are you happier than a Hamburger?
Issue #172 (3 Nov) - Money talk #2; unusual bars in town; top 100 AI startups; gentle touch feels like love.
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Programming note #172: I used this week for some strategic planning, and I was also very happy to present the Salary Trends survey at the Talent Crunch event. The good news is that we are doing it again in 2026, this time with more preparation. Last year’s question additions were German level, and the likelihood of leaving your job.
If you have an idea for another question, do let me know. To refresh your memory, here is the report again.
The email subject answer is in Snippet #3.
🌟 Handpicked community
Meet — 5 handpicked events:
Build your own CLI chatbot with RAG support — an all-code, no-slides session | Thu, 06/11 18:00 | Hotel Zoo Berlin
IT-Security Trends '26 for SMEs: Experts provide insights on current IT threats and demonstrate practical protection solutions for your infrastructure. Including a panel discussion with renowned specialists. (In German) | Tue, 18/11 09:00 | Lithuanian Embassy
Berlin AI x Bio meetup | Wed, 19/11 18:30 | Merantix AI Campus Berlin
Break the Silos: An Interdisciplinary Dialogue | Tue, 25/11 17:00 | Seminar-mit-Spreeblick
End of Year Reflection - A Workshop for Startup Operators & Founders (I will be there) | Tue, 02/12 19:00 | Meta Studio
This could be your event! Advertise it.
Show cool stuff or Ask for something:
Y Combinator Winter 2026 batch is open until the 10th of November.
Jason is looking for founders struggling with content: "I’m a founder burned out on content—it’s exhausting and doesn’t move the needle. I’m exploring a way to reach the right audience that isn’t about more or better content. If that resonates, I’d love to chat."
Projector Global Community is looking for spaces that would be able to host their meetups. Approach Tania.
Something interesting to share? Go for it.
👀 Handpicked jobs
5️⃣ 3️⃣ job highlights of the week
The remaining jobs are on the Handpicked job board. This week’s focus was on business and strategy.
✨ Handpicked deals
Your purchase or interest will help sustain this project.
🚀 Handpicked Launchpad: Germany needs builders! Recently or soon-to-be funded and looking for talent, beta testers, audience growth, event boost or more? I'm offering selected startups access to our 37,000+ audience. Let’s build.
If you need an expert, check the Handpicked ones: (employee) relocation, employment lawyers, insurance and career coaches. Great people for great results.
Learning German? Check all the articles we published (general, Netflix - ja/nein?, learning next to work)
Looking to pimp up your CV? Check my GEN AI guide.
☕️ Coffee Talk with Michelle Fleer
Michelle did what many only dream of. She left her well-paid job and pursued her passion. For her, it was cooking (she attended a 3-month program in a famous French culinary school), and, after a short stint in a real kitchen, decided to refresh the pickles category with her Pickle Company. This is what she prepared for you:
Vom Einfachen das Gute (Charlottenburg Location) - It’s one of Berlin’s finest delis, and their new Charlottenburg location is absolutely stunning. A true paradise for cheese lovers - over 100 varieties displayed in a chic humidor. Every item is carefully curated, and it’s extra special to me: the first store in town to carry our pickles.
Klub Maison - If you love good food, beautiful design, travel, and all the little things that make life special, you’ll love Klub Maison. It’s a weekly newsletter and online platform that curates thoughtful brands, travel tips, and delicious recipes. Everything feels carefully chosen and full of good taste.
Strolling along the old Spreepark - A few weeks ago, I went for a long Sunday walk after a delicious lunch at Ei-12437-B. Strolling past the old Spreepark along the Spree, you get one of the most beautiful views of Berlin. It feels as if the city opens up before you - overlooking Rummelsbucht, Molecule Man, Oberbaumbrücke, and the Fernsehturm. Go late afternoon for magical sunsets.
🗞 Snippets
Berlin & Germany, career & timeless
Money Talk #2: Albert from Lichtenberg. I listened to your feedback and extended the format slightly with a new question on tools and made a few minor tweaks.
In last week’s newsletter, I published a graphic from Politbarometer, showing strong support for Merz’s Stadtbild comment. The poll itself sparked debate - ZDF polled Merz's Wednesday clarification rather than his original statement, but critics felt the presentation blurred this distinction. Full context.
Are you happier than a Hamburger? It appears that, on average, Berliners are far behind. But, Berlin gained a place this year and is 14/16. You can explore the details and city rankings (Berlin is 37/40!) on this page. But I bet Kassel is waaay more boring.
We live in a city with one of the best public transport networks in the world. It also happens to be almost flat, perfect for cycling and walking. I guess that is why some politicians want to stop this terrible discrimination against cars and invest more money in roads. Just look at the new proposal on Torstraße - from initial 2 lanes back to 4 lanes (a longer article here). Related, the last part of the extension of A100 that was recently pushed to the next decade might still come earlier. I am not against cars; I just think Berlin has so much more potential.
Tip Berlin has made a list of unusual bars in Berlin, including some really good spots.
Sifted published a nice overview of 100 European AI startups that, in their opinion, will affect EU tech in a big way and aren’t unicorns yet. You can get it here. It features 12 companies from Berlin (Peec AI, Cortea AI, Langfuse, Taktile, Qdrant, Deepset, sensmore, Langdock, Dash0, Juna AI, Voize and Cakewalk) and only one bootstrapped company (Humanoid from London).
You can receive up to €90 for documenting your household's daily expenses for one month as part of Germany's official living conditions survey.
Career: Here is some excellent career advice: being good isn’t enough. Many people are good. “A common mistake is assuming work speaks for itself.” Yep!
Career: How is it to work at SAP in Germany? Unverified insights from Redditors, but it mostly sounds reasonable.
Timeless: I like this post, or is it a list? Hard to pick my favourites, because I like so many of them.
Stats: Nearly a year after Germany's Self-Determination Act took effect, 2,502 people in Berlin filed to change their registered gender: 1,483 to "male" or "female," 498 to "diverse," and the remainder to other options.
Berlin-related headlines
BVG launches largest pilot project for autonomous minibuses (read)
Housing index: Property prices rise slightly, rents grow strongly, except in Berlin (read)
“I’ve never seen anything like it before”: Massive drug lab discovered in Brandenburg (read)
Chip shortage puts German carmakers in a tight spot (watch)
Briefly on business, tech and economy
Bad news: Amazon -14,000 corporate roles (no data for Germany), Personio (Munich, HR software) -10% and ending its US operations.
Formel Skin (Berlin, skin care) will be acquired by Manual (UK). (Deutsche Startups)
Denmark abandons plans for chat control. It seems.
Intercom (customer service) will expand to Berlin with its R&D hub and hire 100+ people. Careers.
Besides e-scooters, VOI is now also offering 2,000 e-bikes for rent in town.
Grammarly is changing its name to Superhuman.
The minimum wage in Germany will be raised to €13.90/h on January 1st, and a year later to €14.60/h.
EQT (PE firm) is exploring a €10B takeover of Mobile.de (Berlin, used cars platform).
Bending Spoons (Milan) has acquired AOL. They also own WeTransfer, Evernote and Komoot.
Babbel (Berlin, language service) has acquired Wellspent (Berlin, screen time management app).
Cinven (PE firm) is considering a sale of think-cell (Berlin, PPT software) at a €3B valuation.
VW Q3 ‘25: operating loss of €1.3B with big problems at Porsche (€4.7B charges due to EV strategy changes). Not helped by the tariffs, with an expected cost of €5B this year.
Mercedes Q3 ‘25: revenue €23.7B (-7%), adj. EBIT €1.14B (+0.1% YoY).
Weekly social and outside interests
“OpenAI says hundreds of thousands of ChatGPT users may show signs of manic or psychotic crisis every week” (read)
YouTube: 15 sorting algorithms in 6 minutes. Sound on. Gotta love the Bogo sort.
Instagram: Why a gentle touch feels like love
💸 Funded in Berlin & Germany
Porelio | Berlin | Industrial CO2 capture and cleaning | €2M | No careers.
AnyTax | Berlin | Tax API for banks and apps | €1M | Careers.
Zeeg | Berlin | Scheduling and meeting coordination tool | €1.1M Seed | No careers.
Empact | Cologne | Decentralised energy supply systems | €100M | Careers.
Scavenger AI | Frankfurt | Natural language enterprise data queries | €2.5M Seed | Careers.
aevoloop | Leipzig | Chemically recyclable biodegradable plastics | €8.25M | Careers.
Q.ANT | Stuttgart | Photonic computing processor solutions | €68M | Careers.
😅 Meanwhile
juniors aren’t having it easy
Igor Ranc
Founder & Curator of Handpicked Berlin
Five articles with a treat:
How to learn German? Be better than “Genau” and “Mit Karte, Bitte!”
Football in Berlin: where to play, watch and how to get involved?
Experts for your needs:
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Berlin Events Weekly: the best resource for events in Berlin
The German Review: analysis and opinions on German current affairs
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