The latest edition of Germany's largest startup study has been published. The German Startup Monitor (DSM) examines technological trends and the mood among German startups.
A total of 1,550 startups participated in German Startup Monitor 2018. A look at the revenues of the companies surveyed reveals a focus on small and young startups. 42 percent generate less than €50,000 in annual revenue. More than half of the companies surveyed have been in existence for less than two years.
TU Munich remains top university in the DSM
One finding of the study: Artificial intelligence has apparently long since become part of the everyday lives of startups. Almost 60 percent feel a clear influence of artificial intelligence on their business model. Tim Dümichen, Partner at KPMG says:
"Startups are therefore the carriers of innovative technologies and are taking a pioneering role in the application of artificial intelligence. To realize the potential of AI for future economic growth, existing barriers must be removed and AI actively promoted."
With technological advances, the demand for digital expertise is also increasing: Three out of four startups report having difficulties recruiting IT specialists. As in the previous year, the Technical University of Munich remains the top startup university in the German Startup Monitor. No other university has more respondents than Ludwig Maximilian University, the fourth most frequently chosen alma mater for the surveyed founders last year, did not make the top 10 this time. Prof. Dr. Tobias Kollmann from the University of Duisburg-Essen says:
"The shortage of skilled workers will not only affect large companies, but will also increasingly become a stumbling block for our startups. Startup policy is therefore also education policy, not only for the training of the founders themselves, but also for the jobs they create, especially in the field of digitalization."
Happy founders
Another finding of the 2018 DSM: Startup founders are happier than the German average. 49 percent of participating founders report being very satisfied with their lives, compared to only 32 percent of the general population. The study participants work an above-average amount of time, at just over 56 hours per week. Nevertheless, almost two-thirds are satisfied with their work-life balance.
