how much savings do you have?
Issue #163 (01 Sep) – great events in September; LAP Coffee chat; A100 fiasco; new scanners at BER; new fines and how to waste a morning.
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Programming note #163: I am back with the newsletter after a short break. A lot is going on - almost as if people waited for September to unleash all their great ideas… and we’re also doing an event with Apple’s Made for Business:
Have you heard of LAP coffee? Me too, especially after some recent controversial (social) media posts. Well, why not ask the man himself? I’m excited to host the co-founder, Ralph Hage, in one of his rare public appearances. You will learn about his idea behind the brand and how they are thinking about scaling the business. Register here.
Thanks to our sponsor, Vanta. They are a leading automated compliance and trust management platform.
The email subject data is in Snippet #12.
🌟 Handpicked community
Meet — handpicked events:
See you at Das Klassentreffen: Four sessions on AI, Tech, People & Commercial. 1,000+ founders, builders & operators in one room. A legendary afterparty with Sachsentrance. Get your ticket now. | Thu, 11/09 16:00 | Haus Ungarn*
Smart. money. moves: master your finances to fuel your founder journey | Fri, 12/09 10:00 | Fora - Pressehaus Podium (HANDPICKEDMONEY for 15% off)
RECOVERY WALK WEDNESDAY - powered by FOMO Berlin | Wed, 03/09 08:00 | Lucy's at Brunnenstraße
AI Took the Code - What’s Left for the Team? A Workshop for Engineers | Thu, 04/09 19:00 | Mindspace Münzstr.
Fundraising Aperitivo - Berlin Edition | Wed, 10/09 19:30 | Bar Milano
Usability Testessen - test your products for free | Thu, 11/09 19:00 | VWFS
this could be your event - advertise it
Show cool stuff or Ask for something:
Prazzle Arts is inviting you to the debut of Culture Kaleidoscope: 100 Artists of Our Time. The opening event of Artist of Our Time (feat. selected works of 15 contemporary artists) will also feature an exchange with the artists, collectors and art lovers, along with some great music. The best way to start the Berlin art week! | Thu, 11/09 15:00 | BBA Gallery*
The Sonntag Grant for Photography is a new grant aimed at supporting FLINTA artists (female, lesbian, inter, non-binary, trans, agender). One artist will be awarded €3,000 to develop a project. Submissions open on Sept 1st.
📨 Submit your input for the community here. This section is also featured on LinkedIn in the weekly post.
👀 Handpicked jobs
2️⃣ job highlights of the week
The remaining jobs are on the Handpicked job board. This week’s focus was: Design & UX/UI.
Your guide to compliance in Europe
Expanding into Europe? Customers and investors expect you to prove compliance with regional standards like GDPR, ISO 27001, and others. But navigating different frameworks can feel overwhelming. That’s why we created the European Customer Guide—a clear, practical resource to help you understand the most common compliance needs. Whether you’re preparing for your first audit or scaling into new markets, this guide helps you move faster with confidence.
☕️ Coffee Talk will be back next week
You can check the permanent collection.
🗞 Snippets
Berlin & Germany, career & timeless
If you are on the Insider’s Dinner club list, you should have received an email last Friday. If not, let me know and check your promotions tab. Our first event tickets will be on sale the coming Friday.
Hope to see you at my conversation with Ralph Hage, founder of LAP Coffee, at Apple Rosenthaler Str. on Tuesday, 9th of September at 18.00.
I finally wrote a new article, sharing my experience on how did I get the Gründungszuschuss. It felt refreshing to write again, and I hope it will be useful for some of you. I was also featured on a podcast, this time with the Germany Expat Business Show.
September is here: here are some event suggestions by The Berliner. And here are 11 from Mit Vergnügen.
More roads mean more cars. Instead of finding more modern ways of managing traffic, we are building highways. 3.2km of the A100 was opened on Wednesday. Bizarrely, it cost €721M and took 12 (!) years to finish. The theory of supporters is that the highway will draw the traffic away from residential areas. What a time to be alive — where can I sign?
Source of the image & discussion on r/berlin On the other side of the spectrum in Berlin… after the end of the season, two Berlin outdoor swimming pools plan to open for dogs. I am not entirely sure what the reason is: 20% fewer visitors this season due to the rainy summer, or complaints by the dogs that they feel excluded.
I missed the new scanners in Terminal 1 at BER last week, so I still needed to take out my laptop. To make sure to get to one, either head to Terminal 2 or to the northern (Control area 1) or southern pavilions (Control area 5) of Terminal 1. Old school X-ray machines are still operating in 18 central area lanes. These will be replaced in winter 2026/2027.
In case you missed it: the Senate agreed on new fines for environmental protection. Fines are significantly higher: €100+ for mattresses on the streets, €250+ for cigarette butts and disposable cups, drink cartons, or packaging materials. Up to €350 for dog waste or abandoned dog waste. “Zu verschenken” boxes are also forbidden with fines from €300 to €1500. Before the new rules come into effect, the Council of mayors needs to have a say. The timeline is unclear. It feels the enforcement will be unclear, too.
Have you ever tried to use WiFi on Deutsche Bahn trains? Yes, it mostly sucks. But it’s not Bahns fault. Having internet on fast moving trains is a technical challenge. The only solution is using a combination of satellite and regular access. Or you could read a book.
Career: A short report and career dilemma on how is to work in IT for a German automotive company, with commentators chipping in with their perspective. Things need to change fast.
Career: An excellent idea: how about using AI to do things that don’t scale and then don’t scale. You can build small tools for yourself and the people around you and keep them that way.
Career: How much savings do you have? If you have more than €2k you are better off than 47% of population in Germany (18-79, n=3050).
Timeless: One of my favourite essays of recent times: on how to properly waste a morning. I just love the vibes and the idea. Can’t wait to try it soon. Who is with me?
Briefly
Bad news: Kleiderly (recycling), Meloon (climate tech) and Venderly (inventory management) all filed for bankruptcy.
Stats: the number of unemployed in Germany rose above 3M for the first time since February 2015. On the positive side, the IFO business climate index rose to 89 points, up from 88.6 in July.
Beams (AI, Berlin) was acquired by Comply365. Ladegrün (charging infra, Berlin) was acquired by Wirelane. Topi (hardware leasing, Berlin) was acquired by Peac Solutions. Almedia (adtech, Berlin) acquired zave.it.
Tesla sales in the EU are down 40% in July (YoY), mostly due to the aggressive expansion by Chinese brands.
JD.com, a Chinese e-commerce behemoth, starts a shop in Germany with Joybuy.de.
Mister Spex Q2: EBIT improved by €3M to - €4.3M, net revenue of €53M (-22% YoY).
HelloFresh will open a factory (industrial kitchen) in Verden (close to Bremen) for its ready-to-eat brand Factor.
Klarna secured a €1.4B credit line and wants to IPO at a $14B valuation. Ottobock (prosthetics tech, founded in Berlin) is looking for an IPO at around €6B.
Scalable Capital became a sponsor of FC Viktoria Berlin, one of Berlin’s women's football teams. They have a strong presence and support in the German tech scene.
Weekly social
Reddit: Great tips on “spotting bigger issues” from restaurants to balconies.
Instagram: some italodisco for the end of the summer. They will play in Berlin on the 29th of October (Gretchen).
💸 Funded in Berlin & Germany
Leaping AI | Berlin | AI voice solutions for retail telcos | $4.7M seed | No careers.
WALLROUND | Berlin | Energy renovation digitalisation platform | €4.2M seed | Careers.
RedMimicry | Berlin | Cyber attack simulation software | Seven-figures | Careers.
FYTA | Berlin | Plant connectivity and monitoring | €1M Angel | No careers.
Stark | Munich | Unmanned weapons systems | $62M | Careers.
Ortivity | Munich | Orthopaedic outpatient platform | €200M | Careers.
Hades Mining | Munich | Energy exploration technology | €5.5M | Careers.
Detechgene | Cologne | Infection detection rapid tests | €3M | Careers.
Vanevo | Oldenburg | Battery development technology | €1.8M | Careers.
Genow | Darmstadt | Knowledge management AI platform | €1.65M | Careers.
😅 Meanwhile
GPT-5 didn’t really impress, did it
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