#StartupTicker
+++ #StartupTicker +++ STARTUPLAND: Meeting of the TV pitch giants (The Lion’s Den & 2 Minutes – 2 million) +++ amberra closes first fund (100 million) +++ Sdui Group is now called Seven Education +++ Berlin wants to be one +++ YouLend is betting on Berlin +++
What’s up New? In ours #StartupTicker we provide a compact overview of the most important startup news of the day (Friday March 6th).
#STARTUPLAND
STARTUPLAND: Founders. VCs. Visionaries
+++ Our third STARTUPLAND Conference will take place on March 18th at the RheinEnergieStadion in Cologne. A fascinating journey into the startup scene awaits you again – with lectures from successful founders, educational interviews and pitches that inspire. More about STARTUPLAND
Live at STARTUPLAND: Ruth Cremer and Florian Kandler
+++ Since 2017, Ruth Cremer has been pre-screening the candidates for the German TV show “The Lions’ Den” and advising them on numbers and negotiations with investors. Florian Kandler has been supporting founders for seven years in perfecting their pitches for the Austrian version (“2 minutes – 2 million”) of the show. Together they have coached thousands of founders – and unlike most pitch coaches, they were able to see firsthand what happens afterwards: how investors react in the room, what triggers a “yes” and what immediately destroys the momentum of a pitch. In STARTUPLAND they share their most important insights from the world of startup pitches: what investors really pay attention to, which mistakes founders make most often and how to turn a good pitch into a great one. Your topic: Pitch secrets from 16 years on TV
#STARTUPTICKER
amberra
+++ 100 million for young startups! The Berlin financier amberra, the corporate venturing studio of the cooperative financial group Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken, announces the final closing of its first fund (100 million euros). “Around 180 cooperative banks and companies in the group took part, which together represent more than half of the FinanzGruppe’s consolidated balance sheet total,” says a press release. In recent years, the amberra team has already invested in emerging companies such as Impleco, Gardia, LillianCare, ubiMaster and nuuEnergy. In the coming years, the team would like to build a portfolio “of up to 20 bank-related and non-bank solutions”. More about amberra
Sdui Group – Seven Education
+++ A new roof! The busy EdTech Sdui or the Sdui Group now operates under the name Seven Education. The group includes, among others, the brands KidsFox, SchoolFox, Additio App, educa Grade Management, educa AI, Educamos, Konecto and PUPIL. The Koblenz-based company, founded in 2018 by Daniel Zacharias and Jan Micha Kroll, recently raised 95 million euros – including from Bain Capital, HV Capital and the High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF). 32.6 million went to so-called secondaries – i.e. old investors sold their shares to Bain Capital. The prominent financier now holds around 43% of Seven Education. 300 employees currently work for the EdTech group. More about Seven Education
Berlin on the one
+++ Worth reading! The Handelsblatt reports under the headline “Berlin wants to replace Munich as the start-up capital” about the Berlin startup initiative “Berlin auf die Eins”, which is being driven, among others, by Wefox founder Julian Teicke. And that’s what it’s all about: “The city declares its identity crisis to be over. And soon wants to compete with the Paris incubator Station F.” (Handelsblatt) More about Berlin
YouLend
+++ Worth reading! The British credit broker YouLend is expanding its Berlin branch into an EU hub. “The location is expected to grow to around 70 people by the end of the year” – reports Finance Forward. The FinTech, founded in 2015, brokers corporate loans. YouLend has been operating in Germany since 2024. (Finance Forward)
M&A
After a period of adjustment, the M&A market is heading into a crucial year. High liquidity on the buyer side meets a limited supply of compelling targets. More guest article from Klaus Wagner and Thorsten Hackspiel (ox8 Corporate Finance)
#DEALMONITOR
Investments & Exits
+++ Neura Robotics probably collects 1 billion +++ Enpulsion receives 22.5 million +++ Diligent receives 2.1 million +++ Divtax collects 1 million +++ Financial injection for Emproof +++ Bill Kaulitz invests in Glitter Spritz. More in the deal monitor
What else happened recently? That’s always in the #StartupTicker
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