrating circular economy concepts into their business models. In our series on this topic, we feature selected young companies from the culture and creative industries that think about circular economy from the core. This time: Manaomea. We spoke with founder Christine (Tine) Artl about how she integrated circular practices into her business model. And she shares what startups can learn from her company.

Companies in the cultural and creative industries are often pioneers in integrating circular economy concepts into their business models. In our current series on the topic, we showcase selected young companies from the cultural and creative industries that incorporate circular economy thinking from the core. This time: ZURÜCK, a Munich zero-waste design studio that creates upcycling projects together with companies. Founded in 2020, the company aims to drive a change in society toward zero-waste and circular economy. We spoke with founder Anna Diermeier about how she has integrated circular working methods into her business model. And she tells us what startups can learn from her.

Companies in the culture and creative industries are often pioneers in integrating circular economy concepts into their business models. In our current series on the topic, we showcase selected young companies from the culture and creative industries that take circular economy thinking to heart. Anna Karsch and Michaela Wunderl-Strojny founded Akjumii, a slow-fashion fashion label. But what does a fashion company have to do with startups? You can learn a lot from Akjumii. The company has integrated circular working practices into its business model. The approach of the founders can also be applied to startups. This way, startups can already consider sustainability when developing their business ideas. They can define how long a product will remain in circulation and what happens afterward. How Akjumii solved this, you can read in the interview.

Companies in the cultural and creative industries are often pioneers in integrating circular economy concepts into their business models. In our current series on the topic we showcase selected young companies from the cultural and creative industries that consider the circular economy at their core. Moritz Mungenast and Luc Morroni founded their architecture firm in 2023. Using additive manufacturing, they create customized and multifunctional architectural solutions from biological (residual) plastics such as plastic bottles. How do the two founders integrate the circular economy into their business model and what are current challenges? Read the interview with Moritz Mungenast to find out.

According to a recent study, the climatetech industry is expected to reach a market volume of €600 billion by 2030. However, Europe risks falling behind the USA and China, as an investment gap of €700 billion per year threatens industry growth.

The Social Entrepreneurship Akademie (SEA) was founded in 2010 as a network organization of the entrepreneurship centers of the four Munich universities and has since supported many students and founders in developing or further developing their own social entrepreneurship ideas. The SEA’s approach: social thinking should be combined with entrepreneurial action. Discover the social startups that have worked or are still working with the SEA here.