The Startup Monitor shows, among other things, the cities and federal states from which the participating young companies come. At the presentation of the DSM 2020 Tobias Kollmann, Professor of E-Business and E-Entrepreneurship at the University of Duisburg-Essen and scientific director of the study, emphasized, however, that the distribution of the surveyed companies does not result in a ranking of German startup locations. Participants were not randomly selected, but rather invited to participate by multipliers. However, the different values within the startup locations can be compared, and this shows that Munich is clearly the second largest startup hub in Germany, behind Berlin.
Startup Monitor shows clear ranking
German startups employed an average of 14.3 people in 2020. Munich startups are more than twice as large, with an average of 31.4 employees, while Berlin startups employ more than 35.3. The same ranking is evident in the degree of internationalization: Across Germany, 73.4 percent of startup employees are German. In Berlin, the figure is only 57.3 percent, and in Munich, 63.9 percent. In Hamburg, almost three out of four (73.2 percent) startup employees come from Germany. A large proportion of international employees indicates a greater attractiveness for international specialists. Tobias Kollmann says:
"Just like the indestructible optimism and the desire to contribute to environmental and climate protection, diversity is also firmly anchored in the identity of many startup companies. The commitment to diversity forms an important piece of the mosaic for the success of the startup ecosystem."
Munich also ranks among the top countries in terms of the share of startups financed with venture capital. Startup Monitor with 28.8 percent in second place behind Berlin with 39.0 percent and ahead of Hamburg with 22.1 percent. More than two thirds (67.9 percent) of Munich startups rate the Startupecosystem as good or very good. Only Berlin fares better, with 81.8 percent. Hamburg ranks fourth with 38.8 percent, behind the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region (57.3 percent).
“Founders usually see the crisis as an opportunity”
The study also provides some interesting insights, for example, into the situation of the startups surveyed during the coronavirus crisis. Almost three out of four German startups feel negatively impacted by the crisis. Only just under one in three young companies assesses the business situation positively. Last year, more than one in two startups was optimistic. Compared to the overall economic situation, Franziska Teubert, Managing Director of the Federal Association of German Startups:
"Startups, like the entire economy, are affected by the coronavirus pandemic. But founders generally also see the crisis as an opportunity and are accustomed to reacting quickly to new situations. Therefore, they are more optimistic about the future than the German economy as a whole."
Sixty-eight percent of respondents cited sales and customer acquisition as their biggest challenge. This is 13 percentage points more than in 2019, reflecting the cautious consumption and investment behavior of consumers and companies during the crisis.
The survey results also reveal the difficult financial conditions: 43 percent consider raising capital challenging, indicating the tense situation on the capital market (2019: 38 percent). At 32 percent, significantly more founders also rate liquidity as a current difficulty (2019: 18 percent).
