Private Equity in Germany: Venture Capital for Digital Platform Start-Ups

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.

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.