Daan & Lena(33)

Lena and I had a SaaS startup in Tilburg for two years, specialized in HR software for SMEs. It was going well — €200,000 ARR — but to grow further we needed investment. Dutch VCs found us too small; German VCs were interested but wanted us closer to the German customer base. The choice was quickly made: we moved to Berlin, the epicenter of the European startup scene.

The first step was setting up a German GmbH alongside our Dutch BV. Through a specialized startup lawyer in Berlin we established a GmbH with €25,000 Stammkapital. It took eight weeks — Notar, Handelsregister, Finanzamt. The lawyer also arranged our Betriebsnummer at the Bundesagentur für Arbeit, needed to hire employees. Total costs: €6,000 including legal advice.

The Wohnungssuche in Berlin was nightmarish. With two founders without steady German income, no landlord would have us. We started in a furnished Ferienwohnung in Prenzlauer Berg for €1,600 per month — expensive, but it gave us time to search. After three months we found an apartment in Kreuzberg for €1,100 warm through a contact. Networking is everything in the Berlin Wohnungssuche.

The Berlin startup ecosystem is impressive. Factory Berlin, Betahaus and Silicon Allee offer coworking spaces and networking events. We got a spot in the German Accelerator program, which offered us coaching and investor connections. Within six months we closed a Seed round of €500,000 with a Berlin VC. In the Netherlands we would never have raised that amount — the German market is simply bigger and investors think bigger.

German Bürokratie for startups is heavier than in the Netherlands. The Handwerkskammer, the IHK, the Finanzamt — everyone wants forms. The Umsatzsteuervoranmeldung (VAT pre-return) must be filed monthly, not quarterly. And the Jahresmeldung to Sozialversicherung for each employee is an administrative burden. We hired a Steuerberater and a Lohnbüro (payroll office) — costs €600 per month, but indispensable.

After two years in Berlin we have ten employees, €800,000 ARR and plans for a Series A. The city has given us everything we needed: talent (Berlin attracts developers from all over Europe), investors, cheap office space and an international community. My advice to Dutch founders: if you want to conquer the German market, you need to be in it. Working remotely from the Netherlands doesn't work — German clients want to look you in the eye.