German startups rely heavily on third-party tools to launch and scale their businesses in a cost-efficient manner. A survey found that 90% of German startups stated tools have made launching easier and 80% said they have made it cheaper in the last 5 years. Over half of startups use more than 5 tools and 65% said they could not exist without tools. The most commonly used tools support collaboration, hosting, payments, and CRM. Benefits include increased productivity, reduced costs, easier remote work, and faster product development.

1. The New Startup Toolkit
#StartupTools

2. What’s powering the
growth of Germany’s
startup economy?
T H E N E W G E R M A N S TA R T U P T O O L K I T

3. Funding and Efficiency matter to German startups*:
of German founders use
their own savings to fund
their startup
of German startups consider
their product globally unique.
84% 44%
*German Startup Monitor 2016, BVDS and KPMG.

4. J O I N T R E S E A R C H I N T O T H I R D PA R T Y T O O L S
A N D H O W T H E Y H E L P G E R M A N S TA R T U P S
G R O W A N D S C A L E :
TheFamily Builders Network
®
Survey conducted in February and March, 2017. 227
responses from startups were collected, with more than half
(54%) coming from founders and entrepreneurs.

5. Launching a startup has become easier and cheaper
than ever before.
stated that third party tools
have made it easier to launch a
startup in Germany in the last
5 years.
stated that third party tools
have made it cheaper to launch
a startup in Germany in the last
5 years.
90%
80%

6. Tools are not only widespread, but can even be
considered critical infrastructure.
stated that their startup
could not exist in its
current form today
without third-party tools.
use more than five third
party tools for their startup.
65%74%

7. 0
18
36
54
72
28%34%36%
60%
69%
Availability of tools Increased access
to funding
Availability of
talent
Increased
mentorship
Government
support
The availability of tools is the #1 factor that has
made it easier to launch a startup, according to the
respondents - way before government support.

8. T H E G E R M A N S TA R T U P S TA C K
An ecosystem of cloud tools that are
enabling German startups to scale on
a pay-as-you-grow basis.

9. W H AT B U S I N E S S A R E A S A R E M O S T LY A F F E C T E D ?
0
14.5
29
43.5
58
29%
42%43%
48%
58%
Collaboration &
Communication
Hosting &
Data Storage
Analytics CRM Payments

10. C R M
H O S T I N G A N D D ATA S T O R A G E
PAY M E N T S
T E A M C O L L A B O R AT I O N & C O M M U N I C AT I O N
A N A LY T I C S
M O S T C O M M O N LY U S E D T O O L S :

11. M A I N B E N E F I T S
0
16
32
48
64
29%
41%
53%
63%64%
Increased
productivity
Reduced
operating
costs
Easier to work
remotely
Faster time
to market
Quicker
product
development

12. C O N C L U S I O N
• A multitude of different tools and services have emerged
that make it easier and cheaper for entrepreneurs to start
and scale their business in Germany.
• The German startup community is running on an
infrastructure of third-party tools that cater to two
specifically German needs: cost-efficiency and product
focus.