[Jdam]

I’ve lived in Berlin for some years. What I‘ve seen from most of the startup scene there was that people are more collecting memories than building businesses. The predominant mindset was like „we don’t want to take over the world and we will most likely fail anyway“.

The successful ones, like Dubsmash, leave for the US after a while.

If I, as a German, was to create a startup in Europe today, I’d do so in London.

[earthnail]

I am German and co-founded a start-up in berlin. After it failed, one of my co-founders and me tried again - this time in London. Boy, what a difference.

Seed funding, tech talent, tax situation, and lawyers to help you start your company - all on a better level. Yes, living was more expensive, but we actually enjoyed that - it put pressure on us and everyone working with us.

We had a highly successful exit in less than a year.

[solveit]

What did you do that you could exit in less than a year?

[groestl]

> collecting memories than building businesses

The lifestyle entrepreneur is a phenomenon that you can find in the US as well.

[k__]

Guess it's predominant in Berlin, people are as removed from business thinking as possible up there.

[_petronius]

I would humbly submit that your sample size is too small. Even just the Rocket Internet output is a pretty good indicator of the size and diversity of successful startups tsrgetting the German market specifically (and thus with no incentive to move out to the US).

[Jdam]

I‘ve worked at a major company that is more or less controlled by Rocket and my direct neighbor was the Germany-CEO of one of their successfuller ventures, so I think I have a rather good picture of Rocket. However, I think they have not met expectations. They have not become huge, and are just doing okay, what I consider as a failure, given their goals.

[k__]

Yes, but that was to be expected from a company founded by a bunch of copy-cats.

[konschubert]

Rocket Internet is the opposite of innovation.

If anything, the success of Rocket Internet proves the point that Germany is not good at startups.