If you’re on planning an expansion to Germany as a startup or a scaleup, then take some lessons learned by heart. Silicon Canals interacted with one of the Berlin-based business developers from EIT Digital – Wolfgang Kniejski. Here are the top pieces of advice that came out of the discussion.
#1 Change the approach
“Each country needs a different approach when it comes to marketing and sales. In Germany, especially in the deep tech area, it is important to rethink your marketing strategies and plan the budget expenditures accordingly. For example, there was a French cybersecurity company (the name can’t be disclosed) that came to Germany and when they raised money from a German investor, one of the investors insisted that they should have a ‘German Champion Board member,’ a high-level expert who knows the cybersecurity market, it’s behaviour, structure, circumstances and who has the capability to provide hands-on support as a Board member. Indeed, we helped the scaleup to recruit the expert Board member and to establish a legal entity in Munich. Furthermore, the expert also helped to grow the business in Germany successfully.”