Private Equity in Germany

Start-ups are emerging, non-conventional enterprises that enter established markets with radically different products, displace incumbents, create new markets, and promote economic growth through innovation. Start-ups are often faced with many challenges that may threaten their survival, which can often be overcome by securing steady financial support. Start-ups are high-risk enterprises that are unattractive to conventional financiers, but absolutely suited to private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) investors who seek rewards and are therefore willing to accept risk. The success stories of global digital platform start-ups have attracted PE investors in particular. When investing in a digital platform start-up in Germany, what criteria do PE and VC investors look for? How should entrepreneurs prepare for VC funding? What strategies should they use? The authors examine these questions in this book and provide a comprehensive analysis of the German start-up, digital platform, PE, and VC ecosystems. The book exposes entrepreneurs, investors, mergers and acquisitions experts, regulators and policy-makers to the market's workings and pain points so that they can help create a German start-up ecosystem that is as functional as the other organized industries.

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.