Private Equity in Germany

Prof. Dr. Cordelia Friesendorf is the Academic Director and Professor of International Business Administration at the SRH Campus Hamburg in Germany. In addition to teaching and conducting research, she consults on corporate strategy, sustainability reporting, digital transformation, governance, and technology leadership. As a C-suite executive responsible for strategic planning and transformation within multinational companies, she has worked in both European and Asian markets over the past two decades and has vast experience in the establishment of profitable business divisions, talent management, and business model innovation. Her experience includes authorship, keynote speeches, coaching, and guest lectures at prestigious universities and business schools. This includes Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Toulouse Business School, Groupe sup de La Rochelle, and Haaga Helia University, among others. To address complex issues such as the climate crisis or the growing gap between the rich and the poor in today's knowledge-based global economy, Prof. Dr. Friesendorf advocates collaboration and actively engages governments, businesses, and universities. Navid Haschemi Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Business Administration at Hochschule Fresenius with specialization in international management and marketing management. He completed his Master of Science (M.Sc.) degree in International Management at the International School of Management in Hamburg, Germany in the academic year 2022. During his program, he spent a semester abroad at Edinburgh Napier University gaining knowledge and skills in financial management and consumer behavior.Haschemi’s specialization is overall in the fields of strategy, innovation, and finance. He is currently a consultant at Unternehmer Schmiede and works with local and international clients on digital transformation, change management with a special focus on entrepreneurship and start-up establishment in Hamburg.

• 1 The Imperative of Private Equity in Start-up Financing in Germany.- 1.1 No Equity, No Innovation.- 1.2 The Role of Venture Capital.- 1.3 Research Gap in Start-up Financing.- 1.4 Objectives of the Book.- 1.5 Methodological Approach.- 1.6 Plan of the Book.- 2 The Nature and Characteristics of Start-ups.- 2.1 Start-ups versus Conventional Firms.- 2.2 Start-up Characteristics.- 2.3 Financing Start-ups.- 2.4 Lifecycle and Financing Phases of Start-ups.- 2.4.1 Phase I: Early.- 2.4.1.1 Pre-seed.- 2.4.1.2 Seed.- 2.4.1.3 Start-up.- 2.4.2 Phase II: Expansion.- 2.4.3 Phase III: Late.- 2.4.4 Exit.- 2.5 Challenges Start-ups face in Germany.- 2.6 Germany’s Start-up Financing Environment.- 2.7 Germany’s Off-market Equity Financing Environment.- 3 Digital Platform Start-ups.- 3.1 Going Digital: An Undeniable Reality.- 3.2 Qualifying Characteristics of Digital Platform Start-ups.- 3.3 Drivers of Digital Platform Start-ups.- 3.4 Digital Platform Trends.- 3.5 Digital Platform Start-ups: Four Cases.-3.5.1 Wimdu: at the mercy of a strong competitor.- 3.5.2 Monoqi: stagnation and investor strife.- 3.5.3 Omio: Exponential growth as a financing magnet.- 3.5.4 Medwing: the indispensability of innovativeness.- 3.6 Criterion for Digital Platform Start-up Success in Germany.- 3.7 Distinction between Start-ups and Digital Platform Start-ups.- 4 The Emergence of Entrepreneurial Ecosystems.- 4.1 Status Quo of Germany’s Entrepreneurial Ecosystem.- 4.2 Agglomeration as a Necessary Condition.- 4.3 Transformation via Start-up Networks.- 4.4 Inadequacies and Upcoming Challenges.- 5 Private-Equity as Start-up Financing Source.- 5.1 Features of Private Equity.- 5.2 Status Quo of Private Equity in Germany.- 5.3 Impending and Upcoming Challenges.- 5.4 The Debate on Regulation.- 5.5 Private Equity Volume in Germany.- 6 Venture Capital as Start-up Financing Source.- 6.1 The Beginnings of Venture Capital.- 6.2 Venture Capital Characteristics.- 6.3 Status Quo of Venture Capital in Germany.- 6.4 ExpectedVenture Capital Growth in Germany.- 6.5 Venture Capital Volume in Germany.- 7 Venture Capital as a Subset of Private Equity.- 7.1 Structural Differences between Private Equity and Venture Capital7.2 Decision-Making Criteria in Private Equity.- 7.2.1 Stereotypical target company approach.- 7.2.2 Non-stereotypical basic targeting approach.- 7.2.3 Target criteria before acquisition.- 7.2.4 Private Equity Investment Criteria.- 7.2.4.1 Finance.- 7.2.4.2 Strategy.- 7.2.4.3 Management.- 7.2.4.4 Product and service.- 7.2.4.5 Additional aspects.- 7.2.5 Venture Capital Investment Criteria.- 7.2.6 Financial Resource Crunch may hamper Start-up growth.- 8 Research Design.- 8.1 Helferrich’s (2014) Guided Expert Interview.- 8.2 Research Ethics.- 8.3 Research Questions and Hypotheses.- 8.4 Choice and Appraisal of Method.- 8.5 Methodological Approach.- 8.6 Selection of Experts.- 8.7 Interviewee Details.- 8.8 Guideline-based Expert Interview.- 8.9 Data preparation based on Mayring’s (2010) Content Analysis Method.- 8.10 Limitations of Employed Research Method.- 9 Research Analyses and Results.- 9.1 Founding and.- or Managing Team.- 9.1.1 Diversity of Team Skills, Tech-world Knowhow and Marketing.- 9.1.2 Conviction of Idea and Founder.- Team Drive.- 9.1.3 Sales Force and Process-Orientation.- 9.1.4 Multiple Founders, Clarity of Goal, and Ambition.- 9.1.5 Pitching Quality and Argumentative Efficiency as vital to Seed Investors.- 9.1.6 Conclusion.- 9.2 Innovativeness.- 9.2.1 Uniqueness and Market Differentiation.- 9.2.2 Functionality of Business Idea.- 9.2.3 Business Model as a Solution.- 9.2.4 Patents and Buyer Power.- 9.2.5 Conclusion.- 9.3 Market Attractiveness.- 9.3.1 Value of the Online Market.- 9.3.2 Size of the Identified Market.- 9.3.3 Minimum Viable Product and Uncontested Markets.- 9.3.4 Potential Market Monopoly and Niche-Building.- 9.3.5 Conclusion.- 9.4 Financial Metrics.- 9.4.1 Business Plan as Nice-to-Have.- 9.4.2 Customer Acquisition as Key Metric.- 9.4.3 Customer Retention Rate and Key Account Management.- 9.4.4 Conclusion.- 9.5 Scalability.- 9.5.1 Scalability enhances Valuation.- 9.5.2 Pace of Critical Mass.- 9.5.3 Exponential User Growth.- 9.5.4 Scalability as Founders’ Attribute.- 9.5.5 Conclusion.- 9.6 Prominent Investor.- 9.6.1 Investors as Endorsers.- 9.6.2 Tier-1 Investors enhance Start-up Competitiveness.- 9.6.3 Conclusion.- 9.7 Revenue Growth.- 9.8 Location.- 10 Summary and Recommendations.- 10.1 Research Design Summary.- 10.2 Discussion of Results.- 10.2.1 Primary Criteria.- 10.2.2 Secondary Criteria.- 10.2.3 Tertiary Criteria.- 10.2.4 Non-Criteria.- 10.2.5 Conclusion.- 10.3 Implications for Venture Capital Strategy.- 10.3.1 Skillset and Team Structure.- 10.3.2 Sales Mapping.- 10.3.3 Team Dynamics in Hardships.- 10.3.4 Dynamic Capabilities.- 10.3.5 Drive for Innovativeness.- 10.3.6 Elucidation of Unique Selling Proposition.- 10.3.7 Problem-Solving Approach.- 10.3.8 Indispensability of Online Market.- 10.3.9 Niche-Market Value.- 10.3.10 Expected Customer Growth, Retention and Churn Rate.- 10.3.11 Clarification of Scalability Potential.- 10.3.12 Track Record of Venture Capital Investor.- 10.3.13 Team-Building and Long-Term Skill-Planning.- 10.4 Implications for Research.