Guten Tag, Frankfurt! 🇩🇪 On Sept 24, we’re bringing the n8n Starter Sessions to you. Learn core automation + AI skills, build your first workflow, and take home swag, snacks, and a free Cloud trial. 🗣 Workshop in English 👉 Sign up: https://t.co/KarZvbSEI1

🔥 n8n + ElevenLabs + Vibe Coding Crash Course (60 lectures, $500 value) → FREE Yes, you read that right. I’ve created a complete crash course with 60 lectures on n8n and Vibe Coding using Claude Code, Cursor and Task Master. Covering automation, AI agents, and real-world

🚀 Here we go, a new chapter begins with Avanai and n8n! I broke my jaw 7 days ago. The world told me to rest and today Christian Voigt and I just launched Avanai, a bold new venture to reshape how the world works with AI and n8n. Yesterday, we walked out of the notary’s office

This post isn’t just about my failure. It’s about reflecting on why startups in Germany are struggling while Silicon Valley startups thrive. I hope sharing this vulnerable and personal account sparks a conversation. What do you think? Is this a Germany problem, or is this

40. The Need for Change: Germany must foster a culture of risk-taking, innovation, and failure tolerance if we want to see our startup ecosystem thrive. As an immigrant entrepreneur living in Germany, I feel the responsibility to fix this in my new home. I will do everything I

39. The Silicon Valley Advantage: It’s not just the funding; it’s the culture, network, and mindset that make Silicon Valley unique. Let’s make europe great again! We can do much better than what we have now. We just need to get together with a new mentality and take bold risks

38. Burnout: The fundraising process drained me emotionally, and I didn’t have enough left to push forward. I sometimes feel guilty of letting it go too early, but perhaps it was the right decision only we would know if we had a time machine or high bandwidth access to a parallel

37. Too Little Too Late: We didn’t act fast enough to secure funding or pivot when we had the chance. We started with a $1.2m round, then reduced it to $600k then $300k. Instead we should have just secured enough from FFF and then a few business angels. Now thinking

36. Underestimating Market Perception: I failed to communicate the potential of VoiceKitt effectively to the investors and other stakeholders including my cofounder.

35. Self-Doubt: I doubted my own vision when investors questioned it, which again fed into this feedback loop. I was running out of time and it was too late to pivot.

34. Negative Perception of Startups: Startups in Germany are often seen as unstable compared to traditional industries.

33. Overregulation: Regulatory frameworks, like the AI Act, deter investors and founders alike. We were at the frontlines of using the latest tech from the US and not being compliant put a lot of hurdles in front of us.

32. Lack of Risky Capital: German investors prioritize “safe” industries, avoiding disruptive technologies. I think this is one of the reasons that most of the innovation comes from the US and not from the EU.

31. Declining Startup Numbers: From 600 startups in Berlin in 2019 to 100 in 2023 (Crunchbase data), the trend is concerning. This shrinkage also made my consulting business suffer a lot.

30. Global vs. Local Thinking: US startups think globally from day one. Many German startups, including us, started with a local mindset.

29. Proximity to Innovators: Being in Silicon Valley means you’re surrounded by innovation. In Berlin, that density isn’t there, unfortunately the startup scene in my opinion has declined dramatically.

28. Momentum Lost: Startups need to keep momentum. When we struggled to raise funds, our progress stalled, and investors perhaps noticed, especially not being able to secure early angels, even from friends and families.

27. Slow Decision-Making: In Silicon Valley, decisions are made quickly. Our slow pace meant we missed critical opportunities.

26. Missed Trends: Vapi capitalized on the rise of AI APIs. We didn’t see the shift early enough and instead we were focused on B2B SaaS, a safe zone.

25. Pivot Paralysis: Vapi focused on an API model. We hesitated, afraid of making the wrong move. In our case, this should have been one afternoon discussion and directly testing the hypothesis.