I ran a poll here a couple of months ago [0]. While far from being accurate, it could at least be considered somehow representative for the HN audience (it lasted more than 24h on the front page, so all time zones were covered). Even though the non-US group seems to have caught up compared to a couple of years back, the US still dominates the HN audience.
I'm sure there's lots, but it also depends on your definition of success. Here in Chicago we've got groupon, threadless, braintree, thinkorswim, 37 signals, orbitz, and then, of course, a number of places which have cashed out to acquisitions (like feedburner).
Wooga, Soundcloud, Spreadshirt and maybe Amen come to mind (all Berlin based).
Not to name the hugely successful Samwer clones like Zalando (biggest online shoe e-commerce business in Europe, Zappos clone).
I recently moved to Berlin from Denmark and it is fairly simple. Most of my problems are due do the risk of double taxation caused by EU stupidity.
You can found any type of company in Germany without having citizenship. But you will most definitely need an English speaking accountant. The forms/paperwork are only available in German and there is quite a long way from school German to understanding a discussion with the German tax authorities.
Be careful in choosing an English speaking accountant as the quality of their English abilities varies greatly. As with so many other things you get what you pay for.
The German tax authorities are generally welcoming and pleasant but you better have your papers in order and filled out correctly. Also expect to spend a considerable amount of time at the local registry. The lines are long and employees few.
If you come from outside of the EU you will probably have a more difficult time.
That being said it is not at all impossible. Berlin is a great city and lots of happenings related to start ups and development in generally takes place all the time. The German authorities realizes the value of foreigners starting companies and the have a really excellent website in English here
I've spent 8 precious years of my childhood taking compulsory classes in german language. As it turned out later, most of young germans speak excellent english. I should have taken french.
If you end up in a big collaborative space with loads of people from different countries, they will all end up speaking english anyway.
I tend to be skeptical of these efforts at engineering startup hubs out of thin air by building great new facilities. Many other complex, inter-related factors are necessary to have a successful startup hub.
As pg himself put it: "Building office buildings for technology companies won't get you a silicon valley, because the key stage in the life of a startup happens before they want that kind of space. The key stage is when they're three guys operating out of an apartment."[1] (He's covered this topic more than once -- e.g., see [2] below.)
Its too easy to substitute working on the tools and resources for working on the actual goal. I separate new managers that way: some focus on the job at hand, many focus on the setup of their office, the desk, chair, parking space, etc.
A building is the easy part to creating a startup incubator; its a tool/resource for the job. Money is just another resource, and the investor a vendor, unless they're like YCombinator. Groups like this bring much more to the table than money; their focus isn't on the building, either.
Build the project; you'll find the tools along the way.
Nice idea, and I'm sure it'll be a nice building, and good fun to work in, but the magic ingredient in a "startup factory" is most definitely not office space.
My co-founder mentioned there is some sort of german "self employment" visa, that will allow you to get residency in Germany without having to work for a local company. I don't know any more details bout that, but would love to hear from someone who has actually gone thru the process, if anyone on HN has.
Berlin is becoming a bit of a startup hub for europe, and with the economic issues this may increase if the other states start hurting small companies as they try to shore up their budgets.
This is the kind of things I'd never use, probably, except for meetups and stuff like that. But, unlike others, I think it is good that it is being built. Yes, the magic happens when you're working from your apartment or basement- and in fact, that's my preferred place to work (all founders under one roof, zero commute times, etc.)
But why is it, whenever someone says "This useful thing for startups is happening in some city" the responses are "You're not creating silicon valley!!!" Nobody said they were replicating silicon valley. Why are the defenders of silicon valley so defensive that every time something involving startups happens out side of california, they have to pile in and say that silicon valley can't be replicated? Hey, personally, that's great. I lived in the bay area. It isn't a good place to do a startup on all the criteria that matter to me (burn rate, employee availability, etc.) But it is certainly great for people whom, for the first time in their lives, they have lots of smart people to hang around with. If that's you, I can see why you'd love it. It is also great if you're doing the "google acquisition target startup" and need VC money, or a number of other possibilities.
But silicon valley does not have a patent on the idea of doing a startup, and in this globalized world, the barriers for doing startups have dropped all over the world, and thus it is GOOD that Berlin and other cities are becoming good places to do startups.
Especially since many companies simply can't relocate to Silicon valley. For instance, one of my co founders is not a US citizen. Silicon Valley is not an option for us.
I went to our local embassy in Tel Aviv but they were not very helpful, quite hostile actually. When I asked about the different kinds of visa, saying that I can apply in different possible ways (as self employed, as an employee of my own company sent overseas, etc) depending on which gives me the best chance to get the visa they said literally "we are not here to help you get into Germany, we are not a market for visas. you choose by yourself how do you want to apply and we'll send it back home for approval/denial"
so, I found a german lawyer over the internet to get advice.
Long story short (this is not legal advice, btw ;)
- self employment visa has some bizarre requirements like "investing 250K EUR and employing 5 locals" to get it "automatically". you can still get it with less but you'll have to prove your 'economic worth' to the region, which might not be trivial and needs a lot of paperwork.
- there is another kind of self employed visa, which is sometimes called an 'artist visa' and it is given to artists, teachers, engineers and some other well defined categories of self employed people. The problem with this kind of visa is that software engineers are not listed on the list, and are not legally considered 'engineers'.
me, I'll probably take my chances with the first kind. going to start the application process soon.
BTW, if anyone has any corroborating or conflicting evidence, I'll be very glad to hear it.
I do exactly what it is you are talking about doing: Web application development and design for customers spread around the world. I have a visa to live in Germany and to work freelance for German companies but not as a fulltime employee. I approached it with very similar rationale as yourself (bringing money into the city can't be a bad thing, etc...) To get the visa I provided a well-written business plan (ca. 10 pages, translated to German) describing how I was going to make it here, proof of sufficient cash on hand to cover all my costs for well over a year, demonstrable German language skills, and two letters of intent to hire from Berlin-based companies. 200 euro and 7 days later with the help of an immigration lawyer I had the visa I wanted. Painless and cheap, when compared to some other countries. The visa requires renewal through 5 years at which point one can apply for permanent residency. Thankfully my German was good enough that I didn't have to take any integration courses.
I hear a variety of stories from people so I don't know what the norm is, if there is such a thing, but it's definitely possible to get what you're after.
I have private health insurance with dental, full coverage no deductible, from ALC-Allianz. I believe John G is "da man" in that category. Though you can also get it through Mike Woodiwiss at Spectrum (use the search) It costs me around 130 euro per month, which is peanuts compared to US insurance costs. I actually just went to a doctor last week first time so I'll soon find out how good the service is.. Some salespeople will try to tell you ALC is not sufficient but they are wrong."
[+] [-] unwind|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] sasvari|13 years ago|reply
I ran a poll here a couple of months ago [0]. While far from being accurate, it could at least be considered somehow representative for the HN audience (it lasted more than 24h on the front page, so all time zones were covered). Even though the non-US group seems to have caught up compared to a couple of years back, the US still dominates the HN audience.
[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3298905
Edit: typo
[+] [-] mike-cardwell|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] leftnode|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] CurtHagenlocher|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] phpnode|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] nemesisj|13 years ago|reply
Not being snarky, but it may come across that way. Just genuinely curious.
[+] [-] ironchef|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] codesuela|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] alexro|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] wowoc|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] doc4t|13 years ago|reply
You can found any type of company in Germany without having citizenship. But you will most definitely need an English speaking accountant. The forms/paperwork are only available in German and there is quite a long way from school German to understanding a discussion with the German tax authorities.
Be careful in choosing an English speaking accountant as the quality of their English abilities varies greatly. As with so many other things you get what you pay for.
The German tax authorities are generally welcoming and pleasant but you better have your papers in order and filled out correctly. Also expect to spend a considerable amount of time at the local registry. The lines are long and employees few.
If you come from outside of the EU you will probably have a more difficult time.
That being said it is not at all impossible. Berlin is a great city and lots of happenings related to start ups and development in generally takes place all the time. The German authorities realizes the value of foreigners starting companies and the have a really excellent website in English here
http://www.existenzgruender.de/englisch/self_employment/inde...
Also check out this site for a short intro
http://berlin.angloinfo.com/countries/germany/business.asp
[+] [-] BvS|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] pawelwentpawel|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] fs111|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] cs702|13 years ago|reply
As pg himself put it: "Building office buildings for technology companies won't get you a silicon valley, because the key stage in the life of a startup happens before they want that kind of space. The key stage is when they're three guys operating out of an apartment."[1] (He's covered this topic more than once -- e.g., see [2] below.)
--
[1] http://www.paulgraham.com/siliconvalley.html
[2] http://www.paulgraham.com/hubs.html
[+] [-] CapitalistCartr|13 years ago|reply
A building is the easy part to creating a startup incubator; its a tool/resource for the job. Money is just another resource, and the investor a vendor, unless they're like YCombinator. Groups like this bring much more to the table than money; their focus isn't on the building, either.
Build the project; you'll find the tools along the way.
[+] [-] Henwys|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jdcryans|13 years ago|reply
More seriously I do wish them success, the tech scene in Berlin seemed vibrant when I was there for a conference and it's a beautiful city.
[+] [-] swombat|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] nirvana|13 years ago|reply
Berlin is becoming a bit of a startup hub for europe, and with the economic issues this may increase if the other states start hurting small companies as they try to shore up their budgets.
This is the kind of things I'd never use, probably, except for meetups and stuff like that. But, unlike others, I think it is good that it is being built. Yes, the magic happens when you're working from your apartment or basement- and in fact, that's my preferred place to work (all founders under one roof, zero commute times, etc.)
But why is it, whenever someone says "This useful thing for startups is happening in some city" the responses are "You're not creating silicon valley!!!" Nobody said they were replicating silicon valley. Why are the defenders of silicon valley so defensive that every time something involving startups happens out side of california, they have to pile in and say that silicon valley can't be replicated? Hey, personally, that's great. I lived in the bay area. It isn't a good place to do a startup on all the criteria that matter to me (burn rate, employee availability, etc.) But it is certainly great for people whom, for the first time in their lives, they have lots of smart people to hang around with. If that's you, I can see why you'd love it. It is also great if you're doing the "google acquisition target startup" and need VC money, or a number of other possibilities.
But silicon valley does not have a patent on the idea of doing a startup, and in this globalized world, the barriers for doing startups have dropped all over the world, and thus it is GOOD that Berlin and other cities are becoming good places to do startups.
Especially since many companies simply can't relocate to Silicon valley. For instance, one of my co founders is not a US citizen. Silicon Valley is not an option for us.
[+] [-] Vitaly|13 years ago|reply
so, I found a german lawyer over the internet to get advice.
Long story short (this is not legal advice, btw ;)
- self employment visa has some bizarre requirements like "investing 250K EUR and employing 5 locals" to get it "automatically". you can still get it with less but you'll have to prove your 'economic worth' to the region, which might not be trivial and needs a lot of paperwork.
- there is another kind of self employed visa, which is sometimes called an 'artist visa' and it is given to artists, teachers, engineers and some other well defined categories of self employed people. The problem with this kind of visa is that software engineers are not listed on the list, and are not legally considered 'engineers'.
me, I'll probably take my chances with the first kind. going to start the application process soon.
BTW, if anyone has any corroborating or conflicting evidence, I'll be very glad to hear it.
[+] [-] vellum|13 years ago|reply
I do exactly what it is you are talking about doing: Web application development and design for customers spread around the world. I have a visa to live in Germany and to work freelance for German companies but not as a fulltime employee. I approached it with very similar rationale as yourself (bringing money into the city can't be a bad thing, etc...) To get the visa I provided a well-written business plan (ca. 10 pages, translated to German) describing how I was going to make it here, proof of sufficient cash on hand to cover all my costs for well over a year, demonstrable German language skills, and two letters of intent to hire from Berlin-based companies. 200 euro and 7 days later with the help of an immigration lawyer I had the visa I wanted. Painless and cheap, when compared to some other countries. The visa requires renewal through 5 years at which point one can apply for permanent residency. Thankfully my German was good enough that I didn't have to take any integration courses.
I hear a variety of stories from people so I don't know what the norm is, if there is such a thing, but it's definitely possible to get what you're after.
I have private health insurance with dental, full coverage no deductible, from ALC-Allianz. I believe John G is "da man" in that category. Though you can also get it through Mike Woodiwiss at Spectrum (use the search) It costs me around 130 euro per month, which is peanuts compared to US insurance costs. I actually just went to a doctor last week first time so I'll soon find out how good the service is.. Some salespeople will try to tell you ALC is not sufficient but they are wrong."