[numerik_meister]

Not the definite answer but some observations I see here in Germany: 1. University spinoffs which only exist on paper: all founders and early employees hold paid positions at the university and the spinoff is I think more of a way to deal with intellectual property, do more effective marketing and build business relationships. 2. They run on government research grants. 3. Eventually they might start selling some software/hardware they developed as a byproduct but which was not their core research effort, or they start using their highly educated employee base with their niche expertise to start building/selling a product/service that is related to their research effort, but not quite as ambitious.