how much do founders pay themselves?
Issue #133 (20 Jan) – 20+ jobs; Cofee with Florian; Perplexity nonsense; Munich gets ahead; fine dining; a case against crappy AI tools.
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Programming note #133: Last week’s survey about the next company to profile was a tight race between On and SumUp. So I will do both as soon as possible.
This is my first email on the new platform, so if you notice anything strange, let me know. If you received 2 e-mails, unsubscribe from Substack. Please visit our sponsors!
🌟 Handpicked community
is a place where we meet, share projects and ideas and look for help.
Meet — handpicked events:
Full-Stack Product Leader: Balancing Vision & Execution in 2025 | Thu, 30/01 18:30 | Netlight office*
LGBTQ Startup Workshop | Thu, 24/01 19:00 | SIBB e.V*
🇩🇪 Frost Your Future: Alles rund um Social Freezing | Tue, 11/02 06:00 | Online workshop*
State help for startups in Germany | Fri, 24/01 12.30 | Online
One2Hero: Building a Marketplace Unicorn | Wed, 29/01 18.00 | Project A
Startup Funding in Germany: 2025 Market Overview & Fundraising Insights | Thu, 30/01 18.30 | Online
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Have you resolved to make money less stressful in 2025? eras.fyi is here to help. Our app helps you save and make better money moves with mindful daily activities. Join us with a 7-day free trial, only in January! 🌈*
🏠 ❌ No more flat viewings with 400 people
Rent a dream apartment? Get ahead of the pack with Get The Flat.
They email landlords in landlord-friendly German and will even make your "Chief Happiness Ninja" job title sound legit for landlords.*Sadly I cannot attend the party for the WAA Podcast 100th Episode this Friday at Hotel Telegraphenamt. If you want my ticket reply to this email or send one. I will pick the winner on Tuesday at 8:00AM.
If you are looking to test your pitch, apply for Pitch Me! by IHK and BPW by the end of January.
📨 Submit your input for the community here. This section is also featured on LinkedIn in the weekly post.
👀 Handpicked jobs
is a rotating selection of jobs from companies I’d check out.
5️⃣ from the rotation this week: Marketing and Comms
The remaining jobs (also outside rotation) are in the Handpicked online database.
Are you looking for new colleagues or work in HR? Submit a job.
✨ Handpicked Deals
is where you find good stuff.
Learn German at SmarterGerman—HANDPICKED11 for 11% discount. Your purchase will help sustain this project.
Handpicked Berlin experts: find the expert you need! Relocation, employment matters, insurance and career coaches.
☕️ Coffee with Florian Bölter
is where my guest contributes three links and I write a short bio.
Florian runs Open Doors, a great newsletter (& a job board) for (junior) designers. I especially like his portfolio reviews and his motivation to help. Here is what he prepared for you:
#SOSBRUTALISM is an amazing project that catalogues Brutalist architecture and contributes to preservation where possible. I know that a lot of people dislike or even hate Brutalism and I can even see why yet I’m fascinated by the bluntness and practicality of this form of architecture. Check the website to see great examples of Brutalism around you!
Criminal ranks among the best podcasts I listen to and is probably the longest-running one on my list. While it follows a true crime format, it's much more expansive than that - covering everything the word "criminal" encompasses, from actual cases to questions of past and present legislation, incarceration, and sometimes heartwarming stories that are barely criminal at all. Phoebe Judge's voice is probably the most relaxing I've ever heard, making hours of listening a pleasure.
Severance is my absolute favourite TV show of recent years and probably a decade. Everything is spot on. The shortest summary possible is that it’s about a company that splits the minds of their workers into a work and private personality. One doesn’t know what the other did while it was active. If you thought Google was a cult-like corporate you haven’t seen Lumon. Praise Kier.
🗞 Snippets
is a selection of links focused on Berlin/Germany, career, timeless content and business.
Berlin & Germany, career & timeless
Join the discussion: What would you do differently after moving to Berlin? &
Whenever you think you can "use Perplexity for research" instead of double-checking things yourself... remember the time when you tested it on a topic you know really well. 😅The motion for the fireworks sales ban in the city proposed by the Greens failed last Thursday: it was only supported by the Left. CDU, SPD and AFD voted against it. SPD is in favour, but only on the federal level, allowing states to steer what is permitted/prohibited. (RBB24)
Who is the Spitzenreiter? Munich has beaten Berlin in startup funding for the first time, raising €2.3B vs Berlin's €2.2B in 2024. Bavarians benefit from deep-tech focus, major corporate presence (BMW, Siemens), and centralized hub "Unternehmertum". In Berlin, we struggle with a fragmented ecosystem across universities, and a lack of strong industrial partners. A downturn in e-commerce was also a factor. (RBB, 🇩🇪)
Trade union Verdi warned of minor disruptions (hmm?) after the first round of salary negotiations with BVG. The union demands a €750 monthly raise plus benefits, claiming Berlin has the lowest transport worker pay in Germany. (Tagesspiegel) We are safe from any disruptions until at least January 22. The next major negotiations are scheduled for the end of the month.
11 fine dining options in Berlin for special occasions. (Mit Vergnuegen, 🇩🇪)
(late) Gem of the week: see Dream On—Berlin, the 90s in Amerika Haus, a great exhibition running until this Wednesday. Long lines (cca 20 min) speak for themselves. Worth to see.
The campaign for the elections next month is in full swing: you can see the calculation of the proposed tax measures by each party here (X). Fascinating that in some
unrealisticcases everyone wins.Career: How much did the founders pay themselves in DACH in 2024 (n=245)? It depends on the stage: the average was €122.3k. Bootstrapped founders earned almost the same as Seed ones (95k vs. 98.5k). (Creandum) An interesting choice of showing the average and not the median.
Career: Don’t use crappy AI tools for your CVs and cover letters. You will be one of hundreds. (you at least need to double-check and change several words)
Career: An illustrated guide to a PhD. We know a lot, but there is so much more to discover.
Timeless: A great short essay about Resisting summary. “Tim Urban got the gist in three minutes. Does anyone know what he missed? Walk more slowly if you can.”
Briefly
Bad news: Chrono24 (Karlsruhe, -24% or 110), Meta & BP (-5%).
Stats: German startups raised €7.4B in 2024, up 4% from the previous year, with a significant increase in deal volume to 1,407 rounds vs 1,136 in 2023. (KfW)
On Saturday, Chemnitz, formerly known as Karl-Marx-Stadt, became “European Capital of Culture” for 2025. Programme. It’s 3h south of Berlin.
Acquisitions round:
- Berlin-based Charles (WhatsApp marketing) acquired Berlin-based Spectrm (AI-convo solution).
- Berlin-based Wire (secure internal comms) acquired France-based Pydio (doc sharing).
- French Cegid acquired Offenburg-based accounting software Sevdesk (office also in Berlin).
- UK-based Octopus Energy (strong presence in Germany) acquired OX2's French solar unit.Taxfix (tax, Berlin) revenue grows 45% to €55.9M in 2023, losses decrease to €48.7M. Company aims for profitability after cutting 120 jobs (in 2023) and focusing on DIY tax services growth. (deutsche-startups)
Berlin-based Slay (app factory) is in the media because of their WA Wrapped app where Spotify-like wrapped data is apparently faked. According to Manager Magazin they received additional funding in December. (MM, €, 🇩🇪)
ReparaturBONUS, a subsidy for repairing your broken electronic devices, will be extended in 2025.
Could recently introduced congestion pricing from NYC also be implemented in Berlin, where you, according to TomTom need 28 min and 31 seconds for 10km, the worst in Germany?
Until the 28th of January you can buy some of the 2M heavily discounted Deutsche Bahn ICE tickets with an extra Tue/Wed discount.
Indianapolis Colts will be the home team at Olympia Stadium NFL game next season. The visiting team wasn’t announced yet.
Free Now is exiting rental car rides: You’ll only be able to book taxis.
Weekly social
Reddit: Wer ist das in Berlin?
Practical Reddit: Can you turn right from the bus lane?
Twitter: RIP David Lynch. Angelo Badalamenti on the Twin Peaks theme & Trent Reznor on Lost Highway.
💸 Funded in Berlin & Germany
is a list of companies that received funding over €1M.
Nelly | Berlin | Digital solutions for medical practices | €50M Series B | Careers.
Formo | Berlin | Fermentation-based cheese alternatives | €35M Debt | Careers.
Admi | Berlin | Municipal climate management software | €1M+ | Careers.
NEURA Robotics | Metzingen | Cognitive humanoid robots manufacturer | €120M Series B | Careers.
bobbie | Munich | Construction materials procurement platform | €12.5M+ | Careers.
Audavis | Munich | AI financial audit platform | €1.1M | Careers.
Quantum Brilliance | Stuttgart | Quantum computing hardware manufacturer | $20M Series A | Careers.
Green Flexibility | Kempten | Large-scale battery storage systems | €400M | Careers.
Circunomics | Darmstadt | Battery lifecycle management platform | €8M Series A | Careers.
😅 Meanwhile
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