High-tech Start-ups in Focus: The highest-ranking US representative in Germany, Kent Logsdon, meets the Freiburg Start-up Scene with FGvW

We had a high-ranking visitor to our Freiburg office on July 18th, 2017: Kent Logsdon, Deputy Ambassador and therefore currently the highest-ranking US representative in Germany, met selected representatives from the Freiburg Start-up Scene. Organized by Gerhard Manz, a partner in our firm as well as a member of the board of the high-tech initiative Baden-Württemberg Connected e.V. (bwcon) and Chairman of the Carl-Schurz-Haus / Deutsch-Amerikanisches Institut e.V., invited Kent Logsdon, chargé d’affaires ad interim of the US Embassy in Berlin, to a discussion . The association microTEC Südwest e.V. took part in the meeting as a cooperative partner of bwcon. Besides bwcon, microTEC Südwest and the Carl-Schurz-Haus, representatives from the US Consulate General in Frankfurt, the Founders’ Office of the University of Freiburg as well as high-ranking representatives from United Planet, Haufe-Lexware, Herder-Verlag, Neuroloop, OxidSales and Friedrich Graf von Westphalen & Partner were all represented. All share their dedication in the start-up industry: be it as young entrepreneurs or be it as established companies, who are looking to work with start-ups, to absorb new ideas and identify forward-looking business models.

An introductory note was first given to the start-up environment in the USA and Germany by Florian Schmitt from Haufe-Lexware, who in the USA produced the film “Starting up USA” and showed a clip from this. The film deals with encounters by young German companies with start-ups, investors and representatives of networks and authorities in the USA. The following discussion concerned the differences between the start-up cultures in Germany and the USA. Michael Lauk, shareholder and managing director of the high-tech start-up Neuroloop in Freiburg and at the same time a start-up investor with experience in the USA, spoke about his experiences: In the USA, entrepreneurs found companies with a clear exit strategy, while Germans rather focus on long-term commitment and in the foundation phase are already thinking about the next generation. Investors in the USA are braver than in Germany, but what is not different is that it is just as difficult to win over investors for a start-up in the USA as in Germany. A more important difference lies in dealing with failures: when in the USA each defeat is considered as experience gained, young entrepreneurs find it difficult to settle down in established companies after a “bust”. Finally, the large domestic market is an advantage for start-ups in the USA which is not to be underestimated. Start-ups in Germany find it much harder to overcome barriers in Europe.

To conclude the discussion, Kent Logsdon offered to support start-up activities in Freiburg by arranging for experts and those with experience from the USA to help.