😎 Who else wants to get sh*t done? A new project!

Issue #72 (09 Oct) – send a fax online; struggling fine dining scene; coffee with Tino; German Startup Monitor; nerdy stores in Berlin and the promise of Black Semiconductor.

Oct 09, 2023

👋 Welcome to new subscribers! We are close to 4,500 now.

Programming note: I need to recalibrate! I have published 93 posts in 74 weeks since the first issue. While on the hamster wheel, you sometimes forget WHY you are doing it. That’s why this and the next issue will be a bit shorter (no jobs and fewer snippets)—I want to put some thoughts into Inspiration snippets and do a content plan. Plus, I’ve turned a year older and have friends visiting me.

I am ALSO starting a new project, “Get sh*t done!” Sessions for people who want to get [project/reading/lecture/study/coding/etc] done. In the Pilot, we’ll meet online and work together for one hour daily for two weeks. Imagine all the sh*t you’ll get done. You can read more about it and sign up for a pilot (+ future iterations) on this link.

🌟 Handpicked Kleinanzeigen & Tech Events

🎪 Events:

B2B SaaS Partnership Meetup Berlin, Berlin SaaS Week Edition | Wed, 11.10 at 18.00 | Manifesto Market Berlin
AI: Ethics and Legal Aspects seminar by EPI | Tue, 17.10 at 14.00 | Online
Female Founders Day 2023 | Thu, 12.10 at 16.30 | FluxBau

😎 Cool stuff:

we did not look or offer anything cool this week

🔍 Searching for roles:

Joffre is seeking a role as a Software or Data Engineer. 3+ years of experience in tech teams and is an organizer of Hackathon with more than 500 participants.
Joffre is alone, which is great for him. Maybe you also want to be featured?

Submit your ad

👀 Handpicked jobs

Jobs are off this and the next issue. Readers’ submissions are still on: a great chance to stand out! So keep them coming:

📨 Readers submitted

Blacklane - Senior Supply Partner Acquisition Manager
🇩🇪 hypr - PR Manager:in
submit yours on the link; it’s FREE!

Positions from the last two weeks in the Handpicked online database.

🗞 Top inspiration snippets

☕️ Coffee with Tino Schmutzler

We are back this week with Tino—he is a well-known name in the Berlin startup scene and is the founder of Berlin Startup School, currently also active at Startups for Tomorrow. Here is what he thinks you should check out:

Learn from a Milk Shake (YT, watch) – This is the only video you need to watch as an entrepreneur. In less than 5 minutes, you will understand how to develop your products to become successful.
Drop your product! (read) – Honestly, I have never read the book, but I know the essence of it REALLY well. So make sure you know it, too (or read the book). I have seen quite a few entrepreneurs fail because they didn't talk about their product until it was ready. You will understand why this is the biggest mistake you can make.
More focus for you (Spotify, listen) – What helps me the most to get into deep work is music. Here is an inspiration for you to get more things done.

🇩🇪 Berlin & Other good stuff

💪 Remember, we can get sh*t done together. Put yourself on the list for the PILOT or future iterations here. It’ll be fun!
📠 Germany, in some parts, still runs on fax machines. So Adi prepared this fantastic guide on how to send faxes online. It’s almost an email, but it isn’t!
👨🏻‍🍳 Here is an interesting discussion (Insta comments) with a lot of insights on the struggling fine dining scene in Berlin after the announcement that Ernst is closing (in the meantime, Lode & Stijn is also closing). What do you think about fine dining in general? I find it cool occasionally because it hits the wallet. I’ve also had experiences when the explanations about the dishes felt übetrieben.
👀 Berlin is still “cheap” for students compared to Frankfurt am Main and Munich, but still much more expensive compared to Magdeburg or Chemnitz (€294):

🏭 Interested in the German economic outlook? Here is an excellent analysis by Dominik Hermle & Simon Grimm. They look into supply-side limitations: natural gas, demographics and bureaucracy. Related: natural gas reserves are at 95%, a bit more than two weeks earlier than last year.
🤓 It was hard to pick one amongst several interesting charts in the German Startup Monitor 2023 (n=1825) ecosystem report, but I went for capital needs in the next 12 months (probably underreported: let’s hope most of the companies make it, but it will be hard for many). It's worth to have a look at the whole report.
🎨 UX Design Awards Spring 2024 is Open for Submissions until 30 November. You can submit your best work in three categories.
😔 Bad news: Real, a supermarket chain, is bankrupt; Galeries Lafayette will leave Berlin next year; N26 laid off 14 HR employees; Sono Motors (Munich) 24 employees.
r/berlin choices of the week are this discussion on the reason for the strength of Berlin subcultures (spoiler alert: cheap real estate in the 90s) and this thread on good nerdy stores in Berlin. I especially like the name of one: All the problems in this world.
💬 Business Briefly:
1. Two CFO changes: Taxfix (Mohamed Omaizat) and wefox (Jonathan Wismer).
2. Black Semiconductor, an Aachen-based company, is reportedly close to securing a €500 million Series-A funding round, 70% of which will come from public funds. Their semiconductor chips are claimed to be, not the usual 10x, but at least 10,000 times more efficient than conventional ones. Sounds revolutionary. Careers.
3. Clark, a Berlin-based insurance tech startup, acquired the Schutzklick app from Simplesurance. This followed a share swap with Allianz X that made Allianz a minority stakeholder in Clark.
4. Musk's Twitter, now X, saw US ad revenue dive in 2022: at least a 55% monthly drop, 78% in December.
5. Continental and Munich-based Deep Drive partnered to enhance electromobility. Following a €15M funding round with BMW and VC firms, Deep Drive aims to increase electric vehicle range with innovative wheel-hub tech. Careers.
6. Scalable Capital, based in Munich, now offers securities loans, allowing customers to borrow money secured against their portfolios.
7. Cannamedical Pharma, a Cologne-based medicinal cannabis company, forecasts 7-10x revenue boost due to cannabis legalization and plans an IPO for 2024/25 to fund growth. They hold 25% market share in Germany. Pair this with this previously published analysis of weed companies from Cate at Tech.eu.

💸 Recently funded in Berlin & Germany

Zeitstrom | Berlin | Charging infrastructure provider for electric vehicles. | €100M+ (unidsclosed & estimated) | Careers.
Habyt | Berlin | Provider of flexible housing solutions. | €40M | Careers.
Kranus Health | Berlin/Munich | Integrated digital healthcare solution focusing on urology | $8.5M for extended Series A | Careers.
Nexwafe | Freiburg | Aims to advance solar energy solutions through innovative wafer technology. | €150M | Careers.
getpaid | Düsseldorf | A pan-European infrastructure and payment company targeting platforms and marketplaces. | $6M | No careers.
Predium | Munich | All-in-one software solution for assessing ESG balance and CO2 reduction in buildings. | €4.5M | Careers.
happyhotel | Offenburg | Cloud-based software to maximize hotel revenues. | €2M | Careers.
Narravero | Münster | System solution for supply chain documentation, individualized marketing/packaging, and digital product passes. | €2M | No careers.
Kloster Kitchen | Reichenschwand | Fresh ginger in a bottle. | €1M | Careers.