Startup Stories

In our section Startup Stories we present to you newcomers as well as established startups. The Munich Startup team interviews entrepreneurs on-site in their offices and shares their impressions with you.

Success Stories feature flagship startups that have already arrived on the market. The Profiles provide you with a deep impression of ambitious young entrepreneurs.

Success Stories

Profiles

17. September 2018

Hawa Dawa: Clean Air for Everyone with IoT and Smart Data

17. September 2018

The Munich startup Hawa Dawa is committed to air quality. Which is appropriate considering that air pollution control is currently the focus of intense debate in Munich. Hawa Dawa has been working on the problem since 2015. We spoke with CEO and founder Karim Tarraf. In Arabic, the term “hawa dawa” roughly means clean air. […]

11. September 2018

When Enthusiasm and Variety Come Together – An Interview with Dr. Therese Tönnies from Qolware

11. September 2018

Neuropsychologist Dr. Therese Tönnies served as a human-machine expert for a company in the healthcare field for some time. Together with partners, she founded Qolware GmbH in 2016, to use wearable technology such as smartwatches to recognize emergencies and health changes in seniors and individuals who are chronically ill. During our interview, the native Frenchwoman […]

6. September 2018

“Anything Is Possible with Good Ideas and Hard Work” – A Profile of Holidu

6. September 2018

The Munich startup Holidu is a search engine for vacation rentals. The company was founded in 2014 by Johannes and Michael Siebers. The two brothers came up with the idea while planning a joint surfing vacation with friends. Now with more than 150 employees, the company offers its vacation rental comparison service in more than […]

3. September 2018

Sensor Startup Blickfeld: “A Major Hype”

3. September 2018

The Munich startup Blickfeld was founded in 2016 and builds LiDAR sensors, which can be used for autonomous driving or IoT applications. Their seed financing has already brought in a 10 million dollar investment. What’s innovative about the technology, and why is there such a major hype at the moment? We spoke with co-founder Dr. […]

A talk with…

28. August 2018

Develop, Test, Revise — A talk with the Digital Product School

28. August 2018

From an idea to a finished digital product: At the Digital Product School, interdisciplinary teams learn how to use agile working methods. We spoke with Sascha Rehbock, Managing Director of the Digital Product School, about the program. What is the Digital Product School? The Digital Product School (DPS) is a three-month training program offered by […]

“The Seeds are Sprouting” – A talk with… Silicon Valley Bank

21. August 2018

“The Seeds are Sprouting” – A talk with… Silicon Valley Bank

21. August 2018

There were a lot of rumors in recent months, but it’s been certain since late May 2018: Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) is now officially represented in Germany. We wanted to know what startups can expect from the new player, what makes the American bank so special and why the German market is so exciting. So […]

Venture Capital for Energy Startups — A talk with BayWa r.e. Energy Ventures

28. June 2018

Venture Capital for Energy Startups — A talk with BayWa r.e. Energy Ventures

28. June 2018

BayWa r.e. Energy Ventures is a young, Munich-based venture capital company. The subsidiary of the BayWa Group invests in energy startups. We were able to talk with Ulrich Seitz, Managing Director at BayWa r.e. Energy Ventures and asked a few questions. Please introduce yourself. BayWa r.e. Energy Ventures was founded in April 2018 as a […]

“A unique peek behind-the-scenes” — A talk with… Startup Grind Munich

21. June 2018

“A unique peek behind-the-scenes” — A talk with… Startup Grind Munich

21. June 2018

The event series Startup Grind Munich invites experienced founders to fireside chats: In an intimate setting, Munich’s startup legends chat about their experiences and their lives as entrepreneurs. One and a half years ago Sabine Flechet and her team revived the networking format in Munich. We spoke to the host. For whom do you host […]

Munich Movers

Customer Feedback Instead of “Hot Air”: an Interview with Business Angel Martin Giese

18. September 2018

Customer Feedback Instead of “Hot Air”: an Interview with Business Angel Martin Giese

18. September 2018

It’s been a long road from starting a school newspaper to becoming a business angel. That’s something Martin Giese knows only too well, as a negotiation coach, investor, lecturer by trade and a startup-enthusiast in general. We spoke with him to find out what is important to him as a business angel, the tips he […]

“We Have a Great Pioneering Spirit at the Moment” — an Interview with Klaus Sailer

7. August 2018

“We Have a Great Pioneering Spirit at the Moment” — an Interview with Klaus Sailer

7. August 2018

Prof. Dr. Klaus Sailer, Professor of Entrepreneurship since 2006 at the Munich University of Applied Sciences and Managing Director of the Strascheg Center for Entrepreneurship (SCE) talks about successful startups from the SCE, social responsibility and the current pioneering spirit in the Munich ecosystem. For anyone who might not be familiar with the Strascheg Center […]

“Don’t Set Any Limits!” – an Interview with Dagmar Schuller from audEERING

30. July 2018

“Don’t Set Any Limits!” – an Interview with Dagmar Schuller from audEERING

30. July 2018

Dagmar Schuller founded her company audEERING in 2012 with a small team and very little seed capital. Building something new and continuously developing suits the founder. She studied economics first and then law, both with a focus on IT. During our interview, Dagmar Schuller told us about the kind of footprint she would like to […]

20. July 2018

A Founder’s Secret Weapon: A Water Gun – an Interview with Rike Brand from Spyra

20. July 2018

Rike Brand is multifaceted. She’s an ethnologist and has a Master’s degree in Public Policy — and is quite multifaceted in many other ways: She was first a cofounder of the Munich wave energy startup SINN Power. Then she founded the water gun startup Spyra with two other partners. She’s done a lot of bootstrapping […]

Good to know

“IoT Lights up the Dark” – How Munich Startups Are Involved

15. February 2018

“IoT Lights up the Dark” – How Munich Startups Are Involved

15. February 2018

The Internet of Things, abbreviated to IoT, is something everyone is talking about. How strong is IoT in Munich? And how is it developing in Germany? Munich Startup went to find out. To begin with, the term should be defined, since not everyone has the same understanding of the Internet of Things. Broadly speaking, the […]

Passion for Creative Work: Cultural and Creative Industries

17. October 2017

Passion for Creative Work: Cultural and Creative Industries

17. October 2017

Music, literature, art, film, design, games — the cultural and creative industries are multi-faceted. Cultural entrepreneurs and experts let us in on how the industries work. Cultural and creative industries sounds like a contradiction in terms at first, with creativity on one side and its economic exploitation in markets on the other. The term “startup” […]

29. September 2017

Germany’s Best Prospects are in Munich

29. September 2017

Munich is doing well — and will continue doing so according to a recent study. The Bavarian capital is once again the city with the best future prospects in Germany. Munich leads the fifth city ranking conducted by the Hamburg Institute of International Economics (HWWI) and Berenberg Private Bank. Of all thirty cities that were […]

Startup Study Deems Munich a Prime Location

11. August 2017

Startup Study Deems Munich a Prime Location