Startups regularly pitch their ideas, and reverse pitches from investors are no longer uncommon. This year's Munich Startup Festival featured another theme: the politician pitch. At the beginning of the panel "Visions for the Munich Ecosystem: Questions and Answers from the City Council," participating city council members—Manuel Pretzl, CSU/FW parliamentary group leader in the Munich City Council; Fritz Roth, FDP councilor; Sebastian Weisenburger, city councilor of the Green Party/Rosa List parliamentary group; and Felix Sproll, SPD/Volt parliamentary group—were invited to give a short pitch. their view of and vision for the Munich startup ecosystem introduce.
But what are the major challenges that city councilors see for startups in Munich? And what options does the municipality have to change this?
Reducing bureaucracy
The first point of discussion was bureaucracy, or rather, its reduction. Even when discussing his visions for the future, Felix Sproll stated that he hoped that in the future, a company could be founded on the go in just a few minutes using a smartphone. A point that moderator Magdalena Oehl, founder of TalentRocket and deputy chair of the Startup Association, was only too happy to take up. From the perspective of the association and the startups it represents, bureaucracy is also a major problem. However, changes, such as the introduction of digital business registration, often took a very long time.
Fritz Roth explained why this was the case: In many public authorities, especially in the KVR, there is no service mentality, according to his analysis. Forms and their processing must finally be digitized, and smart solutions must be introduced. Furthermore, there is too much risk aversion, which significantly slows down decision-making processes. A point Sebastian Weisenburger also agreed with. However, he pointed out that changes take time, also because organizations, like the people within them, have different histories. Manuel Pretzl added that public sector employees often spend their entire careers there – and thus some can still remember how the fax once represented a revolution.
Access to commercial space
Another problem that Munich is constantly facing is the high price of rents – both commercial and residential. Felix Sproll advocated for Munich's upward expansion, less in the form of new high-rise buildings, but rather by adding storeys to existing ones. Whether residential or commercial, an additional floor could quickly provide additional space. Some initiatives have already been taken here, but as with the reduction of bureaucracy, it will take time for the decisions to take effect. Ironically, this is also due to bureaucracy, as Roth pointed out: Since adding a storey is administratively more difficult than building a new building on a greenfield site, there are certain "inertia elements" that shy away from this work.
Festival moderator Caro Matzko, who stepped in as the second moderator of the panel for the ill Bits founder Bernd Storm van's Gravesande, then addressed the ominous rule stating that nothing higher than the Frauenkirche may be built in Munich. Pretzl clarified that this decision was based on a citizens' petition and had long since expired. Nevertheless, some people still feel bound by it – also because the people of Munich have repeatedly made it clear that they don't want high-rise buildings.
As a further means of alleviating the problem, Sebastian Weisenburger suggested extending the temporary use schemes established in the arts and culture sector to commercial properties. Pretzl added that, outside of inner-city locations, investors and owners of commercial properties are now significantly more willing to respond flexibly to the needs of smaller businesses.
Skilled labor shortage
The pervasive shortage of skilled workers made a double appearance in the panel. Firstly, of course, when it was discussed that work permits for highly qualified startup employees must be issued more quickly. Secondly, when the number of female founders in the Munich ecosystem was addressed. Magdalena Oehl pointed out that this number is only 13 percent in the state capital, while nationwide it is 20 percent. In addition to the reasons for this – the focus on STEM topics in the Munich scene was identified as a source of inequality – the discussion also addressed the question of balancing family and career. This has led to a shortage of childcare places and thus to a shortage of skilled workers for daycare centers and kindergartens.
This is also where the greatest differences between the parliamentary groups' positions became apparent. While Manuel Pretzl focused on accelerated access for highly qualified workers, Felix Sproll emphasized that he wanted this for all workers. However, Weisenburger announced that a solution is emerging in the form of a Welcome Center within the KVR.
Open Data and Mentoring Program
Another point the city councilors addressed was the topic of open data. The city has a lot of data, for example on topics like mobility and the environment. Felix Sproll expressed his wish that this data be published and shared more widely with companies.
Fritz Roth was the only city councilor to dare to look at other ecosystems. Specifically, he focused on Mainz, where, with BioNTech behind it, there is a strong focus on life sciences. He stated that the city and state have developed a clear vision for how development should look over the coming decades. In addition, there are regular events and a mentoring program.
Homework for the city councilors
Finally, the city councilors unanimously appealed to the founders to contact their parliamentary groups with their concerns. This is the only way politicians can understand what the companies need and engage with them to jointly develop ideas and solutions. Magdalena Oehl then had a very specific idea. She encouraged the politicians to choose one of the topics discussed and work on solutions for it – ideally immediately after the panel. Felix Sproll then pledged to focus on accessibility with more data, Sebastian Weisenburger addressed commercial space, Fritz Roth wanted to work on a mentoring program based on the Mainz model, and Manuel Pretzl on faster, less bureaucratic approvals.
