Business Angels: Start-up funding in Bavaria

Their approach is especially successful in Bavaria, which the  figures published by the HTGF in February at the “Business Angels Europe – Conference in Angel Investment Research 2016” event hosted by the Business Angels Netzwerk Deutschland (BAND) show. According to these figures, start-ups all over Germany benefit, even during the seed stage, from funding amounting to EUR 30 million, of which EUR 9 million goes to Bavaria. And with more than one-third of the EUR 177 million going to start-ups in Bavaria, the state can also maintain its leading position in the following financing rounds in terms of raised funds.

Funding at new peak level

Bavaria's advantage is no coincidence: With more than 200 listed Business Angels BayStartUP, for example, is one of the largest European investor networks. Here, start-ups are not the only ones to benefit from the funding; investors can also take advantage of exclusive meetings and personal support. The result: the capital of EUR 9 million accounts for almost one-fourth of the total funding of Bavarian start-ups in the 2015 business year – almost twice as much as the previous year. Thus, overall start-up funding in the state set a new record.

Financial and non-material support

Funding through Business Angels provides very unique advantages: on the one hand as lead investors, they often make financing rounds possible in the first place and, on the other hand, they secure additional funds for young businesses, for example from public investors. Furthermore, Business Angels not only provide support in form of money, they also help start-ups with their professional expertise and their established networks. Something that Dr. Carsten Rudolph, Managing Director of BayStartUP also appreciates: “The commitment by the Business Angels is remarkable. These wealthy individuals with entrepreneurial backgrounds increasingly recognise the opportunities offered by Bavaria's start-ups. Bavaria may not come close to the sums invested by large funds in the US in form of venture capital, but the growing Business Angel scene basically creates a new capital market especially in the very early start-up stages. And there is more than enough capital in Germany.”

The personal contact between investors and start-ups is, for example, established by BayStartUP in the Venture Conferences. Here, selected entrepreneurs have the opportunity to present their ideas in front of venture capital representatives, public investors and Business Angels from all over Germany. Of course, these events also provide a platform for extensive networking in addition to the presentations and keynotes. The next event for start-ups from Bavaria, who are active in the Internet, software and mobile sectors, is set for May 11, 2016.