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Be optimistic and resilient

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Riverse, a Paris-based startup focused on accelerating the development of industrial decarbonisation technologies in Europe

Please introduce yourself and your startup Riverse to our readers!

I’m Ludovic Chatoux, CEO and co-founder of Riverse, a Paris-based startup focused on accelerating the development of industrial decarbonisation technologies in Europe. With my co-founders, Grégoire Guirauden and Clément Georget, we established Riverse in December 2021 to support industrial GreenTech SMEs in Europe in their development, by enabling them to access the voluntary carbon market and issue highly verifiable carbon credits. We have developed a carbon credit standard and a digital Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) platform making it possible to issue carbon credits 20 times faster and at a cost 3 times lower than current market standards.

How did you get the idea of Riverse?

The idea for Riverse came from recognizing the need for a more efficient and accessible way for European GreenTech SMEs to participate in the voluntary carbon market, to accelerate the financing of meaningful high-impact climate solutions here in Europe. While existing carbon credit standards primarily focused on offsetting in developing countries, we saw an opportunity to target European green technology players, specifically SMEs operating in fields such as Biogas, CO2-intensive equipment reconditioning, Biochar, and Bio-based construction materials. By providing these companies with access to voluntary carbon markets, we aim to accelerate the transition to a circular and sustainable economy.

Why did you decide to start Riverse?

Clément, Grégoire and I decided to found Riverse to stand up to the main challenge our society faces, which is the environmental transition. We studied industrial decarbonization technologies in depth in 2021, and quickly came to the conclusion that there is an urgent need to accelerate their financing to scale their activities and impact to meet our society’s climate targets.

To do so, we saw a gap in the voluntary carbon market for a solution that could streamline and simplify the process of issuing highly verifiable carbon credits for European GreenTech SMEs

What is the vision behind Riverse?

Our vision is to accelerate the transition to a circular and sustainable economy, and we are driven by the ambition of orienting more than 1 billion euros into solutions to climate change by 2030. By providing carbon markets with the tools and tech to foster their development, we can have a significant impact on avoiding and removing CO2 emissions. We aim to be a catalyst for positive change by digitizing the measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) process for carbon credit issuance, making it more efficient, affordable, and transparent. 

How difficult was the start and which challenges did you have to overcome?

As early movers in industrial carbon credit standardization in Europe, one of our main obstacles was establishing credibility within the carbon credit market and gaining the trust of major credit resellers. We successfully overcome these hurdles by showcasing the value of our product and forming partnerships with esteemed organizations.

To ensure alignment with international accreditation standards, we meticulously developed our carbon credits certification methodology (our Standard Rules) and sought input from industry experts through public consultations. Furthermore, we assembled an independent advisory board and a technical committee consisting of recognized scientific and market experts to refine and optimize our certification methodology, guaranteeing the credibility and quality of the carbon credits issued through our platform.

Who is your target audience?

On the supply side, we target industrial Greentech SMEs in Europe, in high-impact sectors. We currently focus on SMEs operating in the fields of Biogas, reconditioning of CO2-intensive equipment, Biochar, and Bio-based construction materials. Some of our customers include Ecodair, Cycle Up and Be Energy.

On the demand side, we target large, reputable carbon credit resellers and brokers. Some of our existing partners include Ceezer, Sweep and Greenly.

What is the USP of your startup?

The unique selling proposition of Riverse lies in our ability to offer European GreenTech SMEs a fast and frictionless experience in accessing the voluntary carbon market. Our platform digitizes the measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) process, significantly reducing the time and cost associated with issuing carbon credits. Notably, we are developing a life cycle assessment engine focused on industrial processes which is unique on the market. Compared to current market standards, we can enable these companies to issue credits 20 times faster and 3 times lower costs. 

On the other hand, we respond to demand by offering buyers of carbon credits access to high-quality, transparent and verifiable credits from industrial projects close to their value chain and their own activities.

Can you describe your typical workday?

As the CEO of Riverse, my typical workday is dynamic and involves various responsibilities. I start my day by reviewing emails and addressing any urgent matters. I then hold meetings with my co-founders and the team to align on our priorities and discuss ongoing projects. Throughout the day, I engage in business development activities, such as meeting potential partners or investors. I also dedicate consequent time to strategic planning and HR efforts, to build an amazing team aligned with our mission and willing to have impact. Overall, my workday is a mix of operational tasks, strategic decision-making, and networking.

I am fortunate to be joined by two exceptional co-founders who possess very complementary skills. Clément leads the climate and tech aspects of our operations, leveraging his expertise in these areas and in the industrial field. On the other hand, Grégoire spearheads our business development efforts and ensures our brand is effectively represented in the market. Together, our combined strengths create a well-rounded team that drives the success of our company. 

Where do you see yourself and your startup Riverse in five years?

In five years, we envision Riverse as a leading player in the decarbonization of the European industrial sector. We aim to have a strong presence in the market, with a significant number of European GreenTech players using our platform to issue highly verifiable carbon credits. We anticipate expanding our operations beyond France, starting with Germany and the UK, reaching a broader customer base. By then, we expect to have established further strategic partnerships with key industry stakeholders, notably carbon credit resellers, enhancing our position in the market.

Our ultimate goal is to contribute significantly to the avoidance and removal of carbon emissions and be recognized as a trusted and innovative solution provider in the climate tech space.

What 3 tips would you give other Start-up founders on the way?

Stay focused on a specific scope: As an early stage start-up, your aim is to quickly find a specific problem, for a specific audience, to which you respond with a tailored solution. To do this, it’s important to focus on a limited scope of problem types and customer types, so that you can test quickly and leave yourself room to iterate just as quickly. You can then broaden your scope and your offer at a later stage!

Build a strong network but follow your instincts: Surround yourself with a diverse network of mentors, advisors and industry experts who can guide, support and enlighten you. But you’ll hear lots of very different stories and advice from lots of different people and, at the end of the day, what really matters is where you and your team want to go.

Be optimistic and resilient: It’s very common to say this, but the path of a start-up is strewn with pitfalls and a lot of walls smashed in. It’s important to be resilient in the face of obstacles, and to remain optimistic and motivated by the mission you’ve set yourself. Everyone drools over it, but entrepreneurship is a great opportunity, and that’s what’s so exciting about it.

And if I may add a fourth: watch your carbon footprint!

Thank you Ludovic Chatoux for the Interview

Statements of the author and the interviewee do not necessarily represent the editors and the publisher opinion again.

Figure out the leverage that you need and the leverage you have

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StartupValley
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Singa CEO Atte Hujanen: Figure out the leverage that you need and the leverage you have

Why don’t you briefly introduce yourself and Singa to our readers?

I’m Atte Hujanen, Co-Founder and CEO of the karaoke streaming platform Singa. We provide “Spotify-style” karaoke experiences to both consumers and professionals in 34 countries.

Why did you decide to start a company?

I had previously worked with a lot of karaoke companies and in the beginning, it always boggled my mind as to how analog and hardware-driven the entire industry was, nobody was looking to innovate at all! After a while I realized that it was a whole business model: if no one innovates, then people will just have to settle for whatever the industry is selling at a high margin because karaoke as a hobby wasn’t going anywhere.

At the same time Spotify, Netflix, Audible, and all sorts of other streaming media services were popping up and supercharging the user experience. We saw an opportunity to become the Spotify for karaoke and went for it.

What is the vision behind Singa?

We’re building Singa to be the leading brand in karaoke, the operating system for karaoke, if you will. Do you want to sing the largest selection of songs in the world on any device? Singa. Do you want to run your karaoke bar with the most advanced karaoke system in the world? Singa. Do you want to tap into the newfound revenue streams of karaoke as an artist? Singa.

From idea to launch, what have been the biggest challenges so far and how have you financed yourself?

Singa operates in the world of copyrights and copyright law is one of the most well-established legal frameworks in the world. It’s also one of the most treacherous ones if you don’t know what you’re doing and aren’t complying with the rules. By far the biggest challenge in building anything that deals with copyrights isn’t necessarily the technological innovation, it’s the service model innovation coupled with copyright clearance in a way that keeps you out of trouble.

It took Spotify over three years and literally hundreds of millions to launch in the US –  it took us less than two years and to date, Singa has only raised 10M€. Through tenacity and hard work, we’ve been able to thread the needle of raising minimum amounts of external funding, while achieving more than most music tech companies ever will (no hyperbole here).

Who is Singa’s target audience?

Karaoke is a massive global hobby that’s only grown in popularity decade after decade. While Singa’s immediate audience is of course the people who like to sing often (alone or with friends) and the venues that already run karaoke (or entertainment similar to karaoke), there’s a growing trend of people across the globe associating karaoke more with just having good fun with the music that you love.

It might be because of TikTok or the remixification of everything, but karaoke is being seen more and more as a thing that young, old, cool, and boring people do. I’m not saying that in a few years’ time, everyone will be doing karaoke, but there’s a trend rising that will most likely surprise most!

How does Singa work? What are the advantages? What sets you apart from other providers?

Singa has by far the largest legal karaoke in the history of the karaoke industry. Singa works on any platform through monthly premium streaming and is the first karaoke service in the history of the industry to also feature (an increasing list of) original recordings directly from the artists.

Singa, where is it headed? Where do you see yourself in five years?

There are karaoke companies in Asia that do over $1B in annual revenue. We want to be the global leader in all things karaoke and outshine the incumbent karaoke companies in the next five years.

In conclusion: What 3 tips would you give to aspiring founders?

For aspiring founders, my three tips would be: 1. think from first principles, what are the one or two things that make up most of the value to your end customer or solve most of the problem you’re going after. 2. figure out the leverage that you need and the leverage you have, not all problems require the same solution (some problems are hard, some are just expensive and some need a lot of experimentation). 3. never run out of money, because if you do, then it’s game over and everything you’ve achieved until then will become worthless.

Singa organises an investor webinar on Wednesday 7 June 2023 at 4:30 p.m. CEST where the founder and Managing Director of Deliberate PR Benjamin Webb interviews Singa CEO Atte Hujanen and COO Nils Paajanen. Click here to join the webinar. 

Thank you Atte Hujanen for the Interview

Statements of the author and the interviewee do not necessarily represent the editors and the publisher opinion again.

The 7 Reasons Why Entrepreneurs Are Doomed to Fail

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meetmarkus
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In the fast-paced and competitive world of entrepreneurship, success is often elusive, with failure lurking around every corner. While some entrepreneurs manage to defy the odds and build thriving businesses, many find themselves trapped in a cycle of disappointment and shattered dreams. Here, we explore the seven key reasons why so many founders are destined for failure.

Lack of Market Understanding:

One of the most common pitfalls for entrepreneurs is a failure to truly understand their target market. Without a deep comprehension of customers’ needs, preferences, and pain points, founders struggle to develop products or services that resonate with their intended audience. Inevitably, this leads to a lack of demand and a business that fails to gain traction.

Insufficient Planning and Strategy:

Building a successful business requires meticulous planning and a clear strategic vision. Unfortunately, many founders fall into the trap of rushing into execution without adequate preparation.

Without a well-thought-out business plan, defined goals, and a roadmap for growth, entrepreneurs find themselves navigating aimlessly, unable to weather the challenges that lie ahead.

Inadequate Financial Management:

Financial mismanagement is a silent killer for startups. Failure to establish a robust financial framework, including budgeting, cash flow management, and accurate forecasting, can quickly lead to a business’s demise. Insufficient capital reserves, unsustainable spending, and poor financial decision-making can plunge even the most promising ventures into a downward spiral.

Lack of Adaptability:

The ability to adapt to changing circumstances is crucial in the ever-evolving business landscape. Entrepreneurs who are rigid and resistant to change are more likely to falter when faced with unexpected challenges. Being open-minded, agile, and willing to pivot strategies and business models is essential for survival and long-term success.

Team Dysfunctions:

Behind every successful business, there is a cohesive and high-performing team. Conversely, founders who neglect to build strong, capable teams often find themselves overwhelmed and unable to delegate effectively. Poor communication, lack of trust, and mismatched skill sets can create a toxic work environment that hinders progress and undermines the company’s prospects.

Ignoring Customer Feedback:

Customer feedback is an invaluable source of insights and guidance for entrepreneurs. Unfortunately, some founders make the grave mistake of dismissing or ignoring customer feedback, failing to recognize its potential to fuel growth and improve their offerings. Neglecting to listen to customers’ voices can result in missed opportunities and ultimately lead to a business’s downfall.

Burnout and Lack of Resilience:

Entrepreneurship is a demanding journey that can take a toll on even the most determined individuals. Without proper self-care and resilience-building strategies, founders risk succumbing to burnout and mental exhaustion. The inability to persevere in the face of adversity can hinder problem-solving abilities and compromise decision-making, ultimately dooming the venture to failure.

In conclusion, while entrepreneurship offers boundless opportunities, it is a path fraught with challenges and uncertainties. By understanding and addressing these seven critical reasons for failure, aspiring founders can increase their chances of building successful, sustainable businesses. By prioritizing market understanding, strategic planning, financial management, adaptability, team dynamics, customer feedback, and personal resilience, entrepreneurs can chart a path towards long-term success.

Photo/Credit: stock.adobe.com – Syda Productions

What do investors expect from startups?

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StartupValley
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investors

The search for funding and partnership marks the beginning of the serious phase of life for many entrepreneurs. The success of their own project often hinges on whether an investor can be enthused by their ideas or not. It is therefore crucial to understand the perspective of the other side and adapt to their wishes and needs. This does not mean that every desire has to be anticipated and a strategy of ingratiating oneself is required. On the contrary, most people cannot relate to such approaches, and they can even have a very negative effect. However, it is also not harmful to ask oneself what someone who consciously takes risks to invest in a young company might expect. We have done the only sensible thing and directly asked such individuals.

Money isn’t everything

Surprisingly, our interviewees attach little importance to the topic of money. While it is always appreciated if a path towards profitability is already apparent, it is rarely a prerequisite for investment. Most investors are well aware that startups primarily incur costs in the early years, and ultimately, they want to contribute their own expertise to transform a good idea into a sustainable business model. However, this doesn’t have to happen overnight.

Wanja S. Oberhof, CEO of The Social Chain AG, emphasizes that founders should have a solid understanding of their own numbers. These numbers don’t necessarily have to be extraordinary at the time of investment. However, they should be complete and at least indicate the right direction. Every startup must be aware that a healthy business model and, consequently, reliable long-term profits are among the top objectives for investors. Therefore, being unaware of one’s own revenue figures is almost a cardinal sin. Dreams and good intentions are of no use when it comes to hard numbers. However, they have their place in other aspects.

Love it, change it or leave it

Investors unanimously emphasized the importance they place on the motivation of founders when selecting their investments. Nils Glagau, well-known from the TV show “Die Höhle der Löwen” (Shark Tank), is a prime example in this regard. According to the owner of Orthomol, startups must have a burning passion for their cause. Merely discussing a new product that is to be unleashed on the market without genuine enthusiasm is not enough. To impress investors, one must exhibit passion and an unwavering determination to make their startup a success.

It is also helpful in this regard not to undersell oneself or aim too low. After all, it does not demonstrate personal conviction if one’s idea is intended to create only local attention. To convince investors of the opportunities an investment holds, the motto is “think big.” At Speedinvest, only companies with global potential are generally considered for closer evaluation. With that in mind, the professional abilities of female and male founders also come into focus.

It’s all about the basics

Fluent English is now an absolute prerequisite for entrepreneurs. After all, it’s not unlikely to encounter an investor who is less familiar with the German language, even in German-speaking countries. Aside from that, every great idea has the potential to transcend national borders, and those in charge must communicate accordingly.

In addition to language skills, expertise in one’s own specialized field is always highly valued. At Speedinvest, potential partners always take note of founders who are knowledgeable about the industry and ideally have already worked in it. For GoStudent CEO and co-founder Felix Ohswald, a clear distribution of strengths within the company is also important. Participants with knowledge from different areas can leverage their strengths together and unlock particularly high potential. Ohswald much prefers this approach to what he refers to as “three economists.”

Ultimately, the basics for startups also include the business plan, which every potential investor will scrutinize. It should be comprehensive without getting lost in less interesting details. It’s often a balancing act that is not so easy to achieve. Nils Glagau emphasizes the importance of extensive market research, which allows for a realistic assessment of the chances of one’s own ideas.

As mentioned earlier, founders don’t have to promise the moon to investors. Almost all of our conversation partners value honesty and transparency from entrepreneurs. Ideally, a partnership based on equal footing is established, where more is at stake than just providing (risk) capital.

The human factor

The best investors always stand by a startup’s side, offering advice and support, and they accompany projects with passion and dedication. To make that work, the right chemistry is key. Dr. Georg Kofler and Ralf Dümmel also appreciate this, as they recently made headlines as an investment team planning to take the first company from “Die Höhle der Löwen” (Germany’s Shark Tank) to the DAX.

The business relationship between startups and investors is often compared to a marriage by renowned entrepreneurs. Only if there is a good fit on a personal level can it work in the long run and lead to success for both parties. Of course, the product itself must still be a good fit, but ultimately, founders can only convince investors with a strong overall package and not rely solely on a good idea or personal charm.

However, this applies in both directions, and young entrepreneurs should also ensure that they could work well with an investor. Getting involved with an investor solely for the money can backfire if disagreements arise and disputes put the entire company at risk.

Anything convincing is permitted

When it comes to choosing the right industry, founders are essentially free. None of the investors we surveyed restrict themselves to specific sectors when selecting startups. Whatever shows serious prospects for success and stands on somewhat solid ground is generally welcomed with open arms. Therefore, a newly established company searching for new partners should only have limited concerns about this aspect.

Of course, it is helpful to be in the right place at the right time. Markets always have some sort of hype that attracts attention. There are countless examples, from Bitcoin to cannabis to electric cars. Those who tap into the spirit of the times also tend to find entrepreneurs and other investors more easily, who are willing to join in and gladly participate in future successes.

However, it is probably wise not to blindly follow potentially short-lived trends and instead pursue a business model that can stand on its own feet. As mentioned before, serious investors are primarily interested in ideas that promise attractive business opportunities in one or two decades.

What startups should avoid

Investors have a fairly clear idea not only of their desires and requirements for the positive aspects of a company but also of certain no-gos that founders should avoid at all costs. Nils Glagau primarily counts false promises among them, citing nonexistent patents as an example. In general, he is not fond of withholding information. If he doesn’t trust a startup, he will not invest any money or anything else into it.

Similarly, this is the case at Speedinvest, where the executives fundamentally understand the mistakes that occur in young companies. However, founders should also be able to admit these mistakes in order to achieve a learning effect. For Speedinvest, it would be a big mistake, as previously described, to simply chase after the next hype. That would be the opposite of the disruptive technologies that are preferred investments here. Lastly, errors can also occur in seemingly trivial things like a missing website. If one wants to convince an investor, they must make a good first impression. Without a good website, that is simply not possible in today’s time.

Always be honest and diligent.

At The Social Chain, human error is also considered one of the biggest sources of problems in startups. Ralf Dümmel and Dr. Georg Kofler do not appreciate it when someone does not tell the truth. Problems can and will arise sooner or later in any company. However, they should be addressed and not simply concealed. From the perspective of the investor duo, this is the only way to achieve a collaboration on an equal footing.

For Wanja S. Oberhof, it is also a cardinal sin when an entrepreneur is not fully committed to their project and only pursues it when it suits them. Having a possible Plan B does not necessarily indicate full conviction in one’s own ideas, in his opinion. After all, such a safeguard suggests doubts about the viability of a business idea. These doubts can certainly arise among investors and other outsiders, and they should not be taken lightly. However, if anyone should be completely convinced of a startup, it should be the founder themselves.

According to Felix Ohswald, the biggest shortcoming in startups is almost a bit dry in comparison. The GoStudent CEO considers a poor understanding of numbers as a no-go for founders. Therefore, it is evident that this topic also plays an important role when searching for an investor.

Follow your own path.

It is often exhausting and draining to seek an investor for one’s own project. Additionally, the idea of sharing one’s own baby with another entrepreneur may seem strange to some. However, not everyone is fortunate enough to have an idea that is highly sought after. Most startups will eventually need to approach potential investors and partners with their ideas. Only then is the grand breakthrough possible in today’s time. As mentioned before, a new partner brings more than just a hefty bank account. Often, startups gain access to larger markets through such partnerships, for example, by reaching wholesalers and integrating into distribution networks that newcomers would otherwise struggle to access.

While it may still not be completely impossible to achieve success for a startup through organic growth alone, even in the best case, it requires a lot of patience. There are indeed cases where the lack of investments ultimately led to failure. Therefore, it is a good idea to consider early on the possibility of seeking support from investors for your own idea and to put in the necessary effort.

It has never been easier

The good news is that making your company known and attracting the attention of investors has never been as easy as in the digital age. Often, there are specially designed forms on the relevant websites that can be filled out in just a few minutes. However, this does not mean that one cannot take more time. The best prospects for attracting a highly motivated investor are, of course, when they become aware of the company themselves. But no one should be discouraged if they have not yet appeared on their radar. After all, even the best representatives of this kind cannot know every startup, let alone have an overview of which ones are particularly promising.

In case of doubt, it is therefore a good idea to fill out an application on the investors’ websites or contact them via email and social media. However, it is clear that the first impression is always the most important. Those who can convince directly and concisely with a good idea and a viable concept are much more likely to receive feedback than those who simply request additional capital without providing further details. After all, investors are not banks where founders can easily pick up some venture capital. They are potential business partners on an equal footing and accordingly, they want to be treated that way from day one.

No surprises

In general, the investors’ responses to our questions are not overly surprising. Most of the time, they have very understandable concerns, and the whole process can be pleasantly simplified. When investing in a startup, the main desire is for an honest business relationship on an equal footing, characterized by professionalism and transparency. If these basic requirements are met, along with a fresh and convincing idea, regardless of the industry, the prospects are more than good for having a new partner by the side of one’s own company very soon, who can significantly drive the project forward.

One could almost say that the same things that are important for starting a company itself are also important for convincing investors. Ultimately, this should not really surprise anyone, as those who participate in a startup with money and work naturally expect a corresponding return in the short or long term. Therefore, it may also be good advice to focus on the development of one’s own company with regard to the interests of investors. If it can convince with its core idea and the corresponding figures, founders will not even have to be tempted to promise too much or disappoint expectations in any other way.

Lastly, everyone should remember that investors are also human beings, and most of them are surprisingly approachable. It is easier said than done, but especially during the big pitch, it can be advantageous to relax and passionately talk about one’s own company and, above all, its opportunities. By doing so with the necessary enthusiasm, one quickly wins over the listeners.

Foto/Quelle: stock.adobe.com – Yingyaipumi

7 Important Questions to Ask Before Starting a Business!

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questions

If you are looking to start a startup, there are several important questions you should consider to rethink your idea and plans. Here are seven questions that can help you:

What problem do I want to solve? Consider the problem or challenge that your startup aims to address. Clearly define the value your solution will provide and how it differentiates itself from existing offerings.

Who is my target audience? Identify your potential customers and understand their needs, desires, and behaviors. A clear definition of your target audience will enable you to tailor your products or services to their specific needs.

Is there a market for my product or service? Conduct thorough market research to determine if there is a sufficiently large target audience willing to pay for your solution. Analyze the competition and assess whether your offering caters to a niche or differentiates itself from other offerings.

How will I finance my startup? Consider potential financing options to launch and scale your startup. This may include equity, debt, investors, or government funding programs. Create a financial plan and determine how much capital you will need to lead your company to success.

What resources do I need? Identify the essential resources required for building and operating your startup. This includes not only financial resources but also personnel, technology, office space, suppliers, and partnerships.

What is my growth strategy? Develop a clear strategy to scale your startup and establish a successful presence in the market. Consider how you will acquire customers, evolve your product, and increase your revenue. Also, think about a long-term exit strategy, such as a sale or initial public offering (IPO).

Am I willing to make the necessary sacrifices? Starting a startup often requires a significant personal commitment. Consider if you are willing to sacrifice time, energy, and possibly financial security to lead your startup to success. Be aware of the challenges and ensure that you possess the necessary skills, perseverance, and passion to drive your company to success.

These questions serve as a starting point for your considerations and can help you address important aspects when starting a startup. It is also advisable to engage with experienced entrepreneurs, mentors, or advisors to gain additional insights and support.

Foto/Quelle: stock.adobe.com – REDPIXEL

11 Milan-based Startups you should know!

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meetmarkus
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milan

The startup scene in Milan is dynamic and diverse.

The city has become a hotspot for innovative entrepreneurship in recent years. The vibrant startup ecosystem attracts both local and international founders and encompasses a wide range of industries developing locally.

Milan has a strong presence of startups in the fashion and design sectors. The city is renowned for its fashion industry, attracting creatives and entrepreneurs who bring innovative technologies and business models to this field. Additionally, startups in the financial technology (Fintech) sector are thriving. Milan is a significant financial hub in Europe, and the startup scene leverages this position to offer innovative solutions in payment systems, mobile banking services, and other financial services.

Furthermore, startups in Milan are also emerging in the fields of food technology, e-commerce, and digital media. The city provides a rich cultural landscape where companies can develop innovative solutions that bridge technology and art.

The startup scene in Milan is highly active, offering a dynamic ecosystem for entrepreneurs. There are numerous incubators, accelerator programs, and coworking spaces that provide support and resources to founders. The city government supports the development of the startup scene by promoting innovation centers and organizing events and competitions.

Overall, the startup scene in Milan demonstrates significant potential and offers an attractive environment for entrepreneurs to pursue their business ideas. The combination of a strong industrial base, a thriving creative industry, and a supportive infrastructure makes Milan an emerging center for innovation and entrepreneurship.

Cortilia: Cortilia is an Italian startup operating an online marketplace for fresh and local food. Customers can order high-quality products such as fruits, vegetables, meat, cheese, and other groceries directly from local farmers and producers through the website cortilia.it. Cortilia places great importance on quality, sustainability, and transparency in the supply chain. By collaborating with small agricultural businesses, the startup supports local communities and promotes the consumption of healthy and environmentally friendly food.

Everli: Everli is an online grocery platform that allows customers to conveniently and quickly order groceries from local supermarkets for delivery. The platform partners with a variety of retailers to offer a wide range of food items, including fresh fruits and vegetables, meat, dairy products, and more. Customers can place their orders and choose from various delivery options through the Everli website or mobile app. Everli stands out for its reliability, efficiency, and product quality, providing customers with a convenient solution for their grocery shopping needs.

Casavo: Casavo is a startup company based in Italy that offers innovative solutions in the real estate sector. Casavo has developed a digital platform that enables property owners to sell their houses quickly and easily. The company provides a fast valuation process, transparent pricing, and guarantees the purchase of the property within a few days. With Casavo, property owners can bypass the traditional selling process and sell their properties stress-free.

Scalapay: Scalapay is a startup company that offers an innovative buy-now-pay-later payment solution. Customers can pay for their purchases in installments without interest or hidden fees. Scalapay collaborates with various e-commerce platforms, allowing merchants to offer their customers flexible payment options. The company aims to improve the shopping experience and facilitate access to affordable payment methods.

Musement: Musement is a platform for booking experiences and activities that enables travelers to discover and book local attractions, tours, and events. The website offers a variety of activities in different cities worldwide, including landmarks, museums, tours, concerts, and sports events. Musement aims to provide travelers with a unique and personalized experience by helping them enrich their travel plans and create unforgettable memories. With user-friendly navigation and detailed information, Musement allows travelers to plan their activities in advance and book conveniently online.

Uala: Uala is a rising startup from Milan specializing in providing real-time booking services for beauty salons. Uala’s platform allows users to conveniently schedule appointments at various beauty salons through the internet. Thanks to Uala, customers can easily select desired services, find their preferred salon, and book appointments directly online. The platform offers a user-friendly interface where users can check real-time availability of appointments. Uala not only simplifies the booking process but also provides additional features such as reviews and recommendations from other customers to assist users in choosing the right beauty salon. The platform works closely with salons to ensure the offered services are of high quality.

Winelivery: Winelivery is an innovative startup company that offers a unique solution for the delivery of wine and spirits. With their user-friendly online shop at winelivery.com, customers can conveniently order a wide selection of high-quality beverages from the comfort of their own homes and have them delivered directly to their doorstep. The aim of Winelivery is to provide customers with an exceptional shopping experience. The company collaborates with a variety of local wine and spirits merchants to offer an extensive range of products, ranging from exquisite wine varieties to fine champagnes and whiskies. Customers can easily choose their favorite drinks, provide the delivery address, and complete the order.

xFarm: xFarm is a rising startup developing innovative solutions for agriculture. Using advanced technologies such as AI, IoT, and data analytics, xFarm aims to support farmers in optimizing their operations. The company provides a comprehensive platform that allows farmers to efficiently manage their agricultural activities, optimize resources, and make informed decisions. xFarm is revolutionizing agriculture by promoting digital transformation and enabling the use of technology to increase productivity and sustainability in the industry.

Deliveristo: Deliveristo is a rising startup that specializes in providing innovative solutions in the field of delivery services. The company has developed a user-friendly platform that enables restaurants, grocery stores, and other local retailers to conveniently offer their products online and deliver them to customers in their vicinity. By leveraging modern technologies and an intelligent logistics structure, Deliveristo is revolutionizing the way people shop for their food and products. The platform offers users a wide selection of high-quality food and products that they can conveniently order from the comfort of their homes. The company places great emphasis on collaborating with local stores and farms to support the local economy and provide fresh, high-quality products.

4books: 4books is a startup specializing in the realm of reading and knowledge sharing. The platform 4books.com offers users the opportunity to discover book summaries and reviews, allowing them to grasp the essence of a book in a short amount of time. By collaborating with a dedicated community of readers, 4books facilitates the exchange of thoughts and insights. The startup aims to make knowledge more accessible and inspire people to continuously learn and grow.

MotorK: MotorK is a rising startup company specializing in the automotive industry. The company offers innovative solutions and services in vehicle marketing and customer acquisition. By leveraging cutting-edge technologies and data-driven approaches, MotorK assists automotive manufacturers and dealers in gaining a better understanding of their customers, implementing effective marketing strategies, and boosting sales. With their online tool, motork.io, MotorK enables companies to optimize the management and promotion of their vehicle inventories across various digital channels. MotorK’s objective is to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of vehicle distribution, thereby increasing the success and profitability of their clients.

Photo/Credit: stock.adobe.com – Boris Stroujko

The Intersection of Music and Artificial Intelligence: Exploring Creativity and Collaboration

By
StartupValley
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0

The realms of music and artificial intelligence (AI) are converging in fascinating ways, presenting unique opportunities for creative expression and collaboration. Both fields rely on the use of musical or statistical tools to shape and manifest ideas.

In this interview, Andrew Paley discusses the relationship between music and AI, exploring how they influence each other and the potential impact they can have on artistic endeavors.

Why are you interested in both music and Artificial Intelligence and how do these fields influence each other?

Andrew Paley: They’re both deeply creative fields in their own ways — they both involve use of an instrument, musical or statistical, that helps shape and in some sense collaborates on the resulting embodiment of an idea. And in both cases there can be some sense of capturing lightning in a bottle — some spontaneity that gets tied down in a medium.

How do they influence each other? Well, it could be direct — leveraging AI to create sounds or audio patterns — or indirect, which would be like any other art in setting a mood or inspiring an idea. On the other hand, there’s the opportunity to blend — I’ve been fascinated by exploring and piping audio signals into generative models to see what sorts of imagery (and otherwise) can be coaxed out. And I think, as time goes on, there’s the possibility of more dynamic, immediate, fluid collaboration between the two spaces in all sorts of forms.

Can you tell us more about your experience and contribution to using AI in content creation, especially at Narrative Science and Storyline? How do you see AI evolving in the media industry and what opportunities and challenges does it present?

Andrew Paley: At both Narrative Science and Storyline, I’ve been in pursuit of leveraging AI to reimagine the ways in which human beings access information and come to understand the world around them. At Narrative Science, we were fully focused on language and document generation, and I spent my time there as an engineer and designer, innovating on our platform to make it more capable and accessible. After a bit of time doing PhD research, I’ve cofounded Storyline to explore something larger in scope.

At root, the journalist in me cares most about whatever medium is most effective as a human-information interface, and there’s an enormous set of opportunities to improve our relationship to knowledge in meaningful ways given the developments in artificial intelligence over the past decade. We’re keeping that intersection at the core of what we’re doing at Storyline with an eye towards clarity and trust, and I’m excited about what we’re building.

That said, AI certainly presents challenges for media and information. One significant issue is the possibility, or inevitability, of rendering online spaces void of trusted information. If any sort of media can be generated convincingly — text, images, videos, sounds — there will be a constant battle in digital spaces between an ever-growing glut of nonsense and misinformation and whatever sliver the truth can carve out for itself. This of course gets even worse given feedback loops. And that’s to only mention in passing these new tools’ potential for amplifying intentional disinformation and for proactively robbing us of attention and agency on behalf of other humans, which are significant threats in and of themselves.

Can you tell us more about your creative approach to using AI to create music videos and how this might impact music production and creativity?

Andrew Paley: I view these new models as simply a new set of collaborators and tools with which to explore ideas. In some sense, understanding how to work with them now is like learning any other instrument — no one was good at playing the guitar before the guitar was invented. My music video experiments have been one way of testing the boundaries of what’s possible — playing around with these new sets of building blocks to see what the machine and I can dream up together.

Sometimes it’s been a bit more machine-led — the Pixie app I built in 2020 would generate imagery that I could select from and help sequence, and then it would generate animations from that.

Other times it’s been more human-led — the “Sequels” video took an enormous amount of manual editing with models just providing the re-lip syncing on the clips and means of upscaling the results. In more recent experiments, I’m pushing song lyrics through various models that I can download and orchestrate (like Stable Diffusion) to see what sorts of imagery they evoke and beginning to explore how I might create more cohesive imagery from the results in machine-generated animation.

And that’s all downstream of how music production and creativity will be and are being impacted — from song writing to sample generation to instrumentation to effects to mixing and mastering — the whole workflow by 2025 is going to be unrecognizable to someone working in 2015. It’s an incredibly exciting time to be riding the line between creativity and computation, and I think we’re just getting started in exploring what the future of art might look like. 

How are you using AI to expand artistic expression and push traditional music and video boundaries, as described in your music?

Andrew Paley: I think mainly by just trying to lean into the tools to see if I can shake anything out of them that I find meaningful, which is basically the same way I got into music in the first place (creating soundscapes with my dad’s Casio keyboard during grade school was my gateway drug). In part, I’m just taking it as a chance to wander around and explore – it’s a wild ride even when you come back with nothing to show for it – and then sometimes I end up following a thread for long enough or deep enough that I come across something worth hanging on to.

And, as I said, the current incarnations are just a new type of instrument in some sense – and whenever you come across a new instrument, you push your own boundaries just by sitting down to play.

How have your research interests and work in AI influenced your artistic output and vice versa? How do you see the future of music in relation to AI and technological advancements? How do you see the role of AI in the music industry and how might it change the way music is created, distributed, and consumed?

Andrew Paley: One significant concern is the continued devaluing of the audio medium. Where this all ends up is hard to say, but if these new tools are about empowering artists to explore ideas, then I’m all for it. However, if we’re heading towards an era of infinitely generated, constantly personalized playlists of music that sounds like music you like, that not only threatens artists working in the space, it also sounds like some version of hell.

To me, the whole point of music is that songs are messages in a bottle – there’s something important about the ideas and the struggles and the joys and the connective tissue and the intent wrapped up in there – and if music were ever to be fully taken over and convincingly reduced to an algorithmic process of averaging across previous works with a bit of variability in there for good measure, right after I was done being impressed by the technology, I would consider it something of a tragedy. 

And then there’s the social element – cultures are struggling with social cohesion already enough as it is, but the communities that rise up around styles and scenes and clubs and bands are too valuable to lose. They’re certainly something I’ve relied on most of my life.

How do you see AI’s potential for creating music, and how might musicians use AI to expand their creative work, as described in your presentations on “Generative Music with Artificial Intelligence”?How do you potentially use AI in music production and how does this influence your artistic vision, especially in relation to your releases on Spotify?

Andrew Paley: Well, it’s obvious that with more tools, more work is possible. And here I have to differentiate between the things I build or cobble together and the things I use off the shelf. For my part, I tend to keep the core songwriting process free of direct AI involvement, at least to date.

Downstream of that though, I leverage a variety of plugins that incorporate machine learning to expand and accelerate the process. NeuralDSP plugins are a great example – the idea that I can get an amazing amp sound with a signal chain of effects and cabinet/room tone from literally anywhere with my laptop has been game changing. The difference between the guitar sims of even five years ago and now is unreal.

Looking a little further down the road, there are all sorts of places to push boundaries, from AI collaborators during the songwriting and ideation process that can riff off an idea with you, to assistants that aid in patch selection and effects layering during arrangement, to exploring autoencoder models aimed at altering voices in pursuit of realistic backing choirs orchestrated by a single vocalist (I was actually trying to toy around with something in this realm the other day).

But again, what’s important to me is that I care about the human intent in the process – if there’s not a human being at the center of this array of oncoming tools and machine capabilities, then I’m unlikely to be all that interested.

And then there’s the visual component, of course. This is the place I’ve most enjoyed machine collaborations to date – from thematic ideation to the generation of the aforementioned music videos.

How do you address ethical and social issues related to the use of AI in the arts, and what considerations are important to you when it comes to using AI in your creative work?

Andrew Paley: If more capabilities are in reach and more ideas can be realized by more people, I take that as an undeniably good thing. That said, we have not yet begun to adequately reckon with how we’re going to handle these new capabilities when taken to their logical and technological extremes. 

There’s of course the issue of what happens to creators when the models can do most or all of the creating. The writer’s strike going on in Hollywood as I type this is in part about this debate — what happens when studios can leverage language models to go from hiring teams of writers to a single editor who can clean up the machine’s output? And what if audiences don’t even notice the difference?

And that’s to say nothing of what these models actually are trained on — human ideas, human creations, human stuff. There’s not a really good means of tracing how individual human contributions get incorporated into hybrid outputs, but there seems to be a growing chorus that says we should maybe reduce the mythologizing of AI and see it more as a new kind of mashup of humanity in infinitely synthesizable forms — it’s our data in there, after all.

Maybe downstream we can reimagine how individual creators might get credit for helping inform the big sky-brain (some form of the “data dignity” that Jaron Lanier and others espouse), but I’m not holding my breath on that, nor am I sure how it could scale much beyond where we already find ourselves (if we were even able to ever implement it, which itself is a sizeable lift).

On the other end, I think there’s a real danger that — especially as these technologies progress — the infinity of personally-tailored possibilities via on demand experiences threatens to cheapen the meaning of art as human communication and make very real the notion that we just might be at risk of amusing ourselves to death.

How do you see the future of music in relation to AI and technological advancements? What developments and innovations do you anticipate and how might they change the musical landscape?

Andrew Paley: I think there are two main threads here (with some admitted overlap between them) – mimicking music and building collaborative tools for musicians and producers. 

On the mimicry front, there’s already incredibly impressive work being done, and the sky is the limit there – I think we’ll continue to see increasingly convincing “deep fakes” of musicians across a variety of genres.

On the collaborative tool front, the potential applications are endless – from accompaniments to effects to mixing assistants that might be able to comp together starter takes. Even just the possibilities for fluency models providing frontends to speed up workflows is exciting – describing in a sentence a signal flow and having a channel strip populated with various plugins tuned to match the request would be game changing in terms of experimenting with sounds and ideas.

But again, what I care most about are the human beings at the center of all these new capabilities. We find ourselves at something of a crossroads as to how future generations will conceive of art and expression, and commerce could easily get the better of us if we’re not careful.

Thank you Andrew Paley for the Interview

Statements of the author and the interviewee do not necessarily represent the editors and the publisher opinion again.

11 Stockholm-based startups you should know!

By
meetmarkus
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0
stockholm

Stockholm has emerged as one of the most vibrant startup hubs in Europe in recent years. The city offers a unique combination of technological innovation, a dynamic business environment, and a highly skilled talent pool. The startup scene in Stockholm is highly active and diverse, with companies thriving in various industries.

One standout sector is the technology industry. Stockholm has established itself as a center for tech startups and is often referred to as the “unicorn nest” of Europe. It is home to some of Sweden’s most renowned technology giants, such as Spotify, Klarna, and iZettle. These companies have not only achieved tremendous success but have also had an inspiring influence on the city’s entrepreneurial scene.

In addition to technology, other industries are strongly represented in Stockholm. The fintech sector has experienced rapid growth in recent years, as Stockholm provides an excellent environment for innovative payment solutions and financial technologies. Companies like Trustly and Tink have their headquarters in Stockholm and are leaders in their respective fields.

Another emerging area is clean tech startups. Stockholm has ambitious goals regarding sustainability and environmental protection, leading to a thriving startup culture in renewable energy, recycling, and eco-friendly transportation solutions. Companies like Northvolt, a leading player in battery technology, have originated in Stockholm and contribute to the development of a more sustainable future.

The startup scene in Stockholm is highly active and vibrant.

There are numerous startup events, networking opportunities, and incubators that provide support to aspiring entrepreneurs. The city also offers a solid infrastructure, including top-notch universities and research institutions that attract talent and foster innovative ideas.

The government of Stockholm and other stakeholders have also made significant efforts to promote the entrepreneurial ecosystem. There are various support programs, tax incentives, and government initiatives aimed at attracting startups and supporting business growth.

Overall, the startup scene in Stockholm has experienced exponential growth in recent years. The city provides an ideal environment for business startups, with a strong technology industry, a growing fintech sector, and a strong focus on sustainability. Stockholm remains a significant hotspot for innovation and entrepreneurial activities in Europe.

Einride: Einride is a leading freight technology company that offers digital, electric, and autonomous shipping solutions. The focus is on revolutionizing the transportation of goods using state-of-the-art technologies. The company aims to make the transport sector more sustainable, efficient, and secure. Einride relies on electric and autonomous vehicles to reduce dependence on traditional combustion engines and minimize the CO2 footprint. Through their digital platform, they also enable efficient management and control of freight transportation. Einride is committed to shaping the future of freight traffic and providing innovative solutions for the logistics industry.

H2 Green Steel: H2 Green Steel is a startup that produces green steel, resulting in lower carbon dioxide emissions compared to conventional steel production. The company relies on innovative technologies that revolutionize steel production using hydrogen. By using green hydrogen as an energy source instead of coal or natural gas, H2 Green Steel significantly reduces CO2 emissions. The company aims to establish a sustainable and low-carbon alternative in the steel industry. H2 Green Steel strives to support the transition to a carbon-neutral future and play a significant role in combating climate change. More information about the company can be found on their website at h2greensteel.com.

Volta Trucks: Volta Trucks is a startup company specializing in electric trucks for sustainable cities. The company is dedicated to environmentally friendly transportation and offers electrically powered trucks that help reduce emissions in urban areas. Volta Trucks focuses on revolutionizing the transport industry and providing a cleaner and quieter alternative to conventional trucks. By using electric vehicles, Volta Trucks contributes to improving air quality and reducing the environmental impact of freight transport. Visit the website voltatrucks.com to learn more about the company and its products.

MatHem: MatHem is an e-commerce company that combines a extensive online grocery store with recipe recommendations and subscription choices for pre-made meals. At MatHem, customers can conveniently order groceries online and choose from a wide selection of products. Additionally, the company offers recipes to assist customers in meal preparation. With the prepared meal subscriptions, customers can receive pre-made meals regularly that only require heating. MatHem provides a convenient solution for grocery shopping and meal preparation, making everyday life easier.

FirstVet: FirstVet is an online veterinary platform that offers pet owners instant access to video consultations conducted by certified veterinarians. Through the website firstvet.com, pet owners can conveniently connect with a veterinarian from the comfort of their homes and discuss their questions or concerns. The platform enables users to quickly and easily seek medical advice for their pets without the need to personally visit a veterinary clinic. Using video consultations, veterinarians can make an initial assessment of the animal’s health condition, provide advice, and, if necessary, make a diagnosis. FirstVet provides a practical and modern solution to offer pet owners fast and convenient veterinary care.

Funnel.io: Funnel is a startup that focuses on the design and development of software and platforms with the purpose of assisting marketers in automating the process of data collection for reporting and analysis. With Funnel’s solutions, marketers can efficiently gather and analyze their data, saving them valuable time and resources. The company aims to simplify the process of data integration and analysis, enabling businesses to make informed decisions based on their marketing data. With Funnel, marketing teams can better optimize their campaigns and enhance the performance of their marketing activities.

Tink: Tink is an emerging fintech startup that develops innovative solutions for the financial sector. The company’s goal is to revolutionize how people manage their finances by offering user-friendly technologies. Tink provides a comprehensive platform for financial data that allows consumers to manage their bank accounts, credit cards, investments, and other financial information in one place. The platform offers users intelligent tools to gain insights into their finances, create budgets, set savings goals, and monitor their expenses. Additionally, Tink enables integration with third-party apps and services to further optimize financial management.

For example, users can link their account data with budgeting apps to automatically categorize expenses or utilize financial planning tools to achieve their long-term goals. Tink works closely with banks and financial institutions to ensure secure and reliable data integration. The company has already gained a broad user base and is steadily expanding into various international markets. With its commitment to technological innovation and simplifying financial management, Tink has become a promising player in the fintech industry and is expected to have the potential to fundamentally change how people handle their finances in the future.

Sinch: Sinch is a startup that leverages simple, programmable communication tools to connect with customers and personalize the customer experience. By utilizing these tools, Sinch enables companies to effectively interact with their customers and provide them with customized services. The startup focuses on offering communication solutions that are flexible and adaptable to meet the diverse needs of customers. With Sinch, companies can enhance customer engagement, generate new leads, and optimize their communication strategies.

Bambuser: Bambuser is a promising startup that develops and provides innovative video streaming solutions. The company enables its customers to engage in real-time video communication across various platforms and devices. It finds applications primarily in e-commerce, customer support, marketing, and corporate communication. Companies can seamlessly integrate live videos into their websites, apps, and social media using the Bambuser platform, offering their target audiences an interactive and immersive experience. Bambuser’s technology enables high-quality and stable live streams while maintaining user-friendliness.

In addition to chat features, product placement, and personalization, Bambuser offers customers various means to effectively communicate their brand message and enhance customer satisfaction. The company has quickly gained recognition and established a strong market presence. Thanks to its innovative technology and outstanding customer service, Bambuser continues to experience high demand. The company aims to fully harness the potential of live video streaming and consistently works on developing new features and integrations to provide its customers with the best possible solution.

Storytel: Storytel is an innovative startup specializing in the field of digital storytelling. The company offers a wide range of audiobooks and e-books through a user-friendly platform, allowing users to conveniently enjoy their favorite stories on their mobile devices. Storytel works closely with publishers, authors, and narrators to provide high-quality content and offer a diverse selection of genres and languages. With a monthly subscription fee, users gain access to an unlimited number of stories that they can experience anytime, anywhere. Storytel is committed to making reading and listening to books more accessible and enjoyable, introducing people around the world to the fascinating world of stories.

Lifesum: Lifesum, a Sweden-based digital health company, combines applied psychology and technology to assist customers in improving their health. The company offers an app that provides personalized nutrition plans, exercise tracking, and expert tips to improve overall well-being. Through data analysis and AI algorithms, Lifesum assists users in setting and achieving their goals, whether it’s weight loss, a healthier diet, or increased physical activity. The startup combines state-of-the-art technology with psychological expertise to support individuals in making positive changes to their lifestyles and enhancing their health.

Foto/Quelle: stock.adobe.com – Scanrail

How to Start Your Own Business

By
StartupValley
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0
Own Business

Many have probably dreamed at some point in their lives of taking the reins in their own hands and venturing into self-employment. However, many ultimately shy away from the step of starting their own business. The hurdles seem too large, and the risks unpredictable. Nevertheless, taking the risk can be worthwhile, offering countless opportunities not only from a financial perspective.

Is it right for me?

Before contemplating the field in which self-employment could be an option, everyone should honestly ask themselves whether such a model is even suitable. To be successful on one’s own, certain qualities are required. In addition to expertise in the respective field, it is particularly important to possess the necessary self-initiative. Especially in the beginning, there is often no one to rely on. If something goes wrong, solutions must be found independently, and if there are employees, the responsibility for them also falls on the founder.

Therefore, with one’s own business, one must always be prepared for resistance so that the towel is not thrown in at the first sign of adversity. Most businesses aim to sell goods or services, which is why a certain sales talent is also required as a founder. It is essential to convince potential customers of one’s own idea, ideally inspiring them and outperforming the competition, which will undoubtedly arise. Even if a gaping market niche is accidentally discovered, it is only a matter of time before it is served by multiple providers in the event of success. Finally, perseverance is indispensable for every founder. Success rarely happens overnight. Young companies often struggle for years to establish a reputation before finally achieving a major breakthrough. Those who are inclined to give up early are often in the wrong place.

Preparation is key

For those who are aware of the challenges and risks and still want to embark on their own business, it is crucial to prepare adequately for this significant endeavor. This includes creating a solid business plan, which outlines the opportunities and risks and provides a rough forecast of what to expect in the initial period. This is an essential piece of information for potential investors, and without a business plan, it will be challenging to obtain funding or loans for the project.

Founders must also consider seemingly minor details such as the company name, location, and legal form. Such decisions often have long-lasting effects and cannot always be easily reversed. Therefore, it is recommended not to rush into things or break them haphazardly. These are crucial elements that need to be determined before the actual establishment of the company and can have a significant impact on success or failure.

Endless possibilities

Undoubtedly, the most important question is what exactly someone wants to do when becoming self-employed. There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this. Countless factors come into play, but the individual’s passion should always be at the forefront. It is not wise to open a business selling gluten-free cupcakes just because it’s currently trendy or to make money from childcare due to high demand if one is not genuinely passionate about these topics. Experience shows that motivation quickly fades in such cases, and such ventures are often doomed to fail.

Naturally, having relevant knowledge in a particular field is always advantageous, but in many cases, it is not necessarily essential. Of course, a regulated trade business requires the appropriate master craftsman certificate, and not everyone can simply decide to open a law firm on a whim. However, in many other areas, there are no legal restrictions that would hinder starting a venture, and necessary expertise can be acquired independently. With a passion for a subject, basic knowledge is often already present, and in most cases, further knowledge can be gained. There are plenty of success stories that did not require a formal education or similar qualifications. For instance, numerous food truck owners have acquired their culinary expertise through self-study and are now highly successful, some even expanding through franchising.

For those seeking inspiration on the right business to pursue, the following may provide the appropriate idea to take the leap and become an entrepreneur.

Making money online independently

The internet has become the primary starting point for self-employment today. After all, it offers a relatively low barrier to entry. Setting up one’s own website can be accomplished within hours using the numerous tools available, and the opportunities to earn money online are virtually endless. A true classic in this regard is online marketing, which has played an important role since the 1990s. Website owners attract companies to advertise on their platform and, under the right circumstances, receive substantial payments. However, building up the necessary reach can often be a significant challenge. Achieving initial success is somewhat easier with affiliate marketing. In this model, revenue is not generated directly through advertising but rather through strategically placing links to products or services. Website owners receive a commission whenever a user makes a purchase through their portal. Of course, these two forms of online marketing can also be combined on a single website, or a single company can operate multiple websites with different focuses.

In such cases, the content of a website takes center stage, as it needs to attract new users and retain them over an extended period. With the abundance of offerings online, finding the right niche is not always easy, but this should not discourage anyone. Those who can captivate readers with their writing and find the right topics can still achieve success with a classic blog.

Becoming Self-Employed as an Influencer

For some, it has become a derogatory term, but it cannot be denied that influencers are experiencing massive success today, with some of them having already achieved millionaire status. Whether it’s YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook, all these platforms have a gigantic audience that often thirsts for new ideas and eagerly embraces them. The age structure, in particular, is often an advantage here, as the younger generation is active on these platforms and is generally very open to new content.

Influencers primarily earn their income through marketing. Whether it’s through platform monetization or through individual deals with (large) companies, the success of a project depends on reach. Therefore, the key focus is to captivate the audience and keep them engaged over a long period. This is not achieved through a mass of hastily thrown together videos and photos, but through professionally produced content that can impress at first glance.

Seizing Opportunities with Network Marketing

For those who are not interested in marketing themselves or other companies but instead aim to promote and sell actual products, network marketing might provide a new home. Network marketing refers to distribution systems where representatives not only sell products but also aim to inspire others to join the distribution network. While it does not always enjoy a good reputation, it is worth noting that the industry has had its fair share of bad actors who closely resemble classic pyramid schemes. On the other hand, there are also reputable providers who have been successful for decades, producing highly satisfied and well-compensated subcontractors.

This form of entrepreneurship offers several significant advantages. The distribution network and the product itself are already established, and new entrepreneurs often benefit from a good reputation built over many years. Additionally, there are valuable guidebooks available for a successful start in self-employment. This type of business can often be pursued alongside a regular job initially, reducing the risks compared to traditional self-employment. Therefore, network marketing is particularly suitable for those who possess strong sales skills and have less ambition to establish entirely new ideas.

The Royal Road: Starting Your Own Business

The previously mentioned forms of self-employment are all possible for newcomers to undertake independently, with relatively low initial investments. They are excellent ways to get a taste of entrepreneurship. Establishing a traditional company, however, is an entirely different matter, coming with its own challenges and advantages.

In many cases, employees are needed right from the beginning. If someone intends to manufacture and sell a new product, it is nearly impossible to handle all the essential tasks, from production to sales and after-sales management, entirely on their own. Consequently, much larger investments are required, including rental expenses for premises and employee salaries. Unless one has inherited a significant amount of wealth or recently won the lottery, it is impossible to shoulder these costs alone. Thus, financing is necessary, typically through a bank loan. To obtain such a loan, the aforementioned business plan mentioned earlier is of immense importance. Banks need to be convinced by the business plan in order to provide funding for new ventures.

Starting a new company from scratch is therefore immensely challenging, and the personal risks in case of failure are high. However, for those who succeed, they will have a solid foundation that can be expanded in countless ways. Entrepreneurs with their own company have full control and can shape and develop it according to their own wishes. This level of independence is not granted to even the most successful network marketer, and even the best YouTuber will always be at the mercy of the platform operator. Those who do not wish to enter into such long-term dependencies will always find their preferred home in their own company.

Franchise: The Golden Mean?

The establishment of a franchise business can be considered a middle ground of sorts. The most well-known examples of this are the widely recognized fast-food chains, which have distributed their individual establishments wholly or partially to franchisees. These franchisees operate one or multiple branches on behalf of McDonald’s, KFC, and others, often achieving significant success. The advantage lies in the fact that the massive corporations behind them take care of aspects like marketing, ensuring a high demand right from the start. However, a franchise is hardly the right place to unleash one’s own ideas, as it primarily offers and sells established products and services, with changes being implemented solely by the franchisor. The franchisor also has certain expectations for new entrepreneurs, often requiring suitable qualifications and a certain level of capital. Entering a pre-established network

Another option is to simply acquire an already established company. This is seldom a cheap endeavor, and it is not always easy to navigate existing structures. However, it eliminates the often years-long groundwork required to establish a company and achieve initial successes. Financing remains a significant challenge in such cases as well. Apart from ongoing costs, funds must also be raised to buy out the previous owners. Therefore, an acquisition should be carefully considered, with the company’s financials thoroughly examined beforehand. Resourceful entrepreneurs can sometimes guide a company with modest success to great breakthroughs through the right steps. However, this is an art in itself and should not be underestimated under any circumstances.

Embark on your own startup journey

Of course, startups should also be mentioned here as they represent a unique form of business creation. While there is no definitive definition, startups typically distinguish themselves by operating with exceptional flexibility and attempting to establish an entirely new market. In many cases, there isn’t even a specific business model in place at the time of founding. Instead, it develops over time, and once it becomes established, the transition to a traditional company occurs. Most of the tech giants from Silicon Valley began their success stories as startups, often starting in a garage with little more than a great idea.

The particular challenge in a startup lies in captivating others with an idea. Financing in this realm is rarely obtained through conventional loans but mainly through venture capital or business angels. These individuals often invest significant amounts of money in young founders without knowing if they will ever see a return on their investment. It is evident that immense confidence is required to attract the necessary funds that are indispensable for a startup’s success.

Unlike other forms of business creation, everything in a startup hinges on the pivotal idea behind the company. For Netflix, it was the (legal) streaming of movies and series, while Amazon began with the sale of books over the internet. Only when someone can inspire others with their vision are the prerequisites for a successful startup fulfilled. Frequently, the greatest challenge for such companies lies in finding an investor who can provide the crucial spark for a successful start.

Regardless of the specific path one intends to take in becoming self-employed, money is always a crucial factor. In addition to the options mentioned earlier, there are several alternative ways to finance a business startup. One popular method in recent years has been crowdfunding, where numerous small investors, often from the private sector, contribute small amounts to a project. The advantage here is that it allows for an assessment of interest in a product or service beforehand. If a set financing goal is quickly achieved, it is already foreseeable that there is corresponding market potential.

Entrepreneurs should also definitely explore the possibility of receiving government funding. This is often possible for companies involved in specific areas such as renewable energy. In the social sector, it is possible to operate without profit intention if the necessary funds are provided by the public sector. It is difficult to make general statements about the chances that may arise in individual cases and what the best funding source may be. However, potential forms of support should be examined in any case.

Take courage!

Apart from all considerations regarding financing, business structure, and the like, the greatest obstacle in starting a business often lies in overcoming one’s own doubts and fears. For a startup to succeed, one must simply have the courage to proceed and accept the risks and challenges involved. Success can never be guaranteed, of course. Yet, with the right idea and the necessary mindset, the experience alone can be a true reward. So, to those who may still be hesitant about the idea of starting a business, I encourage you to have the courage to do so.

Foto/Quelle: stock.adobe.com – Prostock-studio/Vasyl/luckybusiness/ChayTee/nenetus

11 German Startup Investors you should know!

By
StartupValley
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0
german

We have compiled a list of 11 important startup investors currently operating in the German market.

These investors play a significant role in financing innovative companies and startups in Germany. The list includes well-known investors such as High-Tech Gründerfonds, Holtzbrinck Ventures, and Target Global. Each of these investors has unique expertise and invests in various industries and technologies. So if you’re looking for an investor for your startup, you should definitely check out this list.

Rocket Internet is a group of companies that focuses on founding and investing in technology startups. Rocket Internet has invested in a variety of companies, including Zalando, Delivery Hero, and HelloFresh.

HV Capital is one of the leading venture capital firms in Germany. The company invests in companies in various fields, including e-commerce, software, and mobility. HV Capital has invested in companies such as Flixbus, Scalable Capital, and SumUp.

Atlantic Labs is a Berlin-based venture capital company that focuses on investing in startups in various fields, including software, fintech, and media. Atlantic Labs has invested in companies such as SoundCloud, Lilium Aviation, and Wefox.

Earlybird Venture Capital specializes in early-stage investments. The company invests in technology startups in various fields, including software, e-commerce, and mobility. Earlybird Venture Capital has invested in companies such as N26, UiPath, and Peak Games.

Target Global is a Berlin-based venture capital company. The company invests in startups in various fields, including e-commerce, software, and fintech. Target Global has invested in companies such as Delivery Hero, Auto1 Group, and Rapyd.

Lakestar is a Zurich-based venture capital company with a focus on technology startups. The company invests in companies in various fields, including software, fintech, and healthcare. Lakestar has invested in companies such as Revolut, Omio, and Personio.

Cherry Ventures is a Berlin-based venture capital firm that focuses on early-stage investments. The company invests in startups in various fields, including e-commerce, software, and healthcare. Cherry Ventures has invested in companies such as Flixbus, Auto1 Group, and Infarm.

EQT Ventures is a Stockholm-based venture capital company with a focus on technology startups. The company invests in companies in various fields, including software, fintech, and healthcare. EQT Ventures has invested in companies such as Klarna, Wolt, and Anyfin.

Project A Ventures is a Berlin-based venture capital firm that focuses on early-stage investments. The company invests in startups in various fields, including e-commerce, software, and fintech. Project A Ventures has invested in companies such as Spryker, sennder, and Trade Republic.

Global Founders Capital is a Berlin-based venture capital firm founded by the founders of Rocket Internet. The company invests in startups in various fields, including e-commerce, software, and fintech. Global Founders Capital has invested in companies such as HelloFresh, Traveloka, and Delivery Hero.

The High-Tech Gründerfonds is a state-supported venture capital fund that focuses on innovative technology startups. The fund invests in companies in various fields, including IT, biotechnology, and energy.

These were 11 of the most important startup investors in Germany. However, there are many other successful and influential investors in the German startup scene. It is important to note that each investor has different focuses and criteria when it comes to selecting startups. So if you are starting a startup or looking to invest, it is important to research each investor thoroughly to find the one that best suits you and your company.

Photo/Source: stock.adobe.com – Yingyaipumi

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