This Month in German, Swiss, and Austrian (GSA) Startups - March 2023

Tech Startups Germany - Startups and Venture Capital

Intro

Welcome to our March 2023 wrap-up with important news from the startup scenes in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland in 30 minutes or less 🙂.

We follow our top-down structure in the news: The top news, followed by a bird’s eye view at the startup ecosystem, next deeper looking at fascinating startup cities, and we end with general information. And for those serious about startups, there is a collection called: Stay ahead of the curve, where we share exciting reads, articles, studies, and podcasts.

Welcome to our startup news wrap-up for March with Chris from New York City and Joe from Frankfurt. We recorded this news episode on March 27th, 2023. A little disclaimer: You may have noticed a lot of stress in February here at Startuprad.io. We should have remembered a few news items in our backlog and added them to this episode.

All news not yet included here will be published in our next news episode for April, to be published on April 27th. Find all links to the quoted information on our Medium blog link below.

If you celebrate it: Happy Easter! We also try to bring you a bit of culture from Germany here.

Our Highlights:

Good news and bad news for Fintechs Raisin and N26. Raisin gets its unicorn status back and gets a lot of new business, so much in fact that the complaints at Bafin are mounting. N26 generated 200 mn € revenue in 2021 but has to deal with a senior employee uprising. Neobank Ruuky is saved last minute. Startup Bonify reportedly makes a 20 mn € exit, but employees only get invited to a barbeque. GoStudent is a no-go with courts, and the first Goldman-backed fintech in Germany struggles. Bavarian Airlines may be just a hoax, and Grover shows the first signs on their way to an IPO.

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This recording is supported by HTAI and the Enterprise Europe Network Hessen.

This recording was made possible by HTAI and the Enterprise Europe Network Hessen. These organizations have made tremendous contributions to helping startup businesses succeed and thrive, providing a range of services from helping to find grants to ongoing partnerships. By taking advantage of these resources, startup companies can network and develop innovative strategies for success on the international stage. The dedicated support of HTAI and the Enterprise Europe Network Hessen is paramount in providing startup businesses with the tools for lasting success. Look for our dedicated sub-podcast in partnership with them: Tech Startups Germany on our https://linktr.ee/startupradio

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Top News

Good News and Bad News at Raisin

The rising interest rates are good for deposit broker Raisin. They were driving an increase in business and helped them to get a unicorn valuation with their most recent fundraising. It seems they even got a bit overwhelmed by the new business. Let’s have a look at the news:

We reported about Raisin’s (then) ongoing fundraising and that they are about to get their unicorn horn back. This is now confirmed: Deposit broker, fintech Raisin, raises 60 m Euros in VC funding, reclaiming its formerly lost unicorn status

The bad news: It seems complaints are piling up so that BaFin takes notice

N26 Good News and Bad News — As well

In February 2022, six high-ranking managers of N26 wrote an email warning the founders the company was turning dysfunctional. This became news about a year later when the Chief Risk Officer stepped down. Most of the managers backing the email left already.

First: N26’s top executives warned co-founders over ‘dysfunctional’ leadership

Second: Thomas Grosse, our guest from the past, became Chief Risk Officer and reportedly sent the email to the N26 founders. This month he stepped down: Thomas Grosse steps down for personal reasons, reports Börsenzeitung. Note also that his position was required by BaFin, to get N26 out of regulatory troubles.

Third: Some Good News: N26 increases revenues due to rising interest rates. They are looking at 200 mn € income for 2022 (+67%)

Neobank Ruuky Saved Last Minute

First, we told you: Bad news for Hamburg-based neobank Ruuky first had to file for insolvency. Now the service will be terminated

We shared that the insolvent neobank Ruuky was supposed to be liquidated. Now it appears they have found a buyer

Millions or just a BBQ?

Germany’s largest credit bureau bought German startup Bonify SCHUFA, for 20 m €, and the employees only go to a BBQ. The problem was the company did a down round, and with the liquidation preferences (meaning who gets paid first) there was nothing left for the employees with stock option plans.

GoStudent gets Legal Headwinds

GoStudent gets another court ruling against them. First, a Cologne court agreed GoStudent showed anti-competitive behavior. Now they get a setback with an Austrian ruling against them for automated contract extensions.

Related: Austrian unicorn Gostudent partially sentenced by Cologne Regional Court in a competition dispute.

Goldman Sach’s Backed Startup has to Fight

We had them as a guest in 2017, and they made headlines as Germany’s first startup investment by Goldman. Now they have to fight: Fintech Elinvar loses a third reference customer. MM Warburg ends the cooperation after five years. They also lost since September Fürstlich Castellsche Bank and DKB.

Bavarian Airlines Crashed Before First Flight?

We have shared reports of an upcoming new airline called Bavarian Airlines — Now, questions arise. For example, the founder claimed to be 18 but is only 15 years old. The required paperwork to establish German companies has yet to be filed. The (not so long past) of the founder is littered with websites of financial services companies that are offline now. … It seems nothing of the story was true. Also, a complaint with the legal authorities has been filed.

Unicorn Grover Preparing for an IPO?

Grover, the unicorn gadget renting company, lures the experienced CFO away from Lilium. Such a move could be a first step towards an IPO a few years down the road

Links, Show Notes and Source Links

https://medium.com/startuprad-io/this-month-in-german-swiss-and-austrian-gsa-startups-march-2023-81bb4a4956fa

Mentioned in this episode:

Startupraven.com

The best way to identify investors and cooperation partners for early-stage startups. Sign up for early access here: https://startupraven.com/

Find Us on Newsly

Newsly gathers the most trending web articles, reads them in a natural human voice, and showcases trending podcasts from over 80 countries. Newsly was recently selected by BestStartup.ca as the top 15 consumer apps in Canada and got to the top 3 daily products on Product Hunt. Register here: www.newsly.me and use the coupon code "STARTUPRAD" to get a one-month free premium subscription.

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