News & Podcast
Stay up to date with the latest stories, deep-dives and interviews from the Munich startup ecosystem. From funding deals to founder portraits and tech trends.
“We Were Not Taken Seriously”: How Marlena Hien Turned Bears with Benefits Into a Multi-Million-Euro Company
What began as a side project between two agency managers developed into one of Germany’s best-known supplement brands within a few years. In the Pitch & People live talk at the Kinoliebe Festival, Marlena Hien explains why Bears with Benefits was never reliant on investor funding, why profitability was underestimated for a long time – and why the exit was still the right step in the end.
8pm Social wins pitch contest at Kinoliebe and secures nomination for the Munich Startup Award
At the Kinoliebe Summer Festival in Munich, the startup 8pm Social secured victory in the pitch contest. The team around founder Saskia Teufel is thus nominated for the Munich Startup Award on July 22 and has the chance to win €10,000 in prize money as well as the award trophy.
Munich Startup x Kinoliebe 2026
Startup feeling meets summer festival: Together with Kinoliebe, Munich Startup brings the Munich founding scene to the open-air stage at Königsplatz. On July 16, visitors can expect inspiring founder stories, exciting startup pitches and plenty of festival atmosphere. And five Munich startups have a chance at something very special.
Havea acquires Bears with Benefits
French Havea Group acquires Bears with Benefits. The startup was founded in 2018 by Laurence Saunier and Marlena Hien in Munich and produces dietary supplements for women in the form of gummy bears.
