German Startup Monitor 2024

Berlin, 08 October 2024 – Berlin is regarded as Germany’s startup capital and attracts international and national talent in a wide range of industries and sectors every year thanks to its attractive and innovative startup ecosystem. Founders from the creative industries and the technology sector in particular like to settle in the metropolis on the Spree. But it is not only in Berlin, but also in many other cities and regions of Germany that startups are being founded. The Startup Association’s annual German Startup Monitor analyses how German startups are developing as a whole, which trends, phenomena and challenges are shaping the scene and which tendencies can be identified. Results and findings that, as a reflection of the German ecosystem as a whole, provide important impetus for regional stakeholders, from founders to investors and companies. It is therefore worth taking a closer look at the study.

The German Startup Monitor has been compiled annually by the Startup Association since 2013 and is based on a nationwide survey of startup founders. The aim is to collect knowledge in the form of data and facts about the German startup ecosystem, to update this continuously and to embed it in a current economic, political and social context and thus support startup practice and activity in Germany. The authors of the German Startup Monitor 2024 come to a (surprisingly) positive conclusion despite the tense overall economic situation: Founders are optimistic about the future. This is due to their adaptability and active involvement in shaping the necessary transformation in the economy and society. The motto is: solve real problems and increase productivity. The entire ecosystem is characterised and changed by various focal points such as ecology, DeepTech and spin-offs. Specifically, the study identifies ten key findings:

1. Struggling job impulse: While the average number of employees decreases from 18.9 to 16.7, 79.8% of founders predict an improvement in their business situation by the end of 2025.
2. Focus on profitability: The strategic focus of many startups is on their profitability. Fittingly: The share of sales with business customers increased from 70.4% in the previous year to 74.4%.
3. Sustainability as a clear commitment: German startups continue to make environmental sustainability a priority and self-assignment to the green economy is increasing slightly (from 46.7% to 48.1%).
4. Fewer women founders: The proportion of German women startup founders fell from 20.7 % to 18.8 %.
5. Universities as a driver of startups: More startups are supported by universities (55.1%) and emphasise good networking above all.
6. More DeepTech: Meanwhile, 11.4% of German startups belong to the DeepTech category. Their most important characteristics: The latest scientific findings and technologies as well as longer development times for their products.
7. Fewer corporate collaborations: Although the proportion of startups cooperating with companies has stabilised this year despite a steady decline since 2020, only 37.5% of the startups surveyed rate the opportunities for cooperation with the business sector as good.
8. More internationality: The proportion of international employees in the German startup ecosystem is 30.8 %. English is the working language in 34.9 % of companies (in Berlin, this figure is as high as 55.8 %).
9. Early desire to found a company: Six out of ten founders develop the idea of running and setting up their own company in their youth or during their studies or training.
10. Expectations from politics: The digitalisation of administration (58.5%) and making the labour market more flexible (59.5%) are key expectations that startups have from the federal government.

Despite the positive outlook of many startups towards the future mentioned at the beginning, according to the German Startup Monitor, it is now important to develop political and economic framework conditions that release the dynamics of the startup ecosystem and transfer existing potential to the entire economy. The authors of the study also positively emphasise the growing interface between research and entrepreneurship, but at the same time stress the need to invest in innovation – also against the backdrop of a feared withdrawal of the established economy from the startup ecosystem due to the economic situation. What can help? Persuasion and the networking of stakeholders. An approach that is certainly feasible or is already being implemented in Berlin, thanks to numerous startup and technology centres, the Berlin Startup Unit and a generally excellent infrastructure. The outlook for the future is therefore not only positive, but also full of expectation – however, the extent to which expectations regarding growth, internationalisation and progress will actually be fulfilled will only become clear in the coming year – namely when the next German Startup Monitor is published.