#StartupTicker
+++ #StartupTicker +++ STARTUPLAND: Quitting as a Power Move +++ Barzahlen team reports back with finperks +++ DefenseTech Swarm Biotactics: The cockroaches are on the loose +++ niceshops grows to 169 million in sales +++
What’s up New? In ours #StartupTicker we provide a compact overview of the most important startup news of the day (Friday March 13th).
#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
Masterclass at STARTUPLAND: Quitting as a Power Move: What Founders Get Wrong About Letting Go
Most founders consider perseverance to be the highest virtue. Agnieszka Walorska was one of them for a long time. She fought her way to the finish line at the Ironman Frankfurt in 40 degree temperatures in the shade – and was no longer able to run the following year. She stuck with her first company for too long. Then she founded a second one – and did something different: she quit relatively early. In STARTUPLAND, Agnieszka argues that quitting is not the opposite of perseverance – but rather a part of it. Based on her experiences with three companies and four Ironman competitions, she shows how to tell the difference between pain that makes you grow and pain that destroys you – and why founders are systematically bad at making this decision.
#STARTUPTICKER
finperks
+++ Old friends are back! Achim Bönsch, Sebastian Seifert and Andreas Veller (all previously Barzahlen and viafintech) are developing an “API infrastructure layer for the global prepaid market” (gift cards, eCash and prepaid cards) with finperks. “Banks need cashback to retain and inspire users. HR platforms need benefits as a logical extension to further develop customers. None of them want to set up prepaid infrastructure themselves. They just want to get involved,” says founder Seifert. The New York investor Motive Partners, the Berlin investor seed+speed Ventures (Carsten Maschmeyer) and Co. recently invested $4 million in the young FinTech. Barzahlen, founded in 2011 by Achim Bönsch, Florian Swoboda and Sebastian Seifert, was acquired by the payment service provider Paysafe in 2021 (valuation: 100+ million). Alstin, i.e. Carsten Maschmeyer, was once one of the company’s investors. The well-known company is once again relying on the proven team. More about finperks
Swarm Biotactics
+++ Pure SciFi! Among the many exciting DefenseTech startups, Swarm Biotactics continues to stand out. DefenseTech from Kassel, which was founded in 2024 by Dedrone founder Jörg Lamprecht and series founder Moritz Strube, is working on creating an army of live cockroaches for use in war zones. Now the company can present its first results! “One year ago, this didn’t exist. Today, we deploy programmable cyborg insect swarms – field-tested and operational with paying NATO customers. What you’re seeing is real. Living organisms, controlled through bioelectronic neural interfaces, carrying sensors, edge AI, and secure comms. Moving as a coordinated unit. Scaling through breeding, not factories,” the team says on Linkedin. Since its founding, the team has already raised 13 million euros – in particular from Vertex Ventures from the USA, Possible Ventures from Munich and the Cologne investor Capnamic Ventures. (Linkedin) More about Swarm Biotactics
niceshops
+++ Number check! The e-commerce company niceshops announces 169 million euros. “EBITDA increased to 8 million euros. Around 2 million packages were sent from the logistics center in Saaz, southeast Styria, to 80 countries in 2025,” the company said. There are still good stories in e-commerce too. The company continues to expect good development and plans to “hire around 50 additional employees in 2026”. As a reminder: the company separated 20% of its employees in 2024. Niceshops currently employs around 400 people. (incubator) More about niceshops
#DEALMONITOR
Investments & Exits
+++ DeepTech startup Qdrant gets 50 million +++ SpaceTech Airmo collects 5 million +++ HealthTech heycare receives 4 million +++ Another Earth gets 3.5 million +++ Remi Health collects 3 million +++ Neuramancer collects 1.7 million. More in the deal monitor
What else happened recently? That’s always in the #StartupTicker
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