{"id":9505,"date":"2025-06-06T15:57:56","date_gmt":"2025-06-06T15:57:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hinterlandofthings.com\/2025\/06\/06\/europes-startup-scene-on-the-rise-more-capital-more-networks-more-opportunities\/"},"modified":"2025-06-27T08:56:02","modified_gmt":"2025-06-27T08:56:02","slug":"europes-startup-scene-on-the-rise-more-capital-more-networks-more-opportunities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hinterlandofthings.com\/en\/2025\/06\/06\/europes-startup-scene-on-the-rise-more-capital-more-networks-more-opportunities\/","title":{"rendered":"Europe’s startup scene on the rise: more capital, more networks, more opportunities"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Europe's startup scene on the rise: more capital, more networks, more opportunities<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Europe's capital gap: Why startups need more money<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The Hinterland of Things 2025 made it clear: Europe is in a financing crisis for startups. While billions in venture capital are flowing into young tech companies in the USA, Europe is lagging far behind. <\/p>

Caroline von Linsingen, Head of IPO & Growth Financing at Deutsche B\u00f6rse, summarizes the situation: “In Europe, 33 trillion euros in household assets are lying idle – not invested.”<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Marie-Helene Ametsreiter, partner at Speedinvest, also sees a great opportunity here: “We have an incredible amount of wealth and capital in Germany. Activating this will start now.”<\/p>

For startups, this means that capital is actually available, it just needs to get moving.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Alternative investors: Family offices and corporate venture capital are gaining in importance<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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As traditional venture capital funds are currently acting more cautiously, alternative sources of financing are becoming increasingly important for startups.
Two groups in particular are playing a growing role: <\/p>

  • Corporate venture capitalists (CVCs): In other words, companies that invest in startups in order to bring innovations into their own business.<\/li>
  • Family offices: Wealthy families who invest directly in startups in order to increase their capital in the long term.<\/li><\/ul>


    Die figures show the trend:<\/p>

    • In 2023, European CVCs were involved in deals with a total volume of over 26 billion euros.<\/li>
    • According to the European Family Office Report 2024, 60% of family offices invest directly in venture capital.<\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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      \n\t\t\t\t\"Mittelstand is a very important link for startups in early-stage financing.\"\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

      \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOtto Birnbaum, Founding Partner @ Revent<\/cite>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/blockquote>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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      For startups, this means remaining open to new sources of funding and actively seeking contact with Mittelstand and family offices.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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      Cooperation between startups and Mittelstand: from a nice-to-have to a real growth driver<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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      A key point of discussion at Hinterland of Things 2025: How can Mittelstand and startups work better together?<\/p>

      Many Mittelstand companies in Europe are currently under pressure to innovate themselves. New technologies, digitalization and the shortage of skilled workers are forcing them to implement new solutions more quickly. Startups can be the answer here – with fresh ideas, speed and innovative strength. <\/p>

      But there are hurdles \u2013 Marie-Helene Ametsreiter is open about it: “European companies are much more reluctant to invest than US companies. Too often they develop internally instead of buying in.”<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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      \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPractical examples show that cooperation can work – even without direct capital investment. Julia Kunstmann from Otto Dock 6 describes the concept of venture clienting in the Fireside Chat:\n“We become the customer of startups. From problem identification to scouting to the pilot.” \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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      What it takes:<\/p>

      • Clear processes: From identifying problems to selecting the right startup.<\/li>
      • Commitment in the specialist departments: Employees in Mittelstand must actively support the cooperation.<\/li>
      • Realistic business cases: The startup’s solution must bring real added value for the company.<\/li>
      • Courage for pilot projects: Only those who test can assess whether a solution will work in the long term.<\/li><\/ul>


        Carl Luis Rieger from WEPA also emphasizes the strengths of Mittelstand: “Mittelstand can make decisions faster than any corporation.”<\/p>

        Vera Knauer from Orthomol addresses another important point: “As a family entrepreneur, you can’t die – you have to learn to think like an investor.”<\/p>

        And Otto Birnbaum gets to the heart of the investor perspective: “If all investments work, I’m not doing my job properly.”<\/p>

        Conclusion: Courage, speed and a new way of thinking – these are the ingredients for successful cooperation between Mittelstand and startups. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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        Founders between courage, risk and reality<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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        The current financing landscape is a challenge for many founders. But the desire for innovation remains strong. <\/p>

        Max Wittrock (zeroLabs) talks about the reality of entrepreneurship: “There is no oracle that can tell you whether your idea will work, but if you stick with it long enough, you have the best chance.”<\/p>

        Daniel Krauss (Flix) sees competition and long-term investors as the necessary drivers for innovation: “In Italy, the rail system has improved since there has been competition. I believe this is the case everywhere and will also be the case here in Germany.”<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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        Europe's strengths: utilizing talent and technological expertise<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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        Despite all the challenges: Europe is not without opportunities. Over 3.5 million tech talents work in the EU – the same number as in the USA. The number is increasing every year. <\/p>

        There is also movement in new fields of innovation such as defense tech, space tech and artificial intelligence. Although Pip Kl\u00f6ckner warns of risks, he also sees open source models as an opportunity for Germany to catch up in the AI race. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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        Conclusion: Act now - Europe's tech future needs courage and capital<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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        The core message of Hinterland of Things 2025: If Europe does not want to fall behind, it must act now.<\/p>

        In concrete terms, this means:<\/p>

        • Mobilizing more private capital

          <\/li>
        • Greater involvement of alternative investors such as family offices and Mittelstand

          <\/li>
        • Promoting cooperation between startups and companies

          <\/li>
        • Improve political framework conditions<\/li><\/ul>


          Dominik Gross, CEO of the Founders Foundation, gets to the heart of the matter in his keynote speech:<\/p>

          “In the end it is about the people who implement it. It’s about the people that take action and it’s about the solution. That’s you, that’s us and we want to focus on this solution.”<\/p>

          The reclaim is possible – if we start it together now.<\/strong>
          <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          Europe has a capital gap for startups. Why more networking, alternative investors and cooperation with Mittelstand are now crucial. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":9106,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hinterlandofthings.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9505","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hinterlandofthings.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hinterlandofthings.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hinterlandofthings.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hinterlandofthings.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9505"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/hinterlandofthings.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9505\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9508,"href":"https:\/\/hinterlandofthings.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9505\/revisions\/9508"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hinterlandofthings.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hinterlandofthings.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hinterlandofthings.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hinterlandofthings.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}