How to Build a Global Startup Hub 101 (2/2) | European Startup Pulse
Executive Summary
Are you looking to create an innovative startup hub? Learn how Munich became a global center for deep tech and find out what your city can do to create its own thriving ecosystem with UnternehmerTUM in the center. This is part two of a series within our Sub-Podcast European Startup Pulse with DEEP Ecosystems. In part one we saw Odense in Denmark, becoming a global powerhouse in robotics, spanning from the success of just one company. Tune in to learn more.
Follow Us on Social Media!
If you are listening to our content for the 2nd time please consider following us on social media.
First Episode: How to Build a Global Startup Hub (1/2) | Startuprad.io
Our Sponsor Startupraven
A startup’s journey can be a tough one, but it doesn’t have ́to feel like you’re alone on your quest! Invest in others’ success with us by joining our community of entrepreneurs who are building amazing things every day — no matter how big or small their ideas may seem at first glance.
The best way to find investors and cooperation partners for early-stage startups. Sign up here:
About the Pulse of the European Startup Ecosystem
The European startup scene is changing fast. There are new players, old ones fading away, and even more to come in their place- all vying for a piece of this growing pie! To avoid getting left behind, you need regular updates on what’s going on so that our entrepreneurs can stay one step ahead when building or investing in companies here. That’s why we started the “Pulse of the European Startup Ecosystem” which will provide you with quarterly podcasts chronicling different aspects related to startup activity across European Hubs, supported by the data from the specialized analytics company DEEP Ecosystems.
The Video Interview is set to go live on Thursday, June 9th, 2023
The Audio Podcast
You can subscribe to our podcasts here.
The Boulder Thesis
One of the starting points of DEEP Ecosystems is The Boulder Thesis. It was poropesed by Brad Feld (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brad_Feld). He formulated it as a basis to explain the success of the local Boulder, CO startup community.
- Entrepreneurs must lead the startup community
- The leaders must have a long-term commitment
- The startup community must include anyone who wants to participate in it
- The startup community must have continual activities that engage in the entire entrepreneurial stack
Example Munich, Germany
Here one of the centerpieces of the success of Munich is the institution of UnternehmerTUM, part of Technical University Munich (TU München or TUM) which trained entrepreneurs from its own students but also has programs for all interested. The hub in Munich focused on deep tech and it really blossomed when deep tech became sexy.
Also, many large companies do have a large presence in Munich, training capable employees, managers, entrepreneurs, investors and engineers including, but not limited to Google (with a development center), IBM (Watson Center), Apple, Cisco Systems, HP, Intel, McAffee, Amazon Web Services, Airbus, Adobe, Microsoft, Nokia Solutions and Networks, NTT Data, Oracle, T-Systems, VMware, Attos Systems, Siemens, BMW, Check24, EOS, Epcos, Fujitsu Technology Solutions, Infineon, MTU, Scout24, Telefonica Germany, Travian Games, and Osram just to name a few.
Interviews with Companies Mentioned:
UnternehmerTUM
ProGlove
Find the full presentation (you have seen in our YouTube Video) here:
Tune in to our Internet Radio Station here:
Feedback
We are always looking for ways to make the show better. Please take this opportunity and share your feedback with us! You can also suggest topics or interview partners that you’d like featured on future episodes by leaving a comment below — we would love to hear from YOU!!!
https://forms.gle/mLV6mVKwGwKuut8BA
The Interviewer
This interview was conducted by Jörn “Joe” Menninger, startup scout, founder, and host of Startuprad.io. Reach out to him:
Keep Up to Date
Here is our publication calendar: https://calendar.google.com/calendar/embed?src=012i27ak525qi3smgjl8v9tbio%40group.calendar.google.com&ctz=Europe%2FBerlin
All Links and Show Notes
Here is our blog post:
Topics Discussed in this Interview
In this interview, we are talking about
#Innovation #startup #startups #startupradio #entrepreneurship #entrepreneur #business #motivation #success #entrepreneurship #mindset #goals #entrepreneurlife #lifestyle #businessowner #believe #positivevibes #branding #innovation #techstartups #germany #startupinvesting #startupnews #startupcompany #startuphub #deepecosystems #startupecosystem
Automated Transcript
[0:00] Music.
[0:21] Welcome everybody welcome back to the second part of how to build a startup Hub again in pain in cooperation with deep ecosystems and I would like to welcome Thomas Custer’s here with me hey how you doing.
[0:36] Hi how you doing.
I’m doing great thank you and thank you for being back last time we talked about the boulder hypothesis how it is Imagine startup hops work we’ve seen the Hidden Gem of a dancer in Denmark how it worked for them and now we’ll get a little bit closer to home in your example of your home city of meaning right.
[1:02] Yes I am from Munich and I’m also back in Munich I have spent a bit of time away so I’ve been five years in Italy and have worked a lot with the southern European and Eastern European ecosystem but since two years I’m back again in Munich.
And yeah I see that has a lot of things have changed so Munich has evolved a lot over the time when I started.
It was basically everyone was always ashamed how we are not as good as Pearl in our ecosystem is so small we are we’re not.
We’re not top-notch now what can we do and everything was quite dim and dark and now when I came back I saw that unique had for unicorns or even five I think and this is one of the fastest growing startup hubs in Europe.
[1:59] So things have changed can you tell us how they changed.
[2:05] Yeah that’s a good question I mean if I remember back then I was starting at dyneema to the Technical University so I was a recent graduate and my first job was at the University entrepreneurship Center and yeah so we tried the basics.
Basically learning from other hubs in the world creating a mentoring program for for.
Scientists and researchers how to start companies based on deep Tech and that was very nice sent back then so the.
[2:47] The Outlook was that at some point.
These high-tech solutions would be very interesting for large corporates and they would be willing to invest in the development of high-tech um and then they’re the startup scene would take off but back then that was not the case not there was maybe some hackathons that was maybe some meetups but the corporates didn’t really invest they didn’t have corporate Venture funds they didn’t have like the.
The willingness to.
Really commit to working with startups and that has changed quite drastically now I think the emergence of corporate Venture Capital was extremely strong over the time and also this let’s say.
[3:36] Aversion to invest in Hardware stop maybe you remember that it was a everyone was saying that.
Reese’s are not investing in Hardware exactly I remember and their Hardware is important because there are a lot of interesting companies in Munich headquarter for example the insurance giant aliens BMW will get back to that soon mean agree the reinsurance giant cement and Siemens energy as well as empty you think about like a really big engines talk about cruise ship size and something like that.
[4:13] Exactly don’t forget the automotive industry BMW being in Munich and all many others as well in the vicinity Audi and English that um and they have also been popping up already back then they had events they were there but it’s their behavior changed quite quite a lot now from the beginning maybe more exploration learning marketing.
Then to Growing their Venture Capital arms and investing in Pilots with startups and that helped a lot these Hardware startups now because at the Technical University of Munich.
Most of these startups they are hardware-based so.
Most is maybe wrong but there’s a lot of Hardware based ones I remember a company called Pro glove that is a.
Glove that is basically has a haptic sensors on it.
We link the interview down here in the show notes we have I do believe back from 2018 that we did when they’ve been yeah with a drum axle rated New York and watch the video because in the background there is one World Trade Center.
[5:26] I should taste it yes sir I mean you see you you talk to them they have become big they have a succeeded and when I first met them in the Technical University that was just an idea it took them very long to get like the the support from clients and pilot customers Etc and now their company is is growing and they are successful but it took very long because it’s Hardware it’s not software it’s not scalable in that sense so it.
Took a bit of time.
[6:02] Munich has I think solved that riddle now that was something that other ecosystems that were successful before especially I would say London and Berlin didn’t focus on they focused a lot on the very scalable software companies a lot of fintech.
These are all fields that Munich is not so famous for no there’s not not a huge fintech seen in Munich there’s some but also more on the technical side more like the.
Back end of this infrastructure that Banks can use that we have in Munich but the main sectors that are interesting here are the manufacturing the AI and data really the hardcore engineering biotech Life Sciences these are these are really really interesting sectors in Munich so.
That I think was hard to solve so to find the PATH how to crows to grow startups in.
These sectors there was not such a clear path from other ecosystems that you could copy.
No but Munich managed and they reap the benefits of their hard work and after 10 years now you see like the emergence of it of a very very competitive Global ecosystem here in Munich.
[7:26] And as I said how did it start it started all with the idea of individuals now one we highlighted the last time already helped would turn in Burger I was a PhD student and came up with the idea to create entrepreneurship Center in Munich that’s an entrepreneur but also others like the.
I’m the founder of bits and pretzels it’s a very successful conference International Conference for startups in Munich that helps to bring the international connection to the ecosystem it’s also a start-up founder I think that they did something release really smart they basically put a start-up Conference during the time of Oktoberfest.
Yes it happens during Oktoberfest that’s of course very attractive before that they basically did the conference directly after dld conference which already was a very successful International Conference in Munich and they kind of took the speakers that were anyhow in Munich and ask them to stay a couple of.
Days longer to go to the second conference so they were always very entrepreneurial and clever about positioning.
[8:39] And this way they managed to get speakers like Barack Obama Richard Branson and and others very high calibers and that makes them attractive as a let’s say a latecomer to the conference game because web Summit Mobile World Congress the next vet these conferences / they already existed before and bits and pretzels is a bit of a late Comer.
But did a strong statement there.
So also here the Munich ecosystem was driven by entrepreneurs who saw an opening and really went entrepreneurial about creating this this conference.
[9:22] And we met a dad that Susanna Clapton likely did some Financial commitments there because she inherited large parts of BMW.
Yes and I think this is a important story here that the entrepreneurs that created the ecosystem in Munich they knew how to partner up.
Also had matured and burger was able to convince the here of BMW to invest in the Munich.
Ecosystem at the Technical University and that is an important effort the same is true for the Starstruck Center for entrepreneurship which is at the University of applied sciences staszek is the name of an entrepreneur from the let’s say more traditional economy that invested in this entrepreneurship Center as well plug in play now Plug and Play an international player came in and partnered with the insurance companies in Munich like we made re and Allianz to create the plug-and-play insured Tech Hub in Munich which is today one of the most successful Plug and Play accelerators if you will in the world now so it’s really a success case not every plug-and-play accelerator is such a great success but this one really stands out.
[10:40] Exactly let us life a little bit in because this time last time we talked for more than 30 minutes we decide to cut it a little bit shorter this time and you are a tiny bit under time pressure right yes I have to leave for another meeting but I’m happy to share a bit more about Munich and just can show here now what they are today not a fourth fastest growing up in Europe not by our numbers so the the growth of Munich is really impressive you’re also the unicorns that we see in that have emerged in Munich already we had in 2021.
And as always.
One of the cofounders of flicks bus we link the interview down here in the show notes that’s very good I’ve known you know them all and you have interviewed them all so that’s that’s great I think pisanio agile Roberts and scalable capital r the.
Latest additions to the to the mix so yeah Munich is really an interesting Hub and if you want to.
[11:43] Create a mini Munich and say like how can I create something similar in my hometown in my region then I think what you can learn from Munich is that they’ve created a strong narrative about combining corporate leadership with high-tech Innovation also they really set here.
This high-tech Innovation from the university is the beacon of success for.
Corporates in the future so they must invest that definitely wasn’t the case in other ecosystems so they um ventured out and really made that happen in Munich they managed to bring industrialists like Susannah clutton or Wellington capital or Buddha or entrepreneurs like Felix has into the mix so they convinced people to invest in that new emerging ecosystem that was more techy that was more hardware-based than others and these leaders stood up and set yes that’s exactly what we want we want stand up for this technological innovation Maybe.
In contrast to what was already happening in Berlin which was more software-based.
[12:58] And also here this cutting-edge definitely was their tier Munich as one of the leading universities and one thing that I want to mention as well in the communities there is one program that really stands out it’s called the center for digital technology management see DTM.
That’s a community of very talented students from both the University of Munich which is more.
Like a non technical subject and Tu Munich which are the technical subject and this community at ctm is really close.
Knit Community very tight we are a lot of very talented people in Munich come together and think about technology Trends and basically as a byproduct of that Community we see a lot of startups emerge they’re not.
Primarily focused on creating startups they’re not an incubator and accelerator they are study program for the best students.
But that produces a lot of Founders because they have a lot of Founders in the alumni.
And they Inspire the youngsters to do the same so here the community really.
Works and again you can learn for your own Hub how to create any Community from Munich.
[14:14] Finally maybe again I can give a quick idea about what we do so if you want to create an ecosystem in your home region rather than moving away to London or Berlin the deep startup ecosystem accelerator might be for you we are an accelerator that supports the growth of new ecosystems.
So if you have an idea for turning your region into Innovation Hub or creating a new vertical ecosystem in town that already has an ecosystem for classical let’s say digital Innovation but you want to focus on something new.
[14:52] Please reach out and think about joining our deep startup ecosystem accelerator.
[14:58] Yes sure everybody would like to learn more they can go down here in the show notes and actually Thomas you know what we achieved basically if you throw both part together we will get until to the average length of a startuprad.io oh interview again this one was a little bit shorter unless I enjoyed it very very much Thomas.
[15:33] Music.
[15:40] At www.startrekphase2.de Ohio remember sharing is caring.
[15:47] Music.
